Help!

March 15, 2011 8:22 PM

I'm tired, I'm sick, I was trying to do a load of clothes before I went to sleep, but my washing machine had other ideas...it agitates fine but won't spin. What do I do???

My daughter used it earlier today with no problem. I suspect I overloaded it a bit (towels and jeans-hubs is doing a paper route and needed something to wear around 2 am)....I am rinsing out the necessaries in the tub but meanwhile if someone has an idea of what I can do I would be so grateful.

The lid shuts fine, triggering the little trap thingee that should permit it to spin (of course I know it won't spin with lid open) so, what else should I look at?

posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies to Home & Garden (19 answers total)

Is it on at all? Could you have tripped the little safety whatsit on the outlet?
posted by phunniemee at 8:23 PM on March 15, 2011

Is it unbalanced? Do you need to rearrange the load?
posted by kestrel251 at 8:25 PM on March 15, 2011

Response by poster: I took everything out, still won't work. And yes, it agitates fine, etc just won't spin.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 8:26 PM on March 15, 2011

It's moderately easy to pop off the back or bottom plate (usually) and see if the belt has stretched and slipped loose, or snapped. On my washer it just takes a socket wrench and taking out several little bolts, for example. If it's the belt, replacements are usually pretty cheap.

If it's not the belt then it's above my experience level. Maybe a motor issue, maybe some kind of electronics issue. Dunno.
posted by empyrean at 8:37 PM on March 15, 2011

If you do check the belt yourself, I feel obliged to mention the probably common sense but I'm going to mention them anyway things - unplug the washer, turn off the water at the outlet, make sure the hoses are properly drained if/when you pull it away from the wall so that if/when you tip the machine you don't drench anything. I'd recommend having a towel or two on hand, anyway.

Good luck, I hope it's something simple like the belt.
posted by empyrean at 8:40 PM on March 15, 2011

This might not be the best answer, but I would turn the dial to the start ( of the agitation cycle) and start over. Make it go through the whole process once more as if its a new load. Put the dial after where it normally stop filling. It might trigger the spinning cycle to work after it washes the load again. Does it hum at all after the agitation cycle? I mean does it sound as though its trying to spin? Or is there no sound?
posted by Taurid at 8:43 PM on March 15, 2011

Response by poster: No sound, Taurid, I tried that.

My laundry room is actually outside (part of the house but opens to the outdoor) so I'm not too worried about drenching anything but the concrete it stands on. Probably we will have a look in daylight-I suspect this is something simple.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 8:49 PM on March 15, 2011

Best answer: Make sure the little pin in the lid is actually tripping the lever when you shut the lid. Is it broken off somehow? Also try manually depressing the lever in the washing machine with a screw driver with the timer on the spin cycle. Does it spin when you do that? Ours stopped spinning because the lever had become rusted off and wasn't actually doing anything even when it was pressed in. The washing machine repair guy was able to remove the switch and wire it directly. This disengages the safety feature whereby the tub stops spinning whenever the lid is opened, so consider that if you have kids in the house.
posted by tamitang at 9:07 PM on March 15, 2011

What kind of washing machine is it? Could you post a picture of the front and even better the back of the cabinet. There are lots of faults that can cause this but no one could give a definitive answer without know what kind of washer it is.
posted by Mitheral at 9:08 PM on March 15, 2011

Not sure about the newer machines, but the older ones used to have a mechanical timer that made a quiet buzzing sound whenever the machine paused ( between filling, washing, spinning etc.). So you should at least hear that. Unless of course it doesn't have one ( newer electronic ????). There could be a short pause before the machine goes into the spin cycle. Ours is usually just a few seconds, but yours might be longer. Did your daughter by any chance change the cycle so that it soaks for a few minutes, like a delicate cycle ( 6-8 minutes or more) and then it will continue on? Check that she didn't change the wash cycle to something else. As was mentioned above, make sure the lid switch is working. If the machine is washing, lift the lid. Other than that, I'd double check the plug to make sure it didn't come away from the receptacle. Then check the fuse. Sometimes it's a simple thing. Sorry, I don't have any other ideas. Check your machine manual. Good luck.
posted by Taurid at 10:04 PM on March 15, 2011

Best answer: We had this problem - the switch that told the machine the lid was closed had died. Bought a new switch at Sears (we have a Kenmote washer) and replaced it myself. I think the switch was about $20 and wasn't hard to replace.

If you google your washer brand, model number and service manual, you should be able to get a complete parts list and instructions on removing the outer shell.
posted by neilbert at 3:41 AM on March 16, 2011

Not the news you want to hear, but when the washer won't spin anymore, it might be dead. That was the coroner's report on our last washer, and the dude said overloading it contributed to its untimely (not untimely - it was like 20 years old) demise. We bought a "new" one from the used appliance guy for $150, less than it would cost to fix ours (or pretty much any).

Good luck to you.
posted by toodleydoodley at 8:23 AM on March 16, 2011

Best answer: This actually happened to my washer as well a while back, and it turned out that the little flap area that detects the lid closing by getting pressed down was broken. It still depressed and sprung back up like normal, but the actual internal mechanism that recognized that was snapped. Luckily for my model, it was fairly easy to open up the chassis and get at the works, and fix them myself, but yours may differ mechanically.
posted by FatherDagon at 10:56 AM on March 16, 2011

Best answer: Yeah, thinking maybe the lid open/close switch too. A lot of washers will fill will the lid open, some will even agitate, but for safety will not spin unless it is closed.

Most of the time it'll be a simple mechanical switch with slide on spade connectors on the wires on either side of the switch. You can usually "sixty-nine" spade connectors to sort of slide them together, bypassing the switch. If it spins when the switch is bypassed this way, then the switch is likely your culprit. If not, the problem is elsewhere, and possibly an expensive fix.
posted by xedrik at 12:29 PM on March 16, 2011

Response by poster: ok, it's a toploading Kenmore. Not new. Husband has it out on the carport.... Series 70. Husband says we have been washing with a t-rex. :(
Awhile back we replaced the (timer? That expensive piece up at the top whatever it is) and it has been going fine since...till now. Good thing the laundromat is down the street....
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 2:56 PM on March 16, 2011

Kenmore saddly could be one of several different manufacturers though Inglis is a good bet. If it is an Inglis the problem could be as cheap as a broken wire. Is the back panel grey and about 16" square? If so take that off and take a look. The motor is to your left and the transmission is the cast iron and aluminum thing straight ahead. On top of the transmission is two solenoids sandwiched between two pieces of steel and supported in the middle by a shaft sticking up out of the transmission. The solenoids wave back and forth when the machine is running (the shaft is the axis of the wave). Check to see that a) all the wires going to that assembly are in good shape and connected and that both solenoids have continuity. The solenoids pull up a fork shaped plunger. Make sure the pin that goes between the forks on plungers are in place as they sometimes shear off. In operation one of the plungers is pulled up for agitate and the other for spin. You can watch that happening (be careful not get any body parts caught up in the motor/belt). Best to not stick anything through the opening while the machine is running.
posted by Mitheral at 4:47 PM on March 16, 2011

Response by poster: Thanks all....my dad is coming over tomorrow to see if he can resurrect it.

Zombie washing machine!!!!!
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 4:49 PM on March 16, 2011

Response by poster: Scratch that. Today is the day my dad fainted, hit his head and is getting checked at the hospital....

Anyway, any theories anyone has on this are welcome and as soon as Dad (or someone ) is able, we will be testing them out. Thanks.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 1:28 PM on March 17, 2011

Response by poster: My husband was able to fix it. Thanks for all the suggestions-it was indeed the broken safety feature.


I'll just have to keep the grandkids out of the laundry. ;-)
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 6:35 AM on March 25, 2011