We’ve had no issues with our Duet in the 3 years we’ve had it (until now). On Saturday we had a short power outage during some heavy rain while the washer was running. We noticed that there was some water in it that night when we went to do another load, and realized the outage had done something to it. We get an F11 code (and some loud baby-awakening beeps) whenever we try to run any cycle.
Any idea what has been fried? We have a Whirlpool repairman coming out on Thursday, but I have a feeling (from reading other people’s posts online) that we’re going to get hit with some hefty charges for labor & parts if he decides to replace the ccu/mcu.
I did drain out the water by taking the bottom cover off and removing the plug at the bottom (had a baby sock and some change in it) but that didn’t change the error code.
That would be something that I think that a factory authorized service tech shold check. It could be the CCU, wire harness, motor, or a couple of other things. No since in taking chances on getting the wrong part.
Nat
Okay, I still get the F11. After the door locks I hear a little water being let in & then it errors out with F11. So I guess I should order the CCU and see if that fixes things for me, or should I step through the test program and see which stages give F11? If I just let the test program do it’s thing, it F11’s on C:02. But if I skip the C:02 stage it can go to the next stage (I skipped a few until it F11’s again). I didn’t play with that much since I didn’t know what I was doing.
I’ve read about folks re-soldering their relays (or replacing them) or adding solder to the contacts so the wiring harness makes a better contact, but I’m not sure if I’m willing to give that a go.
I suppose like everyone else I’m just nervous of ordering a $250 part to find out it’s not the problem, but that’s better than spending the $675 to have the repairman do the same thing.
$675 was just for the CCU part + labor. He told me there was no guarantee that would fix it, and if it didn’t then it would be $200 more for the MCU part + labor. So that would be a grand total of $875! Ouch. Too much to spend to fix a $1100-$1200 washer.
Okay, so I will try one more thing and then I’ll just give up and order the CCU.
Based on other info I’ve found on the web, here’s what I tried today.
I added a thin layer of solder to the connector pads on the top & bottom of the CCU board, just in case I was getting a bad connection from one of the plugs.
I de-soldered the two white relays (the only 2 on there) and popped their caps off. The leftmost one was clean, the rightmost one had darkened contacts on the inside. I cleaned it up with some very fine grit sandpaper, then swapped their positions and reinstalled them (so the cleaner one was in the rightmost door-locking spot). Then I touched up the soldering on the rightmost relay (next to the board edge) since some folks have had it’s connections come loose with vibration. I looked around for any obviously bad solder joints but none caught my eye, but I do not have a magnifying glass…
I hooked it all up and started a "quick wash" cycle. The door locks fine and some water flowed in, but after about a minute I started getting the F11 error, same as before. Aargh.
I fired up the self test, and from C:00 I was able to skip everything up to C:05, at which time it gave me the F11 error.
Okay, I guess I will now give up & order the part. :mad:
I hope a new CCU solves my problem!
Well replacing the CCU didn’t fix anything. I still get the F11 error code when I try to start a load.
So I started playing around with the diagnostic test, and tried skipping to each stage after turning off the washer and then restarting the diagnostic test mode (control on, drain/spin cycle, select NO SPIN, press prewash button 4 times). Here’s what I found:
If I let it do it’s thing, the door locks at stage C:00, then goes C:01 and fills some water. Then I get F-11
If I skip to C:02 stage (press prewash twice to skip a stage), the dispenser kicks in and I can see the little arm on the dispenser move a bit, then F-11
skip to C:03, water is turned on (I guess hot water), then it stops and F-11
Doesn’t do anything, gives F-11 after a pause. This is supposed to rotate the basket.
C:05 looks like I didn’t test this one.
C:06 Drain pump turns on and drains out my water, then F-11
C:07 & C:08 both do nothing and go straight to F-11. Both are supposed to rotate the basket.
So stage C:04, C:07 and C:08 say that I should check my "motor, mcu control" actuators. How do I do that? I guess this means I need either a new MCU or motor? And if so, how do I verify which one is the problem? There’s not a hidden fuse down there that could have blown is there?
The MCU looks like it is difficult to get out - it has a shock absorber in the way and has the cables connected to it with what looks like a one-time-use cable tie. Any hints on checking it?
It makes me nervous that I get the F-11 after each successful diagnostic test completes. Does the CCU talk to the MCU in between each test? Or is this indicitive of some other problem in my wiring or another part?
[SIZE=2]I removed the "serial comm link" and "MCU power" connectors from both the CCU & MCU and verified continuity through them with my multimeter. Then I bent down the connectors in them a bit to ensure a tight clamp on the pads on the boards and reconnected them.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]I unplugged the motor connector from the motor and checked the resistance of the motor windings (1 to 2, 1 to 3, 2 to 3) and they were all a correct 6 ohms. I’m hoping this means the motor is fine.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]I hooked everything back up and reran the diagnostic tests. It still fails on C:04, C:07 and C:08, going directly to an F-11 error without any motor activity. I will try to remove the MCU tonight and take the board out for a visual inspection. I’m hoping to see a burst capacitor or something else that is obvious. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]So are there any other checks I can make on the MCU/motor? Is there any way to force power to the motor to verify that it will run? Or should I just give up and order the MCU at this point?[/SIZE]
I agree that the tech should have been able to tell which it was for my $65. I believe he only ran the same diagnostic test I ran (probably without skipping each stage to narrow it down). My guess is that when he saw the F-11 code he looked it up and said it’s either the CCU or the MCU, and the CCU gets changed first. He never removed or opened either of them and gave me his repair quote after 10-15 minutes. Still, if the MCU fixes my problem I’m still better off than the $900+ it would have cost me to have them do it.
Still, I’m kicking myself for not taking them both out for a visual inspection!
If my problems are solved, I might try resoldering my black relays back on my original CCU and see if it still works (I touched up a ton of the soldering on it when I was convinced it was the issue). Just out of curiosity.
I’m pretty sure my manual said something about not putting the washer on a surge protector, but I think I might do so anyway. I still think it was mostly an issue with the motor getting shut off in the middle of a wash or spin cycle though, and somehow there was a "blowback" surge to the MCU. Or maybe the power came back on while the motor was still spinning down?
Oh well, doesn’t matter much at this point.
You’re welcome, I know on the Maytags they recommended a GFCI for them, I do have one of those. not sure where you live, but we charge $55 but do a complete diagnostics and warranty our work on top of that.
Anyway, lets hope that gets you going.
Nat
Most likely the problem is a bad Electronic Oven Control aka a clock/timer. If the range is less than a year old, according to the information you posted, then it suppose to be covered under the manufacturer warranty.
