ClydeEvans
Senior Apprentice Appliantologist
| Joined: | Tue Dec 19th, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 2 |
| Flavorite Brew: | Sam Adams |
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16 yr old Kenmore Direct Drive washer is making a burning smell, however, the unit appears to work fine. It does not emit any visible smoke or make any unusual noises, motions, etc. that would indicate there is a problem.
Thus far, I have:
- Taken the cabinet off
- bypassed the lid switch
- Observed the motor during spin cycle: it gets hot, but doesn't smoke or otherwise show signs of a problem (spin cycle seems to work fine). The degree of hotness is a bit subjective, but here goes: You can leave your fingers on the casing for a few seconds w/out too much discomfort. However, you can leave your finger on the large electro-magnet for maybe a second as it is sifnificantly hotter. The smell seems to be coming from the motor, but there's no way to be certain since motors always have some smell.
- Removed the pump and motor. The motor seems to turn freely and has no obvious problems. There is some reddish gunk/fluid that has accumulated around the bottom half of the motor. It isn't a huge amount, but enough to saturate a portion of the insulation that attaches to the bottom of the motor. I'm guessing that this is some kind of lubricant from around the motor shaft. Not sure whether this is indicative of a motor that is losing its mojo or not.
- Checked the coupling, a little worn, and I'll replace it for good measure, but probably not the cause of any of my issues.
- Checked resistance through the various windings (based on some values I found in a post) and the numbers are all w/in tolerance.
- Checked voltage coming into the motor at the connection harnass. w/ the timer set on spin. I have 120 v coming in on the red wire and the blue wire. I think Red is for the start winding, and blue is for the high-speed winding. In my mind, these numbers are what I should expect.
- Inspected the centrifugal switch. Shows signs of charing around the contacts (especially the one for the start winding), but I don't know that would be unusual considering the age of the washer (16 yrs) and their role in life
- I had/have some concern that perhaps the centrifugal switch was not disengaging the start winding, (which I'm guessing might account for a hot motor and the smell) however, inspecting the inside of the centrifugal switch doesn't really yield any positive evidence one way or the other. (once you take the switch off of the motor, its hard to know whether the contacts are really engaging/disengaging during the spin cycle).
Soooooo -
Knowing that I have a motor that is perhaps suspect, and not having any other plan of attack or evidence of a drivetrain problem, I am tempted to violate Samurai Icihiban's first law  to the tune of about $140. That is - I'm contemplating to replace the motor & centrifugal switch (and the coupling of course) even though I cannot say w/ certainty that it is the culprit.
Guests are coming for Christmas. We're all on day three w/ the same underwear  , and the wife has a gun at my head if I leave the upstairs in disarray for one more day.
Suggestions?
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