I have the common No Spin cycle issue. My Maytag washer would do everything normal: start, fill, agitate, rinse, but no spin to get the water out of the tub. Everytime it would go full timer cycle and stop. But the tub would be full of SOAPY water. Like it got to the spin cycle and stop, but the timer continued to the end of the cycle with the timer indicator at the end of the full cycle. Lift the lid to find it full of soapy water. I’d push the knob in, rotate the control/timer around to "just" into the spin cycle, with the lid down, and pulled the knob out, it would go ahead and spin to drain the tub.
I operated it this way for over a year, no problems other than I had to manually operate it into the spin cycle. But I also suspect it is not going through the rinse cycle either as the tub was always full of soapy water. Other than manually advancing it into the spin cycle to get it to drain, which it does normally, I’ve just put up with it. Planned to replace the timer some day as I figured that was the issue. Like I mentioned, other than the No-Spin all other functions seemed normal and the washer run fine.
Last week my gal loaded the washer for the Delicate cycle (she just moved in, I never used any other cycle other than normal wash). Lid down, it filled and started like normal, but about five minutes later it sounded to me like it was working hard. I came back to check on it, still running, but smelled a "burnt" smell, so I shut it down. Power cord was warm like it was drawing more than normal power/amps. Tub was full of water and it had not started the Delicate cycle (no agitiate on Delicate). I manually unloaded it and siphoned out the water.
Lid switch is good, confirmed with my VOM to have continuity across the red to yellow when the lid is closed. So I doubt it’s the common lid switch issue. I wonder if I need to replace the timer/control? But could it also be the brake did not release for the Delicate cycle and the motor got warm trying to start the cycle against the brake? I have never worked on this washer nor have I replaced any parts on it since it was new in 2000. Any help is appreciated before I just start throwing new parts into it.
I suspect it is the timer-control. I will check the timer-control for any burned contacts, as that is what I expected to find. I doubt there is a drain clog as the washer has always drained normally and about at the same rate. However it is worth checking.
Got the timer out. There is a good sized dark area on the timing wheel assembly. From the knob side counting in, the dark areas on the timing wheel are sectors five and six from the knob shaft side. From the side of the timer, when you view the area where the ends of the contacts look like little hammers following the notches on the timing sector, there is one "hammer" end missing entirely. Sure looks like a burned area to me so I will replace the timer assembly to start with.
I got lucky and found a new OEM timer, no box, for $60 with free shipping on ********. So given that the original timer had definitely failed I didn’t feel bad about spending some bucks on the timer at less than 1/2 cost of new.
Hopefully the main motor and brake still work fine. We’ll see.Thanks for the help.
I installed the new timer/control. Before starting it, I checked all the connections and fuse, lid switch/actuator, belt, motor (just sniffed it to try and catch any "burned" smell). All looked good, so hooked up the hoses and tried a small load of just water and it went through the cycle normally. All functions seemed to work ok.
So I next did a small load. Ran through full cycle just fine. But I noted the clothes were quite wet/dripping after the spin cycle finished. I should note, there is perhaps a 1/2" of water remaining in the clothes tub after I remove the clothes. The clothes are dripping wet, certainly more wet than when it finished the full cycle in the past. I can wring excess water from the clothes easily.
Same for the other loads I’ve done. Clothes are definitely much more wet after the full cycle finishes. Is there a higher speed for the spin cycle after the rinse cycle has expelled the majority of the water? I watched the last load, and then advanced the control manually around to the spin cycle and started it again. The washer started spinning but also adding fresh water as it spun, like it is still on the rinse cycle. I did confirm the lid switch is actuating with my VOM.
So far I’ve done laundry with it as is. But I don’t like putting the excessively wet laundry into the dryer as I suspect the dryer is not made to handle clothes that wet all the time. A 60 minute cycle in the dryer for a load of six pair of jeans doesn’t get them dry. Other searches indicate it is the clutch that needs replacement. I can retate the inner/clothes tub by hand with some resistance in either direction.
You may want to check the belts but this [QUOTE]…The washer started spinning but also adding fresh water as it spun, like it is still on the rinse cycle…[/QUOTE] points to a bad timer. Return it if there is any warranty.
To date I have replaced: the belts, the timer, the tub bearing and stem seal kit (cleaned all the components), replaced the brake assembly with a confirmed good salvage part. What it does now: starts and runs through the agitation cycle normally (like it did before), but when it gets to the spin cycles it starts up and then the thermal overload kicks out and it stops.
Belt tension is normal. To test the transmission I took the belts off and I can spin the main pulley easily CW from the bottom. When I spin it CCW from the bottom the transmission also starts to spin. Doesn’t take much effort either way, in fact better/less effort than it did before I replaced the brake/clutch and tub bearing/stem seal.
After I replaced the tub bearing and stem seal kit, I started the spin cycle (no water or clothes in it) and let it run for a few minutes, as recommended by many service techs. It started the spin cycle a bit hard but spun up fine and finished the spin cycle.
I put it a medium load of light clothes. Started fine and agitated normally. But when it got to the first rinse/spin cycle it started up, again a bit hard, and then quit. I suspect the thermal overload switch is now too sensitive, or the belt tension is too high. Although I can easily squeeze the midpoints of the belts together. The Water pump is fully to the right of the adjustment slots.
Yes the motor moves very free on the carriage. But I have suspected the motor itself is simply "tired" and drawing higher load than it should. Doesn’t have the starting torque to handle anything more than an empty dry spin drum. Any clothes, water or additional weight in the spin drum and it can’t spin up.
I doubt it is the transmission because it does all the other functions fine. And like I said, I can easily rotate the main pulley from below in both directions. Before I replaced the brake/cutch and tub bearing it turned much harder when I rotated the pulley CW looking from the bottom.
Are there values to check for motor winding resistance and a,perage draw under load?
Thanks for all the help! The local Maytag parts shop says this older Maytag IS worth fixing because they aren’t made like these anymore and they can last easily 30 years and more.
After replacing all the parts listed above, only the motor and tranny remain as likely causes. But I got to thinking if the belt tension is an issue. I adjusted the water pump belt tension to be much more loose, and I found that loose on the water pump belt tension is WAY better than even snug. The machine has now completed two full cycle wash loads, a medium load of dress shirts and a medium load of jeans.
However, both loads came out way too wet. The washer is still running water into the tub during the final SPIN cycle. Per the logic diagram here, the FILL & RINSE (cam 10 or 12) includes water for the final rinse cycle. Then, SPIN & SPRAY cycle (cam 4, 6 & 8)for one minute again with no water, before the final SPIN cycle (cam 4) for four mintues with NO water added. Mine continues to spray water through the entire SPIN cycle on any setting. Leads me to think the cam setup is wrong on my replacement timer. I wonder if there is a special indexing position the timer has to be in when installed. That, or I have a defective timer.
Did you inspect or replace the brake rotor bearing? Fits on top of the pulley and pushes up to release brake during spin. The pump shouldn’t have to be all the way to the right for proper belt tension. The belt is typically quite loose. You check the tension while holding the motor in the forward position (drive belt tight). The specs I have for the motor are 3-4 ohms for the start winding, 2-3 ohms for the slow speed winding and 1-2 ohms for the normal speed winding. 7 amps max current draw during spin startup and 4-6 amps while spinning full speed depending upon load in basket. The drive belt is supposed to slip during spin startup. This slippage acts as a clutch. There is also a clutch in the transmission used during spin. In spin mode, the pulley rides up the transmission input shaft and pushes up on the brake to release it while pulling down on the transmission input shaft engaging the clutch. One problem that occurs with this transmission is the pin holding the stop collar above the input pinion gear shears off and then the clutch does not operate properly and the shaft can be pulled down preventing the brake from releasing properly. Anyway, keep plugging away and figure it out. Definitely worth fixing this machine.
Oh, BTW, according to the timer chart, there is supposed to be a spin/spray during spin after wash and spin after rinse in the regular and delicate cycle but only after rinse in permanent press cycle.
Eric
Yes, the brake rotor bearing is good and properly lubed. I feel everything with the motor, belts, brake/clutch and tranny is good now. Learned an awful lot on this machine now that I’ve gone through it and I’m definitely keeping it running for many years to come.
Thanks for the specs on the motor resistances and amp loads, that is great info to have.
Thanks too about the logic info. I contacted the seller on the timer I installed and he is sending me a replacement. We’ll see what results I get from that. But I feel close to having this project done and good ol’ washer being dependable (and easily repairable) for decades.
All is back to normal. I installed another new timer and all cycles and functions operate normally again. The timer goes through the full cycle, rinse/spins properly and spins the final cycle as expected. Guess the cheapo "oem" timer I replaced earlier was just that, cheapo. Or, there was simply something wrong with an out of the box oem part, no warranty.
As of April 30th I have now done ten loads of various settings, and the washer functions entirely normal. In fact, I’d almost say it goes through the complete wash cycle a bit faster than it has for years. That, or I’m just more in tune to the machine now.
Thanks everyone for offering guidance and suggestions. My faithful Maytag is back in full service and now I know the machine quite well. Even getting to the point that I can read the logic diagram reasonably. Something to be said for fixing things rather than just junk it and buy a new machine.
The local Maytag shop owner said the older Dependable Care Maytags are well worth fixing and keeping active. He has seen many of them go 30, 40 years or more in service. Not sure that claim would hold up for today’s modern machines.