Thread Number: 39926
Neptune needs a belt?
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Post# 591211   4/21/2012 at 12:53 (4,359 days old) by mfduffy ()        

I've got an MAH7500AWW. Lately, I've noticed some of the loads aren't coming out as dry as I expect. Checking the error logs over the past few weeks, I've noticed several instances of Full Power, speed >450 <850 and one or two Full Power, speed <450. The machine's in the corner, so I haven't pulled the back to look at the belt yet. Two questions: Is it likey to be the belt? When looking at it, how can I tell if it's worn -- is it obvious?




Post# 591285 , Reply# 1   4/21/2012 at 23:26 (4,359 days old) by k1rod (Scottsdale, AZ)        

I can't imagine it being the belt. In my experience, belts break rather than start wildly slipping. If the spin speed was <450 but the motor was really spinning for 850, I think you would be smelling belt burning. I'm not that familia with the 7500's but the 3000's through some of the 5500's would not spin up if the door lock mechanism wasn't fully engaged. But these machines had a cheap wax motor instead of a solenoid. I believe the 7500's have a solenoid but I would still bet there is a feedback loop that will not allow the machine to spin all the way up if it believes the door is not locked.

Post# 591427 , Reply# 2   4/22/2012 at 20:23 (4,358 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California)        

sudsmaster's profile picture
The 7500 will not spin at all if it thinks the door is unlocked. And yes, they have solenoids not wax motors for things like water valves and door locks.

It could be the belt. And the belt is relatively easy to access and replace. Not too expensive, either. It might be a good idea for a washer of its age just to replace the belt if it shows any sign of wear or slippage.

However, I remember replacing the belt on my 7500 when it was still under warranty. It was making a strange kind of squeak crunch noise with a heavy load. Finally I got the repair service out and he quickly diagnosed a cracked support spider. It took another week to get the part in and have the repair completed. But he said not to use it in the mean time because if the spider failed completely it would have caused a lot of damage.

The machine has been running perfectly since then (oh, there were other warranty repairs around the same time, like motor, motor controller, main board... but that was not uncommon for early 7500's). Now the darn thing refuses to die so I can't justify getting a nice new Electrolux or Miele to take its place, lol.


Post# 591454 , Reply# 3   4/22/2012 at 21:38 (4,358 days old) by cfz2882 (Belle Fourche,SD)        

my neptume 3000 will not go to full spin speed if the cabinet moves too much
with an imbalanced load and triggers the vibration detector-once i got it level
on a solid footing no more aborted full speed spins:)


Post# 591534 , Reply# 4   4/23/2012 at 06:05 (4,357 days old) by mfduffy ()        

Thanks for the replies. My wife mentioned that she has smelled a slight burning smell, but very infrequently. I, myself, have never noticed it. Since the belt is fairly cheap, I'll probably just order one and swap it out. It's more of a pain to pull the unit out than anything.

I did change the motor and motor control (thankfully, Whirlpool was very good about honoring Maytag's warranty) about 3-4 years past. They just sent it right to my house and the change is pretty easy. (A month or so ago, we swapped the boot seal on my parents' grubby 7500. It must be habits, because we've never had much of a problem with our boot seal.)


Post# 592856 , Reply# 5   4/29/2012 at 13:29 (4,351 days old) by mfduffy ()        

I swapped the belt yesterday morning. Since then, I've run about 6 loads. No weird error codes about power, just the usual unbalance messages. I was really surprised how much tighter the new belt was. I actually stopped trying to get it on twice to compare it to the old one, double-checking the part numbers.

Now, I've just wish I could figure out why there are so many codes about the heater not heating. Checking it in diagnostic mode, I can both feel it get hot through the inner basket and see the temp sensor notching up. Maybe the tolerance for the error code is too tight?


Post# 592859 , Reply# 6   4/29/2012 at 13:55 (4,351 days old) by cfz2882 (Belle Fourche,SD)        
belts

the polygroove type belts used on a lot of front loads do seem to have a lot of
stretch-when i had my frigilux apart for a bearing repair,the belt relaxed some
and seemed too short when i tried to reinstall it-stretched back once in place.


Post# 592882 , Reply# 7   4/29/2012 at 15:19 (4,351 days old) by jeff_adelphi (Adelphi, Maryland, USA)        
Speed Sensor

jeff_adelphi's profile picture
The speed sensor in a Neptune and most other FL washers is in the motor. If the belt were slipping the tub would slow down but the motor would run at normal speed. The only thing the electronic controll could sense is a reduced load on the motor.


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