Kenmore Washer won't spin, agitatel. Buzzing noise.

Hi,

Model 110.28872890.

Washing machine will fill, but will not spin or agitate. The dial does not continue to advance, it just stops at the point where the machine should start moving.

I have bypassed the lid switch. I've pulled the motor out and the motor seems to work fine. With the pump attached to the motor the pump rotor spins fine, it is not clogged.

The coupling (the pair of three prong plastic pins) connecting the drum to the motor are unbroken. The rubber ring connecting them is solid, but there is like a millimeter worth of wiggle room in each hole for the plastic prongs to sit in. The agitator rotates if I rotate the coupling counter clockwise. It is difficult to rotate clockwise, but does rotate the drum.

When the motor is separated from the coupling/drum, the timer advances as normal, going from cycle to cycle.

It developed this problem slowly. Last week it would work fine for a wash, then if you did another load right after it would only fill. Then waiting for about 30-45 minutes and try again and it would work fine. Start of this week it had failed completely. Now when you pull the knob to start it, it just gives an angry buzz.

Thanks for any help.

 

Sounds like the timer, Will it work if you manually turn timer knob?

 

Something as cheap as the door switch can cause this.
It's there to prevent someone sticking there hand in while the machine is running.
Google "repair clinic" There site not only has trouble shooting but how to video's and parts.

 

With the Washer all put together, if you pull the timer knob out to start it, the machine just buzzes, and nothing happens.

If you push the knob in and manually turn it to the different settings and pull it out to start it, it just buzzes as before.

With the motor pulled out but connected electrically, pulling the knob starts the motor running, and the timer proceeds normally.

 

Thank you joecaption1, but the door switch has been bypassed and is not a factor.

 

Sounds like a voltage drop problem especially since the timer will not advance when motor just buzzes but will advance with motor on the floor and not under load. It takes more power to run the motor when it's trying to drive the transmission than when it's by itself. You need to check the voltage at the motor connector when you start it and it just buzzes. Measure between the white/black wire and the blue wire. Place timer to drain (directly after agitation cycle). The 2 minute drain after agitation powers the motor in high speed and bypasses the speed switch and part of the motor centrifugal switch. This narrows things down. Do this with motor on floor running normally and then with motor installed. If the voltage does not drop significantly when under load, do the same testing at the start winding between motor harness yellow wire and motor black wire. For the black wire, you need to stick the meter probe deep into the empty slot at the top of the connector. There is a metal tab all the way into that slot.

 

Replaced the coupler despite it not being broken, but the holes inthe rubber were kinda loose so I figured why not.

Put it all back together without checking electrical because that's kinda beyond my level.

Worked fine in a test with no clothes.
Did a load of towels today and worked fine.
Went to do another load and it filled and then stopped and buzzed and I could smell somehting burning.

I tried to rotate the drum and it started the agitation cycle.

What's the fix for a voltage drop? Do I need a new motor? Or just a new capacitor?

 

You need to monitor the voltage as explained to determine if you have a voltage drop problem. If you have a bad contact somewhere, it can cause a voltage drop so that the motor is not getting full power. It normally requires a nominal 120vac but if it's getting well below that, it may not start. You may have a bad capacitor. The best way to rule that out is to simply replace it.