1956 Unimatic troubleshooting

Hey everyone!

Okay, we put Ross' '56 through a test wash to examine what was happening.

Here were our findings--some are encouraging; some imply a bit of part hunting.

1.) The clutch torque spring seems fine. The machine will spin and agitate appropriately (but we found out why it didn't do that consistently--more on that in a moment). It "unwinds" and such at the beginning of agitation, so that seems good.

2.) There is an odor that emanates from underneath when it spins--it smells like hot electrical something. Due to the fact that it ONLY makes its presence known when it engages the spin solenoid, I'm betting the solenoid is having issues. Is it altogether unheard of to have these guys wear out?

3.) The awful noise the machine occasionally makes seems to be the dreaded Frigidaire fan noise. The fan is somewhat loose underneath, and though it does spin and seems to cool the motor (at least as much as it can), it needs attention. I don't think it should be that loose. Notably, it makes the rattling noise only during agitation periods--the machine is silent once it hits the full 1140 rpm.

4.) The old pump impeller is shot, so a (rather creative but stupid--more on that in a second) person put an electric pump on the machine, and the old pump is not used.

Here's the thing that caused havoc on the machine's operation:

The mechanic who initially supplied Ross with the machine attached this auxiliary pump (self-powered electrical) to the machine.

BUT

Knowing that the OEM pump ran whenever the motor ran, this meant that the machine was pumped clear of any overflow water whenever the motor ran. Obviously, for overflow rinses or any splashover, this is important.

The guy that attached this pump attached spade splitters (as best as I can describe them) to the spin solenoid, thus splitting the current to the pump, so that it would activate and pump out the water--BUT ONLY WHEN THE MACHINE WOULD SPIN!

So, naturally, the machine was encountering trouble engaging the solenoid, because the stupid aux. pump was siphoning off current while the solenoid was trying to engage. Feh!!

Not to mention the fact that the original power cord was HORRID and needed replacing.

Thus, the aux. pump drew current away from the solenoid, AND drew extra current through the machine's cord--making it hot to the touch.

Add to that the fact that the pump only ran during spin, and you can see why the machine leaked--the outer tub got too full during the overflow rinse, and by the time the pump kicked in at spin, it had a tubfull of water to contend with, plus about three seconds to deal with the water that got kicked out of the inner tub when the spin started. What a system!!

We went to Home Depot and got two cords, and I gave the pump its own cord (so that it would run at all times during the cycle, thus dealing with any overflow before it became an issue).

I gave the machine proper its own, heavier gauge cord, so that it could have an easy supply of current all to itself. This way the aux. pump and main machine components didn't compete for electricity.

BUT

The solenoid smells when it engages, and the motor fan needs attention. Ross has a "homework list" of parts to find, including a new fan and spin solenoid should they be necessary (not to mention a Unimatic-mechanism pump impeller if he can find one, so that we may ditch the rather inelegant auxiliary pump).

Of course, if he finds his original parts list--the clutch torque spring, nut and seal assembly, and oil/water bellows--that's icing on the cake. But we've identified some major culprits.

So, that's where we're at. We'd be grateful for any advice you Unimatic-savvy people may have.

Thanks very much :-)

--Ross and Nate


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Post# 70601 6/17/2005 at 00:15 (6,887 days old) by roto204 (Tucson, AZ)
Checkrate/Likes Hey everyone! Okay, we put Ross' '56 through a test wash to examine what was happening. Here were our findings--some are encouraging; some imply a bit of part hunting. 1.) The clutch torque spring seems fine. The machine will spin and agitate appropriately (but we found out why it didn't do that consistently--more on that in a moment). It "unwinds" and such at the beginning of agitation, so that seems good. 2.) There is an odor that emanates from underneath when it spins--it smells like hot electrical something. Due to the fact that it ONLY makes its presence known when it engages the spin solenoid, I'm betting the solenoid is having issues. Is it altogether unheard of to have these guys wear out? 3.) The awful noise the machine occasionally makes seems to be the dreaded Frigidaire fan noise. The fan is somewhat loose underneath, and though it does spin and seems to cool the motor (at least as much as it can), it needs attention. I don't think it should be that loose. Notably, it makes the rattling noise only during agitation periods--the machine is silent once it hits the full 1140 rpm. 4.) The old pump impeller is shot, so a (rather creative but stupid--more on that in a second) person put an electric pump on the machine, and the old pump is not used. Here's the thing that caused havoc on the machine's operation: The mechanic who initially supplied Ross with the machine attached this auxiliary pump (self-powered electrical) to the machine. BUT Knowing that the OEM pump ran whenever the motor ran, this meant that the machine was pumped clear of any overflow water whenever the motor ran. Obviously, for overflow rinses or any splashover, this is important. The guy that attached this pump attached spade splitters (as best as I can describe them) to the spin solenoid, thus splitting the current to the pump, so that it would activate and pump out the water--BUT ONLY WHEN THE MACHINE WOULD SPIN! So, naturally, the machine was encountering trouble engaging the solenoid, because the stupid aux. pump was siphoning off current while the solenoid was trying to engage. Feh!! Not to mention the fact that the original power cord was HORRID and needed replacing. Thus, the aux. pump drew current away from the solenoid, AND drew extra current through the machine's cord--making it hot to the touch. Add to that the fact that the pump only ran during spin, and you can see why the machine leaked--the outer tub got too full during the overflow rinse, and by the time the pump kicked in at spin, it had a tubfull of water to contend with, plus about three seconds to deal with the water that got kicked out of the inner tub when the spin started. What a system!! We went to Home Depot and got two cords, and I gave the pump its own cord (so that it would run at all times during the cycle, thus dealing with any overflow before it became an issue). I gave the machine proper its own, heavier gauge cord, so that it could have an easy supply of current all to itself. This way the aux. pump and main machine components didn't compete for electricity. BUT The solenoid smells when it engages, and the motor fan needs attention. Ross has a "homework list" of parts to find, including a new fan and spin solenoid should they be necessary (not to mention a Unimatic-mechanism pump impeller if he can find one, so that we may ditch the rather inelegant auxiliary pump). Of course, if he finds his original parts list--the clutch torque spring, nut and seal assembly, and oil/water bellows--that's icing on the cake. But we've identified some major culprits. So, that's where we're at. We'd be grateful for any advice you Unimatic-savvy people may have. Thanks very much :-) --Ross and Nate

Post# 70604 , Reply# 1 6/17/2005 at 00:29 (6,887 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)
Checkrate/Likes Yup, that auxillary pump should have been wired to run whenever the motor is running, not just in spin. Some motor/electrical smell is perfectly normal with a unimatic - it's drawing a tremendous amount of current to get that tub moving up to 1140 RPM in a short time. If you don't have a pump impeller on the machine, you need to find a way to clamp or secure the motor fan to the bottom of the motor shaft. Normally, the pump impeller shaft is mounted over the motor shaft and extends up to hold the fan in place on the shaft. Without the impeller holding the fan, you'll need to devise a method of clamping or securing the motor fan onto the motor shaft in it's proper position.

Post# 70610 , Reply# 2 6/17/2005 at 01:04 (6,887 days old) by roto204 (Tucson, AZ)
Checkrate/Likes Greg, you are AWESOME! Thank you for the advice. I'd bet that's what the deal is--I believe the impeller was chucked when the people who rigged the pump discovered the it was broken, but no, they probably didn't comprehend the importance of the tranny/motor/fan/pump "sandwich" effect. I remember something about it being way tricky to take this mechanism apart. Something about Loctite for the nuts that hold the whole shabang together? I'll check the repair manual next time I'm over at his place... Thank you so much again, Greg!

Post# 70612 , Reply# 3 6/17/2005 at 01:13 (6,887 days old) by kenmore1978 ()
Checkrate/Likes *Auxiliary punp* I must say, it was a good idea, just badly executed.

Post# 70634 , Reply# 4 6/17/2005 at 09:27 (6,886 days old) by roto204 (Tucson, AZ)
Checkrate/Likes *The 'workaround'* Yes, it was a nice thought, but it's apparent they didn't think through the cycle operation...

Post# 70636 , Reply# 5 6/17/2005 at 09:38 (6,886 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)
Checkrate/Likes What you will probably need to do Nate is go the the hardware store and get a metal spacer sleeve, the come in different lengths and sizes. You might have to cut one to fit. Slip the sleeve over the end of the motor shaft and torque the pump impeller screw very tight as to hold the fan up against the motor end bell housing.

Post# 70641 , Reply# 6 6/17/2005 at 10:08 (6,886 days old) by roto204 (Tucson, AZ)
Checkrate/Likes Thanks very much, Robert! I'll check into that.

Post# 70682 , Reply# 7 6/17/2005 at 16:19 (6,886 days old) by bethann (Indianapolis)
Checkrate/Likes *Hey Nate!* Why don't you just junk that old thing! If you bring it to the convention I'll take care of it for ya! LOL! What color is it anyway?

Post# 70687 , Reply# 8 6/17/2005 at 16:44 (6,886 days old) by roto204 (Tucson, AZ)
Checkrate/Likes *LOL* Ask Ross! :-P It's white...but I'm sure it would look pretty in pink :-P

Post# 70692 , Reply# 9 6/17/2005 at 17:23 (6,886 days old) by retromom ()
Checkrate/Likes *Crappy creativity!* Now I know what happens when Rube Goldberg tries to repair a washer! Some people know just enough to make them dangerous! Good luck on the fix Nate and Ross! Keep us posted (with pics, of course). Venus

Post# 70764 , Reply# 10 6/18/2005 at 00:58 (6,886 days old) by roto204 (Tucson, AZ)
Checkrate/Likes LOL Thanks Venus--yes, it's like "first the marble rolls down the ramp when you start the cycle timer, and then it hits a switch that starts a toaster...when the toaster pops the toast, it slides a lever and starts another marble down the second ramp..."

Post# 70766 , Reply# 11 6/18/2005 at 01:29 (6,886 days old) by kenmore1978 ()
Checkrate/Likes *Rube Goldberg* Well, I'll be honest, I might have done the same thing in hooking the pump up to run only when it went into spin, but I certainly would've replaced the horrid cord. Ironically, would've been fine if it had been a perforated tub machine