At first washer kept shutting down, then when braker was reset, it stopped filling with water, repairman says its timer and would cost about 250.00
seems kinda of high to me, and would like to know whats causing washer not to fill with water??
Well, it does sound it could be the the timer, and if the quote is $250 for the part and labor that is not unreasonable. If it is just for the part, well, that is high as you can get the part from this site for about $140 including shipping.
If you want to replace the timer you can order the replace the timer yourself, it is easy to do. The timer knob should unscrew and you can access the console by removing the two screws, in front or in back, that hold the console to the cabinet. It flips up and you can take off the timer, put on the new one, hook up the wire clip and you are all set.
Even if a new timer is needed., you still have some work to do before you go that route. First of all it sounds like your machine is continually tripping the breaker. If so, you need to find out why. I would replace the breaker just to rule out breaker failure as a cause.
You also need to see if the inlet water valve is the problem. To do this you will have to take off the cabinet, see this site for some pics on how to do that.
http://sites.google.com/site/sublimeappliancerepair/washer-will-not-spin
You will need to use a multi meter to see if you are getting 120v to the water valves. Take off the plug at the valve and test for AC voltage when the machine is supposed to be filling. (Put it on warm wash and test both valves) If you are getting voltage the problem is with the valves assembly and replacing them should solve your problem. You can further test out the timer by unhooking a water hose and filling the machine to the right level and seeing if it starts to agitate.
If you are not getting power to the valves, then the timeris likely the problem and replacement may fix it, but you may still have the problem of the breaker tripping which may cause your new timer to fail.
Good luck, hope this helps.