Troubleshooting washing machine pcb. Triac input 120v, output 30-60v. Is this normal?

pfofit

Joined Nov 29, 2006
57
You should search the net for a service manual for these vertical modular washers.
They have a special drive mechanism called a splutch that engages in an out of spin /agitate.
There is a little drive motor (actuator) that rotates and engages the drive basket gear to switch to spin/
The tranny is a sealed sytem consisting of planetary gears for spin and agitate.
The motor is variable speed and is controlled thru the triacs by mainboard.
If the splutch binds then the motor is trying to spin when it thinks it is in drive etc.
The diagnostics are needed as any change or dis-assembly of the motor, cap, drive basket, tranny calls for a recalibration as per the manual.
It monitors motor current to sense amt. clothes and adjust water levels accordingly and spin speeds.
A common prob is the teeth on the drive gear/basket drive strip. The nut comes loose and the drive gear drops.
Also verify the door lock switch contact does not have a high resistance as the neutral is returned thru it to stop the basket when the lid is open.

Also the mainboard has a 5 and 13 VDC supplies that suffer from crappy capacitor syndrome.

Also . Model # ??

ADDED: Found this https://www.appliancejunk.com/forums/index.php?topic=11000.0
Forgot to mention A problem i've seen .
The actuator motor is held in place with one screw in a plastic body. The other motor mounting hole of the motor clicks into a plastic pimple. Yep, rotation forcing and biding cause th e motor to wear down the pimple which cause the motor to move out of position and cause the mechanism to not advanced that extra bit.
cheers
 
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Thread Starter

charlieaf92

Joined Oct 4, 2018
10
Thanks again for all the great info guys. I'm traveling for work but once I return I'll have a chance to read up on all of the suggestions + the new motor will be there and I'll do a side by side comparison and report back.
 

MaxHeadRoom

Joined Jul 18, 2013
28,619
The Scottish blood in me would have tried treating the laminations/windings first as per the PDF and see any difference.
If this is the cause, the problem is just a noise nuisance issue.
A local motor winder could have provided shellac etc. they might have even dipped the stator for you for a couple of $$'s.
Max.
 
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Thread Starter

charlieaf92

Joined Oct 4, 2018
10
The Scottish blood in me would have tried treating the laminations/windings first as per the PDF and see any difference.
If this is the cause, the problem is just a noise nuisance issue.
A local motor winder could have provided shellac etc. they might have even dipped the stator for you for a couple of $$'s.
Max.
Thanks, I may still try that. At this point its coming down to a cost vs. time issue. My wife isn't particularly thrilled that the washing machine is in pieces. The site I bought the motor from offers a 365 no question asked return policy - and generally encourage ordering parts as a form of diagnostics and sending back what doesn't fix it. I figure worst case is I end up with a functional, but noisy, electric motor that I can use for a project later on.
 

MisterBill2

Joined Jan 23, 2018
18,176
When an electric motor suddenly develops both poor performance and a loud buzz at the same time it is usually not just a loose lamination. And the whole reason for the investigation was that the washer performance suddenly deteriorated. And short-circuited turns do create a small area with a high circulating current that causes the noise. At some point the short circuited turns burn through the insulation, leading to more short circuited turns, leading to even more heat, until either the windings open or the over-current device opens.
 
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