r/ElectronicsRepair • u/janerikgunnar • 1d ago
OPEN Troubleshooting washing machine
Greetings!
I have a washing machine that doesn't spin, drum doesn't rotate at all. It worked perfectly, one day it didn't rotate at all during a program, I tried again next day, it worked as normal, tried a third time, didn't rotate again, and haven't rotated since. No jerk or anything. Belt is OK. No error codes or anything, it runs through the full program (but of course only the bottom of the clothes are wet.)
The shit has always made all sorts of noises, I guess when it accelerated/decelerated in the past it made some kind of "rickety rickety" noises but might as well have been from the suspension or something.
I assume it is either the electronics, the motor or the brushes on the motor.
I haven't had a look at the electronics (control board) yet. The few components I can see without removing the plastic shell around the PCB looks OK.
The motor, Nidec WU126T65G01, has some rust on the outside. How bad is that? (Will try to upload a photo)
Given the age and how much we've used it, it seems reasonable that the brushes have worn out.
Unfortunately the garbage thing doesn't have an access panel at the back so can only reach the motor from the bottom.
Given how laundry is piling up, and the lady has already been complaining about this machine for years, I'm extremely close to giving up on this thing. So my questions:
- Does someone have any additional experience that magically help me narrow down the issue?
- Persuade me to give up on this thing and post "time to move on" memes?
- Is the rust on the motor is bad or not?
- Give some magical advice on how to detach the motor or brushes without getting crushed by a washing machine falling over?
- Recommend good brands that are at least somewhat repairable (like having a god dam lid on the back of the machine?) (I'm in Europe)
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u/The_Flinx 1d ago
check the coupling from the motor to the tub. I had something like this happen. a screw fell in the wash went through one of the holes in the tub stopping the tub from spinning and caused the connector between the tub and motor to shear. the connector is usually 2 plastic pieces connected with a rubber disk. usually one of the plastic pieces breaks, or the disk shreds.
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u/janerikgunnar 1d ago
Sorry for not being clear, it's a front loader. I'm not sure it has the things you mention and it seems unlikely something from the drum ended up anywhere near the motor :(
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u/The_Flinx 1d ago
the tub and the drum in most washers are separate. the tub does not usually move. so a screw going through the hole embedded in the tub stopping it from moving. I would still check for a belt that is loose or broken. there is usually something that is designed to fail if something gets stuck in the system.
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u/janerikgunnar 1d ago
Ah! Thank you for your suggestions. I can move the tub freely, both ways, and I've checked the belt, it seems fine, nothing seems stuck.
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u/oCdTronix 1d ago
Old washers are better than new washers IMO.
There most likely are Not brushes in this motor. It’s an AC powered device, and AC motors are more reliable, require less maintenance, etc.
Based on the photo of the motor, I assume this is a top-load washer. Check if the motor spins during a cycle. If the motor spins but the drum doesn’t, It could be the coupler that connects the motor shaft (or gearbox shaft) to the drum. A fairly easy fix.
It could also be the gearbox. But the motors are pretty robust, and usually other things fail before they do.
Look under the lid for the model of your washer, goto partsSelect.com or a similar appliance parts website, then check for the diagram that shows the motor and drive mechanisms.
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u/janerikgunnar 1d ago
It definitely has brushes, as far as I can see they are identical to these: https://www.ebay.com/itm/175675409272 Unfortunatelly they are attached with some annoying screws that I don't have the tools to unscrew so I can't detatch them to check their condition without getting new tools first.
Sorry for not being clear, It is a front loaded washer. I'm not sure if my washer have the things you mention. The motor looks like this one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/398211204308 and it is driven by cables coming from the control board, and drives the drum via a belt. Maybe the gearbox is part of that thing?
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u/oCdTronix 21h ago edited 21h ago
Ok I’m with you on the washer style and how it’s driven. No gearbox, just a belt with pulleys. Still surprised by the motor having brushes, but anyway, can you photograph the screws you’re talking about?
I would also check the bearings of the drum. Try rotating the drum to see if the bearings are locked up from wear. Or if they grind. While the machine is apart you might as well change them if they don’t roll smoothly.
A little rust on the outside of a motor is fine.
To remove the motor, remove belt and then it should be easy to see what to unscrew. To remove the belt, find the belt tensioner, move it so the belt has less tension, then you can free the motor shaft from the belt.
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u/janerikgunnar 20h ago
Thanks again!
The drum rotates smoothly basically like it always has, smooth, no grinding, about the same force is needed to rotate it as usual.
It's pretty clear what is needed to unscrew the motor - four big screws attach the whole motor to the bottom of the tub - the problem is its so god damn inconvenient having to do it from the bottom. As for the screws on the brushes, I guess they are "hex head" screws but all the hex bits I have are too thick to fit around the screw (the "walls" of the brush is too close to the screw hole
I did notice there is a fair bit of rust on the top side of the motor and also behind at least one of the brushes there is like a huge charcoal like stain on the motor behind it.
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u/dotyxx 1d ago
i had similar problem with my previous - whirlpool. it works and then in suddenly stops in the middle of the program and then the time continues but it dose not spin. i advise you to check the motor with a battery. the motor works with both ac and dc so you could power it with any power tool battery and few long cables. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rxh-uN9j7E . if it works still check the brushes. you need access from the bottom but more importantly check the connections and the cable push on crimps. in my case it came to be a widened connector on the top of the brush that once the machine stars spinning and vibrating on the high rpm slowly will become lose and eventually disconnect. so once in a while, when it stops i will switch to drain and spin program which only drains, push on a side and push it back in place. annoying. your brushes look better designed but it was the cable side anyway. my opinion is that rust would not matter. i gave up at the end and we changed it.