Appliance Repair Wisdom for the Ages

Monday, March 17, 2003

I frequently get email from folks asking me appliance repair questions and I'm happy to answer them. I'll pick out questions that I think can help others and answer them here on my homepage. Email addresses will always be blanked out and I may edit the original question for typos or clarity.

--- thanki <********@*******.com> wrote:
> 
> I have whirlpool washer and just lately it doesn't
> perform well. After the wash cycle is complete it
> stops with water still filled and doesn't spin dry.
> Can you please help and let me know if it is
> repairable?
> 
> _______________________________
> The above message was sent when you were offline,
> via your LivePerson site.
>  
> Message sent from IP: 12.250.160.207

The first thing to check in a no-spin condition on any washer is the lid switch. The whole purpose of the lid switch is to stop the tub from spinning when the lid is opened. It's one o'them safety thangs that I'm sure came out of a product safety law suit a long time ago where some goober opened the lid while the washer was spinning and stuck his arm in there and had it broken in five different places. His lawyer probably made $5 million off that case is now comfortably retired in the Cayman Islands while the poor schlump who had his arm broken off is a one-armed dishwasher at Doodle's Diner.

A quick and dirty check of the lid switch is to slowly raise and lower the lid a little bit and listen for a faint clicking sound. This is usually a pretty good indication that the lid switch is working but it's not definitive. A better test is to put an ohm meter on it and test the continuity of the switch. So how do you get to the switch to check it? Keep reading.

I'm assuming that you have the direct-drive style Whirlpool washer. If this is the case, you would access the lid switch by removing the washer cabinet. The lid switch will most likely look like one of the two pictures below. You can click the pictures for a larger view and to order the part.

Older-style Lid Switch

Newer-style Lid Switch

If you have an appliance repair question, go ahead ask ol' Samurai. Your question just might end up here on these hallowed pages where you'll have your 15 minutes of fame.

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