Monthly Archives: October 2010

How to open up a Maytag Neptune top-load washer to replace the clutch… or do anything else inside the machine

Brett wrote:

I am trying to replace the clutch in my Maytag Neptune fav6800aw top load washer and I need some more info. I read the forum on this topic but I do not see how to remove the front panel and how to replace the clutch with out removing the tub.

Brett

Ahh, Grasshoppah, it is the Samurai’s greatest joy to reveal this most sublime and esoteric of katas to you. Embrace your favorite putty knife tenderly and try to snatch this grain of rice from my hand:

Popping the Hood on a Maytag Neptune Top Loading Washer
(click to enlarge)

Very good! Now you are ready for the more advanced scroll of Appliantological wisdom which reveals the ancient and mystical kata of replacing the clutch in these sodden dragons. Behold the wisdom of the Master:

http://fixitnow.com/wp/2009/07/02/replacing-the-clutch-in-a-maytag-fav9800-tl-washer/

To learn more about your washing machine, or to order parts, click here.

How to manually start the defrost cycle in a Frigidaire freezer with electronic adaptive defrost control

Example model number: FFU2065FW0

To manually defrost the freezer set the control to ” 2”
and press the up and down arrows simultaneously for three seconds.

“d” will appear in the display and a 30 minute defrost will occur.

The control will then restart its 12 hour compressor run time for the next automatic defrost cycle.

To learn more about your freezer, or to order parts, click here.

Deciphering the flashing error code lights on the control panel of a Frigidaire Affinity (and some Kenmores) front load washer

This excursion into appliance repair error code cryptology applies to the Frigidaire-built “Affinity” line of front loading washers and Kenmore models with the 417 prefix in the model number (such as 417.48102701).

You turn on the washer by pressing the POWER button and the START light is flashing repeatedly telling you that there is an error condition. Now you have to put the washer into diagnostic mode to get the error code.

To get into diagnostic mode, press and hold both the START and POWER buttons at the same time until the lights go out and come back on, just takes a few seconds. The panel will immediately start flashing the error code. Again, both the START and STATUS lights will begin flashing at the same time, showing you the error code.

Deciphering these error codes can be confusing even for seasoned appliance repair warriors. But this little post should clear up the confusion for you.

Let’s start with the instructions from Le Manual:

The STATUS indicator lights will flash the number of times for the first digit of the code and the START indicator light will flash the number of times for the second digit. The code is obtained by counting the number of times the lights flash.

Now, two key things to keep in mind when deciphering the code:

1. The START light is not one of the STATUS lights; they are two different things. The START light is a single light above the diamond-shaped START button and the STATUS lights are the column of five lights to the right of the START light and above the round POWER button. Even though the STATUS lights are on the right-hand side, it flashes the first digit of the error code so you have to switch ’em in your head after you do the flash count.

2. When the machine displays the error codes, the START and STATUS lights will begin flashing the code at the same time, not independently.

Okay, ready for a pop quiz? See if you can figure out what error code is being flashed in this video. The video begins with the machine off. When it’s turned on, the START light is blinking continusly indicating and error condition and then the washer is put into diagnostic mode, as explained above, and the error code is flashed. The process is then repeated.

Think you got it? The correct answer is on the back of your computer monitor. Just kidding! The correct answer is error code 43: The STATUS lights are blinking four times and the START light is blinking three times.

Awwite, go fix that washer!

To learn more about your washing machine, or to order parts, click here.

How to get a GE Arctica refrigerator into self diagnostic mode

To enter Self Diagnostic mode, both temperature control panel displays must be illuminated.

A display can be illuminated by pressing an adjacent temperature adjustment button.

When both displays are illuminated, set the freezer and refrigerator temperature settings to 5.

Simultaneously press and hold all 4 temperature adjustment buttons for approximately 3 seconds.

A flashing 0 in the refrigerator and freezer displays will indicate that the refrigerator is in Self Diagnostic mode.

To perform a self diagnostic test, locate the test in Table 2, Diagnostic Tests.

For temperature control panels with single-digit displays, the COLDER temperature adjustment button will increment the numbers up and the WARMER temperature adjustment button will increment the numbers down.

Use the freezer temperature adjustment buttons to enter the test code number in the freezer display.

Use the refrigerator temperature adjustment buttons to enter the test code number in the refrigerator display.

When a test code has been entered, the displays will flash to confirm the test.

Press the HOLD button for 3 seconds to begin the test.

When testing has been completed, do one of the following things:
• Enter code 1 5 to completely reset the system.
• Enter code 1 6 to exit diagnostic mode. The temperature control panel is reset automatically.
• Unplug the refrigerator for at least 10 seconds. Test mode will terminate when the refrigerator is
plugged back in.

Test mode will terminate automatically after 15 minutes of inactivity

To learn more about your refrigerator, or to order parts, click here.

Frigidaire (and some Kenmore models) front load washer throws an E43 error code

These hard-won service tips from the field apply to the Frigidaire Affinity front loading washer and to Kenmore front loaders with a model number prefix of 417. Loose connections and pinched wires are common causes for this problem. Here are the top four things to check gleaned from actual hand-to-hand combat with these washers:

1. Check all the connections on your speed control board (inside the cabinet, mounted to one side, has wires going to the motor), the one connector with the small wires has no locking tab and likes to come loose.

2. Try unplugging the wires to the motor and plugging them back in.

3. There is a wiring harness to the speed control board that gets pinched by the tub going off balance; it’s the one with the thin wires, when looking through the back panel. Look for where the tub would hit the speed board and right between there is where the friggineers routed the smallest wires in the machine. CAUTION: the edge around that opening is as sharp as a razor! I suggest placing black tape all around the edge on that side.

4. Broken pump wires, of all weird things, have been known to cause this error. May be accompanied by one of the errors above.

If all that checks out and no joy, then my rule of thumb for Friggidaires applies: if the error code is in the 40′s, replace the door latch assembly.

Door lock assembly for a frigidaire affinity front loading washer-- click it to git it, Hoss.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

To learn more about your washing machine, or to order parts, click here.

“Locked” appliance repair answers at Fixitnow.com? Never!

Lynn wrote:

I am trying to communicate with Tom Johnston concerning my washer problem.

He sent a text msg. saying the answer is “locked” but I could not unlock it. Please send an email.

Lynn

Oh dear, oh my, you have our website, Fixitnow.com, confused with another website with a deceptively similar name. We never “lock” answers so we never need to send you a text message to “unlock” them. Nor do we charge for personal repair help in our repair forum which is at ApplianceGuru.com.

We’re the good guys; next time you need appliance repair help, just search for, “samurai appliance,” and you’ll find us.

Samurai Appliance Repair Man
http://fixitnow.com

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Repairing a water tube embedded inside the freezer door foam insulation of a GE refrigerator

One of the most costly and aggravating repairs that you may run into in your GE Arctica or Profile refrigerator is a leaking water line inside the freezer door. This waterline is a plastic tube that is foamed in place inside the door. The tube may split or crack or in some other way become damaged and start leaking, leaving a puddle of water underneath the door. At this point, you have two choices:

1. Replace the entire door at a cost exceeding $200, or

2. Implement the repair procedure illustrated in this fine pictorial essay prepared by Sublime Master appl.tech.29501 for a cost of about $20.

Let’s watch with amazement as the Sublime Master reveals this arcane and esoteric technique to us for the first time ever on the Internet.

GE Refrigerator Door Water Tube Repair

To learn more about your refrigerator, or to order parts, click here.

Weird idler pulley on a Whirlpool-Kenmore series 80 dryer

Phil the insurance guy wrote:

Oh Mighty and Wise One, I have a Kenmore 80 Series dryer. After replacing the igniter, I am ready to put the drum and belt back on, but I have a part, and I think it may be incomplete. In the diagrams I’ve seen online, it shows the idler bracket attached to an idler wheel, which pulls the belt tight. However, mine does not have a wheel – it only has a “C” guide with no moving parts, which would seem to create too much friction. It looks very smooth, like it may have had a belt running over it for ten years, but this just kinda goes against my grasshoppah intuition. Does this look right? Am I missing a wheel or something? (see photo uploaded) Thanks for replies.

Cheap-ass Whirlpool dryer roller-less idler pulley

Yea verily, the Samurai is well-acquainted with the abomination of which you speak (and show in your photo).

This was one of Whirlpool’s many brief forays into engineering dementia when they thought they could save a shekel and a half by eliminating the roller on the idler pulley. Net result? Boocoo premature belt failures.

Finally, after years on the market and under overwhelming screaming and kvetching from servicers and customers alike, Whirlpool finally caved and went back to the tried and true roller-style idler pulley.

For more info, read my post on this which includes other photos and a link to the proper, roller-style idler pulley:

http://fixitnow.com/wp/2009/05/08/crappy-idler-slider-pulley-on-whirlpool-built-dryers-causing-noise-and-broken-belts/

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

To learn more about your dryer, or to order parts, click here.

Troubleshooting GE Arctica refrigerator evaporator fan problems

One of the first smooth moves you’ll want to do when troubleshooting evaporator fan motor problems in a GE Arctica refrigerator is to put it into diagnostic mode. Here’s how:

Self Diagnostics

To enter Self Diagnostic mode, both temperature control panel displays must be illuminated.

A display can be illuminated by pressing an adjacent temperature adjustment button.

When both displays are illuminated, set the freezer and refrigerator temperature settings to 5.

Simultaneously press and hold all 4 temperature adjustment buttons for approximately 3 seconds.

A flashing 0 in the refrigerator and freezer displays will indicate that the refrigerator is in Self Diagnostic mode.

For temperature control panels with single-digit displays, the COLDER temperature adjustment button will
increment the numbers up and the WARMER temperature adjustment button will increment the numbers down.

Use the freezer temperature adjustment buttons to enter the test code number in the freezer display.

Use the refrigerator temperature adjustment buttons to enter the test code number in the refrigerator display.

When a test code has been entered, the displays will flash to confirm the test.

Press the HOLD button for 3 seconds to begin the test.

When testing has been completed, do one of the following things:
• Enter code 1 5 to completely reset the system.
• Enter code 1 6 to exit diagnostic mode. The temperature control panel is reset automatically.
• Unplug the refrigerator for at least 10 seconds. Test mode will terminate when the refrigerator is
plugged back in.

Test mode will terminate automatically after 15 minutes of inactivity

Troubleshooting GE Arctica Refrigerator Evaporator Fan Problems
(click to enlarge)

To learn more about your refrigerator, or to order parts, click here.