Repair-It

My washing machine had developed an issue that seemed like a lid switch issue. The lid had to be slammed several times before the cycle would start. I started to disassemble the machine to remove the lid switch when I noticed two screws that hold the arm that actuates the lid switch were loose. Tightended those up and it works perfectly!

So my Whirlpool washer is quite a bit older than yours. The manual I found online has a date of 1993. It came with our first house and we moved it here. I have done a few repairs to it but nothing expensive. At least one is already in a thread on here. I did have to replace the agitator pawls over like 13 years ago almost to the day. I also had a leak but it was just a hose that slipped off the fill level sensor. It's a good machine with all mechanical/analog controls so I definitely need to think twice about replacing it.

The latest is I went to put the clothes in the dryer last night and when I went down, the water was still full and it stopped in the middle of the cycle (possibly before the drain/spin cycle). I twisted the dial back a bit and it started and ran. I went upstairs for the night but this morning around 6am Jamie informed me that it had stopped in the exact same place. The first thing I thought was a controller issue (like a bad contact). Then I tried the drain/spin cycle in all the different quadrants of the control wheel and it didn't run on any of them. Then I thought, maybe it's a bad pump? But I don't think that's how it would manifest. The cycle timer wouldn't just stop ticking.

That's when I looked down at where the lid switch is. I stuck my pinky in there and....it was completely open. I could see through the hole to the clothes. WTF? Where did the switch go? The screws were still there. I backed the screws out and then realized what happened. The bosses for the screws were both broken off. It also looked like someone had previously glued it together unless the broken plastic was doing a particularly good impression of glue. That would mean it was glued before we bought out first house, dating that repair to 13+ years, which is kind of funny.

I manually clicked the switch and it began the drain/spin cycle so....yeah that was it. Initially I held the switch closed and let it spin up to full speed. I thought to myself "this would be a dumb way to lose a finger."

I was able to jam a screw into the switch to hold it closed and it finished the cycle with no issues. The switch is sort of floating in there and the basket housing could hit it as it moves around during spin, so clearly no long term solution. Plus I don't necessarily like the idea of disabling safety interlocks.

Here are some pics of my temporary repair. It turns out there is PLENTY of supply for this switch (which will require removing the control panel and pulling the whole sheet metal cover off but I've done that a few times, it's not that hard). I saw Chinese knockoff versions as cheap as like $8 but since the switch was labeled "1/2 hp" it may carry actual pump current and not sure how I feel about cheap switches that carry motor current. So I ended up splurging on OEM Whirlpool for like $57 shipped from Repair Clinic (another appliance site had it a little cheaper but was not in stock) because...why not, this thing has given us good service. Amazon did not carry an OEM sensor but had a TON of the Chinese ones, including like 10 packs and stuff, haha. Should come on Wed. I'll try to get some pics of the installation.

Here is the manual: http://www.youserguide.com/wiki/Whirlpo ... 357469-001

I got the switch.
Guess I should install this.

That was pretty easy. 2 screws hold the control panel down on to the cabinet. Pop those out. Flip up the control panel. Use a flathead screw driver to release the 2 spring clips that hold the rear panel against the cabinet. Then you just rock the whole cabinet forward and off the machine. It's very easy.

The harness is routed along the tip rim of the cabinet and there are 2 spring tabs that hold the wiring in place. Just pry up a little and slip the wiring out. Push the plastic release tabs and back out the 3 pin plug from the top of the cabinet. Oh, zip off the ground screw that holds the ground ring terminal to the cabinet. That's it. Installation is the reverse of removal. Didn't even need to use the 2 included zip ties. I also cleaned the outside pretty well.

This took a relaxed 45 minutes taking my time, spending extra time cleaning and letting Ian operate a screw driver.
Bonus: see that large washer on the control knob? The original control knob broke like 5 years ago and I fashioned up a large washer and nut as the knob. I glued the original knob back together almost immediately but left the big washer because it worked. This repair and cleaning left me in the mood to reinstall the original knob for the first time in like 5 years. Done!