whirlpool washer won't wash

[tri again]

Won't fill, won't agitate but will spin and drain.

I can fill it with a bucket, stir it with a stick and then click the clock around and it will drain, and spin.

any suggestions?

Thanks

[dave ytz250s]

Did you try both cold and hot water? maybe an electric valve is stuck and the other one might work.
Did you try all the cycles? delicate, perm press, regular. You can have one cycle going wrong with the others working fine.

[briano]

Are you drinking and accidentally putting your clothes in the dryer? Sorry I'm no help, but try it on other cycles like Dave mentioned above. I recall that something similar happened to one of my old washers.

[Flyingw]

Its the controller board. My Whirlpool washer did the same thing of course after the warranty expired.

[El Camexican]

BREAK IN DETERGENT - If your washer is new, I would run it on non-synthetic detergent for around 40 hours before using any “blended” or synthetic soaps. According to Tide and some other companies that claim to have done scientific tests on whites and colors during break in using both standard and synthetic detergent, they determined that the ring around the collar not only dissipated faster but in some tests, better with non-synthetic detergent. This information is available online.

Cheer has a different opinion.


RECOMMENDED BUBBLE LEVELS – It has been said by many Housewives including Alice of Brady Bunch fame who is a good friend of mine that the recommended levels of suds on washers with flat paddle drums is at least around 1800 BPM (bubbles per minute) for break in, and after break in, levels should be reduced to between around 1100 and 1400 BPM


SUD VISCOSITY – I agree with others that said detergents which contain bleach are too thin especially if it is going to be a houshold clothing washer that will not be torn down and rebuilt frequently like professional Laundromat machines are. If you plan on flogging the heck out of it I would suggest using at least some sort of 30 wt fabric softener or 40 wt non synthetic. You might find some comments and/or comparison sheets regarding liquid detergents vs powdered etc. on the internet but in general one will get slightly more loads per scoop by using liquid detergent instead of powder and your washer “should” survive the spin cycle at the very least with a high quality stain remover like Wisk. If I was to use stain remover, I would buy a bottle of Oxiclean and add it to increase the level to around 2000 BPM. As you can see in the list below one of the Gain detergents has 3000 BPM [3%]. At least one of the Downey softeners has around 2800 ppm.

If water temperatures are around 40 degrees or below where you wash I might use around a 5w – 30 or 10w-30 BPM synthetic and maybe 15w – 30 BPM sud enhancer above that temp imo.


DETERMINING BPM LEVEL – Most companies list this info in their MSDS’s. Many of these are available online.
It’s a little difficult to find full synthetic soap designed for bacon strips that have “high levels” of POO especially in the weights I mentioned above, below are a few including one from Japan which we used a lot.

I should also mention that while racing for Kawasaki I frequently washed Jeff Ward’s underwear along with mine after he came close to missing a double and I can tell you with certainty that I could not even smell where the stains had been and not for a lack of trying!

[Dirtcrasher]

IDK if it's older school or the newer control panels.

Most Whirlpools are "direct drive" and they have a 3 piece coupling that the center piece is rubber and fails. I have the tools to take that apart, so if you pay shipping, you are more than welcome to borrow them.......

The agitator can be a beyatch to remove because of soap getting in there. Usually some straps and a few good pulls up, it will free itself. I bet I have fixed 200 washing machines. Cheap parts, labor kills you. Look online for symptoms and help. Lots of good guys out there willing to talk.

DC

[yaegerb]

BREAK IN DETERGENT - If your washer is new, I would run it on non-synthetic detergent for around 40 hours before using any “blended” or synthetic soaps. According to Tide and some other companies that claim to have done scientific tests on whites and colors during break in using both standard and synthetic detergent, they determined that the ring around the collar not only dissipated faster but in some tests, better with non-synthetic detergent. This information is available online.

Cheer has a different opinion.


RECOMMENDED BUBBLE LEVELS – It has been said by many Housewives including Alice of Brady Bunch fame who is a good friend of mine that the recommended levels of suds on washers with flat paddle drums is at least around 1800 BPM (bubbles per minute) for break in, and after break in, levels should be reduced to between around 1100 and 1400 BPM


SUD VISCOSITY – I agree with others that said detergents which contain bleach are too thin especially if it is going to be a houshold clothing washer that will not be torn down and rebuilt frequently like professional Laundromat machines are. If you plan on flogging the heck out of it I would suggest using at least some sort of 30 wt fabric softener or 40 wt non synthetic. You might find some comments and/or comparison sheets regarding liquid detergents vs powdered etc. on the internet but in general one will get slightly more loads per scoop by using liquid detergent instead of powder and your washer “should” survive the spin cycle at the very least with a high quality stain remover like Wisk. If I was to use stain remover, I would buy a bottle of Oxiclean and add it to increase the level to around 2000 BPM. As you can see in the list below one of the Gain detergents has 3000 BPM [3%]. At least one of the Downey softeners has around 2800 ppm.

If water temperatures are around 40 degrees or below where you wash I might use around a 5w – 30 or 10w-30 BPM synthetic and maybe 15w – 30 BPM sud enhancer above that temp imo.


DETERMINING BPM LEVEL – Most companies list this info in their MSDS’s. Many of these are available online.
It’s a little difficult to find full synthetic soap designed for bacon strips that have “high levels” of POO especially in the weights I mentioned above, below are a few including one from Japan which we used a lot.

I should also mention that while racing for Kawasaki I frequently washed Jeff Ward’s underwear along with mine after he came close to missing a double and I can tell you with certainty that I could not even smell where the stains had been and not for a lack of trying!

That's the funniest f'n comment I have read in a while. I still have tears in my eyes....

[El Camexican]

That's the funniest f'n comment I have read in a while. I still have tears in my eyes....

I had some help from another member

[Dirtcrasher]

If the fill valve is never satisfied it won't do anything. If it spins and you lift the lid and it brakes in less than 7 seconds, your lid switch is fine.

Get out a meter and follow the wiring diagram.

Most of them are all folded up and in the top hollow compartment behind all your knobs and buttons.

[kb0nly]

Well if it wont fill or agitate but it does spin and drain then you know the motor and trans is good on it. I had one that did the same thing, turned out is was a bad timer, the big block behind the main knob, it would work on some cycles like delicate but not on regular. Cost me like $50 locally to get the part, and about ten mins to install, just unplug from power and transfer one wire at a time from the old timer to the new timer so you don't F it up.

These newer fancier ones, omg the circuit boards and computers in them, crazy. I just need a washer that does the job plain and simple.

[Dirtcrasher]

The timer runs everything. As soon as you put it to regular wash cold/cold cold/hot the cold solenoid will have 120V or the timer is not sending the voltage over there. Have you checked the screens in the hot and cold inlets for crud??

Again, check for 120V at the solenoid when put to regular or extra wash, whatever. Trace it from there.

Washers
Dishwashers
And Ovens are cake

Refrigerators and ice machines are the worse to diagnose!! IMHO