GE Top loader won’t spin. I have looked at quite a few videos and read tutorials and came to conclusion that these are NOT problem areas: Lid Switch, motor, any fuse or electric component.
Problem:
Wash completes, rinse completes but no spinning. Clothes are soaking wet. During the spin, I can see and hear the clutch clip/motor running, but the belt will not turn. It will make whining noise.
Action:
Opened the motor and clutch. Took to a local shop and showed him the clutch if it was worn out and he said he can’t tell if the part is bad, by just looking at it. He wanted me to buy $70 service to call the technician. I ended up buying pulley belt, just to ensure that the belt was not the problem. Installed new belt and the washing and spinning completed 3 times and then the problem occurred again. No leaky oil, grease or water.
Second time opened again, this time cleaned the clutch with metal brush wire and scraped it nicely. Spinning worked again. (Not sure if that’s a permanent solution).
Is the problem with transmission or it’s pulley. (After removing the belt, it turns smooth in one direction, other direction it doesn’t move freely). Didn’t see any broken parts or spring when I opened the transmission pulley.
Could there be a piece of clothing between the two tubs.
The problem is the clutch costs $150 and if it doesn’t solve the issue for good than I can’t return the part. The similar new machine costs in the range $350-$500.
Could there be a piece of clothing between the two tubs.
— End quote
Good possibility. You should be able to turn the transmission pulley in spin direction without too much difficulty. The whole transmission should rotate which rotates the basket so it is harder to turn that way than in the agitate direction but shouldn’t be really hard. What do you mean by "opened the transmission pulley"? Did you take the large pulley off? There is a spring on the bottom of the transmission above the pulley. Not likely, but if it is broken it can cause the transmission to slip or not work at all during spin. The spring is used to engage the brake cam which releases the brake while engaging the transmission hub for spin. With the pulley off, you can just pull the spring off. Rotate it in a direction that would tend to unwind it while pulling it off and reinstalling it.
Eric, thanks for your input, so let’s look each possibility.
Yes I opened the pulley to see if the spring was broken. I didn’t see any visual sign of being broken. I didn’t remove the spring, as I didn’t see any issue with that.
As for pulley turning. One direction it moves freely. As you rightly said, other direction, it turns but because the whole tub and transmission is moving it’s hard.
My theory:
Either there is something between the two tubs that gets moved when I open it, so it does couple of complete (wash,rinse and spin) cycle and then stops spinning. Other option is a worn out clutch. Is it possible to say that if the clutch is bad by just visually looking at it. Any other symptoms that can rule out or narrow down where the problem can be.
If there is something wrong with transmission would it run few spin cycles and then not work and then work again.
It should not be hard to rotate in the spin direction. It’s actually easier to check this by rotating the motor pulley by hand. Use both hands to keep it going. Here’s how it works. Under the spring on the bottom of the transmission are two hubs, the pulley hub and the brake cam hub. The function of the brake cam hub is to release the brake and engage the brake hub which is locked to the transmission and makes it turn. In spin mode, the internal gears of the tranmission are not used. In spin mode, the direction of rotation of the pulley hub is in the same direction to which the spring is wound, so the spring grips the pulley hub and the brake cam hub. The brake cam hub pushes up on the brake hub to release the brake. The three dogs on the brake cam engage the three dogs on the brake hub and rotate the transmission. When you rotate the motor pulley by hand, you should not need enough force to actually make the cam/brake dogs meet. As soon as the cam hub starts turning, the brake releases and the tub should turn. You have to keep it going though, as soon as you stop turning, the brake engages and stops the transmission immediately. If you have to use enough force where the dogs do actually meet, then you have some sort of restriction. Either clothes between the tubs, tub bearing or lower transmission bearing.
In agitate mode, the pulley hub rotates in a direction opposite the way the spring is wound and thus does not grip the spring. Only the pulley hub rotates while the transmission case is locked by the brake. The pulley hub drives the input shaft to the transmission gearcase.
As far as the clutch goes, if the motor shaft is spinning and the pulley is not, then the clutch is slipping, either due to a bad clutch or something preventing the transmission from turning. Here’s a good video of how to replace the clutch and at the end of the video, it shows how to check, clean, lubricate your old clutch if the lining is still good.
Thanks for the information. I’ve written my observation/tests below, please let me know if you can help me narrow down the problem.
Step 1) Cleaned the clutch, and few cycle (wash, rinse, drain and spin) worked. After 4-5 cycles, spin stopped (Wash, rinse, drain works).
Step 2) Purchased new clutch. It worked perfect for the first cycle. Next cycle same issue. Surprising thing it spins if the load is extra small/light (maybe 5-10 clothes). If the normal load is put spin doesn’t work (just wash, rinse, drain). I mean the motor runs (can see the clip turning, but belt/pulley doesn’t turn) but doesn’t engage the transmission. Could it be a faulty clutch or do you envision a different problem?
If the motor shaft is spinning but the motor pulley is not, then the clutch is slipping, either due to a faulty clutch or something binding/preventing the transmission/basket from spinning.
How do I find what is this something binding/preventing the transmission/basket from spinning. How do I check for the space between inner/outer tub? Is it possible to visually decide if the transmission is faulty. If I open the pulley would that help me? (Model-wcxr1070taww - GE Top loader).
As I said before, it should be relatively easy to rotate the motor pulley CW (looking from below) which should release the brake and rotate the transmission and inner tub. If it feels like it’s binding, it could be something between the inner/outer tubs, the tub bearing, the brake cam on the transmission (explained how to check before) or a slipping LGS spring on the bottom of the transmission. If it’s not binding, it could be that the motor is just not getting up to speed due to a bad motor or bad connections at motor and/or timer which would require checking for voltage drops with a multimeter. The only way to check between the tubs is to remove the inner tub. I don’t know what you mean by "open the pulley".
