Whirlpool AWM328 not draining/agitating

[johnnyboy2004]

Hi

Please could you help with this for me, I've been able to sort the washer out in the past, but this one has stumped me.

The washer fills and drains, completely goes through the cycle, but the drum does not agitate or spin. I have checked to make sure that no "hold" buttons are depressed.

The machine is about 8 years old, it is probably due to replace, but if anyone knows what the likely problem is and if it is easily sorted then that would be appreciated. Thanks for your help in advance.

John

 

[breezer]

motor brushes worn?

 

[johnnyboy2004]

Hi Breezer,

If the motor brushes were worn, would I hear anything from the motor at all? The motor sounds dead to me. Is this a difficult job and are the brushes generic or specific to model?

Thanks again

John

 

[breezer]

specific to motor. if they are worn out motor will sit there and do nothing, (probably twiddle its thumbs if it had any)

 

[johnnyboy2004]

Thanks very much. I'll go and get them tomorrow and let you know how I get on.

 

[fido]

On Whirlpool machines it is quite easy to get at the motor as there is a large back panel that can be removed, giving good access. Remove the motor, unscrew the brushes and see how much carbon protrudes from the brass holder. If they look OK you then take a look at the timer circuit board. This board is joined to the mechanical timer. Look for burnt out copper strips or components.

 

[johnnyboy2004]

Thanks for the help and advice received on here. As you can gather I changed the brushes and it now is back spinning happily.

One further question, whilst checking it was working fine before putting it back together I noticed blue sparking coming from the brushes/motor. I remember in Chemistry little motors sparking, but just wanted to make sure this was normal and I can put everything back together and forget about it.

Thanks again guys - you've been a great help and probably saved me £300

 

[fido]

There will always be some sparks and this will be a bit worse until new brushes bed in to the exact shape of the commutator but if there are big flashes and burning smells you may have a more serious motor fault. Watch it at maximum spin speed with a load of wet washing in the machine as this will give the maximum amount of sparking. If you then only get small sparks just near the brushes you know the motor is OK.

 

[jimdixon]

I'm bumping a very old thread because I'm having troubles with a Whirlpool AWM 328 washing machine also.

Well, it washes okay, although a bit of a smell comes up through the kitchen sink. But recently when I take out clothes at the end of the wash, they are heavy with water. If it's a towel for example I can hardly lift it! All of the water does drain out of the drum, except a lot is still held in the sodden clothes.

I tried to locate the filter. There is something I can unscrew on the bottom right, but it doesn't seem to lead anywhere. According to the Whirlpool manual, some models don't allow access to the filter because they have a 'self-cleaning pump'. I don't know if that includes this model.

The washing machine is very noisy during the spin cycle like an aeroplane taking off. There's also a bit of a rattling noise. So maybe there is something stuck in the pump?

Can I access the pump/filter if I unplug it and unscrew the back? Am I likely to need to replace any parts / the whole thing?

Thanks in advance for any guidance you can share with me!