Frigidaire front load - no high speed spin - small load

Just wanted to share my experience with this issue. I spent a lot of time trying to diagnose a problem that really wasn’t a problem.

The executive summary is this - if you just have one heavy item in the washer, like jeans or a bath towel, the washer may not go to high speed spin by design because it is off balance. You can either add additional items or just pull out the small load and try to run a spin cycle with an empty drum to confirm that is the issue.

I’ve had the "no spin" issue arise a few times (seems to be common with this model). In the past it has normally been a result of a sock stuck in the drain.

When it occurred again recently, I found the drain clear so I next checked the door latch mechanism. According to everything I read - the resistance on the wax motor should be 1500 OHMS, mine tested at ~1000 so I ordered a new one. Interestingly, the new one only tested at around 1200 OHMS but I put it in anyway.

The washer worked for a few weeks and then encountered the same issue again. That is, it ran a full cycle - just not a high speed spin, so the clothes were still very wet at the end (just one large bath towel in the load this time).

After reading a ton of diagnostic stuff online, I happened to look at the troubleshooting section of the owner’s manual and noted that is says the washer may not go to high speed spin with a small load in it due to off balance issues. The washer ran fine empty and I have done several full loads since with no problems.

Hope this helps someone else avoid a lot of trouble.