Mailbag: Whirlpool/Kenmore Calypso Washer “LD” Error

Brian wrote:

Oh great consumer of beer! We have had a Whirlpool Calypso for going on three years now 110.21082000. My wife is most perplexed at this digitally impressive/laundry challenged piece of machinery. We are getting the “ld” error.

Forgive me, I am a “handy” challenged bean counter. The repair man is scheduled for this weekend :Oo

The drain hose is not kinked and I have removed the rear manifold. I am afraid to take the drain hose off at the unit itself for fear of flooding the laundry room.

What to do? Aside from grabbing a beer and contributing to your suds fund if you can get me out of this sand trap!!!

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After swilling copious quantities of the sacred fermented grain beverage, I looked up the “LD” code in the Whirlpool Calypso service manual. “LD” stands for “long drain,” meaning it took an excessively long time for water to drain out of the washer. Common causes for this are kinked drain hose or clothing, like panties or socks, caught in the pump suction hose. Why, I’ve even heard of bra wires coming loose and getting stuck in that hose, collecting all sorts of gookus and pinching off the flow of water to the pump. Can you imagine? Yea verily, as surely as the Sacred Suds doth eternally pass my lips, the “LD” error code springs forth from such anomalies. Can I hear an Amen?

 

15 thoughts on “Mailbag: Whirlpool/Kenmore Calypso Washer “LD” Error

  1. Anonymous

    Just had the same thing happen to me and called an 800 number off of the whirlpool website and ordered a drain pump for $109. Flipped it on its side and 3 screws and 1 electic plug later I was back in business.

  2. Anonymous

    So how the *&(^& can I get the panties out of the pump suction hose (damn that sounds erotic). I have been getting not only LD but also FL (over fill) and OB (out of balance).

  3. Anonymous

    Wow. Same thing. I love this washer. I got through so much less Detergent that its worth the hassles sometimes. I get clothes stuck in the sides all the time. What is up with that? Bad seals? Other then that I think it does great. I do get OB, FL and LD errors all the time. I think mine is related to my 3 dogs and 2 cats clogging stuff up.

    Is there any way to run a cleaner through their similar to drano to clean out the lines and pump? Or just have to remove the pump or replace and manually clean the lines?

  4. Bill Prehl

    LD ERRORS driving me nuts and my wife having a nervous breakdown

    Problem Solved (and no parts needed):

    Ok, I’m not sure I have room to put all the instructions but I can give some hints. I can also be reached at bill (at) prehl (dot) us on specifics on dissasembly.

    Essentially I found the following items in the drain system: 3 pennies in the drain hose that connects to the house sewer system. They were lodged at the beginning of the hose just after the pseudo check-valve built into the hose.

    I also found an underwire for a bra laying in the sump area. My wife saw it before I did as I lifted the inner wash basin out of the unit revealing the plastic tub’s contents.

    I cleaned EVERYTHING. I had to use soft and metal scrubbers (kitchen cleaning style) and I had to use plastic wall-patch scrapers. Our unit has been in operation since 6/27/2001. IT WAS DISGUSTING!!!!

    I also found out in the process that there is a seal ring with clear grease. The center of the tub (it’s filled with all kinds of gyroscopic gadgets) is a little tricky to take apart. I found it was corroded inside what was suppose to be a sealed area from water.

    Also, I tilted the unit on it’s front and proceeded to take all the drain hoses off to clean them out. That’s when I found the pennies jingling in the drain hose.

    All I can say is the unit is now working properly and I greased up the gyroscopic components and I carefully cleaned the seals. There are 6 machine screws that push down on the main seals and I made sure to treat it like putting on a wheel of a car – screw each head down a few turns and then move to the one across from it rotating around the six screws until I was completely tight on all six. This is easily done with a 3/8 hex rachet with at least a 12in extension.

    My wife and I decided we’ll have to clean the unit AT LEAST once a year if not more based on what we saw. If we clean it more often then it won’t take as long and as much muscle to scrub and scrap all that crud. It even sounds better with the added lubrications.

    We also discovered that the machine tilted forward so that we had standing water in the bottom of the outer basin. By raising the front legs (the back legs are auto-leveling) by about 1/2 to 3/4in we noticed that the water was properly draining into the sump area in the back of the outer basin. I was able to run the machine in diagnostic mode using the instructions found in a plastic jacket glued to the inside of the front panel. This is accessible when you pop the top with a putty knife. With the inner basin removed I was able to put a 1/2 bucket of water in the outer basin, push the diagnostic sequence to initiate a 40 second drain cycle. I could hold the entire top open with the user cover closed so the interlock was closed. This allowed us to watch it drain the water properly. I said to my wife I should probably become an appliance repair/cleaner. Unfortunately I’m not sure people would see the value since most if not all of the problems are masked inside the white, shiney walls of the unit.

    I did find a broken metal ring and the seals are starting to wear. I told my wife if this works that I’m ordering the $17 repair manual that explains everything and how everything works. I did find someone had posted parts of the manual online that explained how the drain/recirculate pump works.

    If you’re not the handy type I can say this is going to be a machine that will cost you a lot of money. It’s evident that the machine cannot keep itself clean.

    Tools reqired were a socket wrench, channel locks, flat screw driver, lineman’s plyers, plastic scrapers, lots of towels for water, buckets (2), and a nut driver.

    Good luck.

  5. Micah

    Ld code-
    After running the diagnostic check, I discover the drain pump was not working, I could hear it humming but it was not pumping any water out. I removed the pump, which was very easy (2 clips and 2 hose clamps) and discover it had a large amout of lent in it and would not turn freely. After I mopped the floor, I spent from 1AM to 2AM poking at it with a small screw driver and a paper clip to remove as much lent as I could. My plan was to clean it out as best as I could for now and buy a new pump, I thougt how much could this piece of plastic cost? 20 bucks? The cheap plastic pump is now replace with a pump and motor combination, that is why the price is $107.00. My new plan is to let it go and next time clean it out again. Its too bad this expensive washer is made with such cheap parts.

    Micah in Michigan

  6. Anonymous

    LD Error. I flipped it on the side took the botom pan off. I took the bottom assembly off the pump where ther two hoses go and popped the two clips off and the assembley with the whell inside came right off. It was clogged with lent from bathroom rugs. I told her time and time again not to wash bathroom rugs in the washer but she wouldn’t listen — women—-. I took a screw driver and cleaned the lent then took a water hose and washed it out. Put it all back togeher and it works like a champ.

  7. Anonymous

    I had the same problem. Thankfully, your website saved me at least $100 to keep the repairman from coming to the house.

    To fix it, I pulled off the bottom pan, popped the two clips and cleaned the lint from inside of the base of the pump. Now it works like a champ.

    I would advise that you do not wash a bathroom rug in the machine. That is what caused my problem.

    Thanks Samurai for posting the site!

  8. Anonymous

    First, what is the diagnostic code?

    Second, I just had the LD code come up and the tech guy said that Whirlpool issued a service bulletin that said there was a change in the pump. New one runs at 3200 rpm, old at 1600 rpm. Apparently the old pump couldn’t handle all the lint that built up. Best part of this is that it cost me nothing! Whirlpool is picking this up even though it’s out of warranty. HAd to call customer service to get this.

    Lastly, there’s a class action lawsuit…google it!

  9. Rich

    Okay I am standinghere in 2 inches of water and the machine still does not work. I got the infamous LD error. After attempting to repair it myslef I gave up and called the repair guy. After a few reschedules and a bit of swearing the guy showed up this morning. He banged and tinkered and told me I needed a new pump. I told him I had already cjecked the pump and it looked fine. So he tinkers some more and back washes it with nitrogen. Pulls the pump hoses off and floods my floor. Finds $.11 in the input to a “filter box” checks all the hoses etc. puts it back and still no drainage or recirculation. Now the nitrogen is going through all the tubes and pump, the water flooded my floor so it’s getting out of the tub. I am not sure he really believes taht the filter is clogged. I hear the pump motor running. He is going to call back with an estimate but after taking my $40 for the house call thinks it will be about another 200. HELP Any additional insight or wisdom is welcome.

  10. Rob Mahurin

    I had the “Ld” (“long drain”) problem on my Whirlpool Calypso (which is second-hand, free from my in-laws who didn’t like it). The error had initially been intermittent, then gradually became more frequent until I couldn’t complete a wash cycle. There were no obvious kinks or clogs in the drain hose, so I proceeded to take off the top and bottom panels to try to clean out the washer as others have described above. There wasn’t much dirt inside. There were two bra wires, but as we shall see they were not causing trouble yet. Aside from a small amount of hair clinging to the bra wires, the pump and its hoses and drain area were quite clean.

    I couldn’t get the inner tub out to clean underneath it, and I happened upon my neighbor the plumber and asked him for advice. Despite my protestations, he pulled off the drain hose again (the one running from the base of the outer tub out of the washer to the wall) and said, “Aha! here’s your problem.”

    At the washer end, this drain hose has a little valve or baffle, as if to prevent backfilling into the washer. With no pressure, the lips of this valve should be slightly separated. Mine were pressed closed. While the valve seemed to work correctly in my sink, I guess pumping past it under pressure may have been a different matter. For $13 at the corner hardware store I got an outlet hose with no valve; now draining the washer is fast (less than a minute).

    Nowhere in any manual or elsewhere online have I seen it suggested to look at the outlet hose valve; my neighbor only knew because he had made the same mistake (including unneccessary 2-day disassembly) with his own washer in the recent past. If it doesn’t work long term I’ll post a correction; otherwise, hopefully, goodbye forever.

  11. Jon

    Wow! I just got a new Calypso from Best Buy two weeks ago. Worked great then problems. My wife said she put in the carpets from the bathroom. We starting get LD on the screen. She noticed lint. Well next we go through several hours of water not draining, etc…, Ob errors. Just like the earlier posts. I will call Whirlpool in the morning. What I don’t get is Consumer Reports rates this washer pretty high?

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