I FIXED IT!!!

I'm so proud of myself - I was able to fix the timer on my 69 GE FF last night!
The reason I had to put off continuing for a while was because my grandfather passed away on January 27th. I will post his obituary in another forum - many of you hear would probably be interested in his life in early Television.

Anyway - after speaking with John Lefever (combo52), who is always so wonderfully helpful and encouraging, I realized that I could easily tackle this. I got my service manual out and my ohm meter and tested the switches - thanks to Coldspot for first suggesting that! All the switches worked fine but it wasn't until I took them apart that I found the problem. The small fiberglass spacers for the #4 switch - which controls agitation and spin - were worn down so much that the cams were no longer able to engage them. So it spun but wouldn't agitate or activate the cold water solenoid.

I found a switch on ebay -thanks agan for that recommendation Yogitunes -and was able to easily see the difference in the fiberglass spacers. I'm sorry I have no pics as I was just trying to get through it all and get the timer back together. I was late for work - but determined to not leave it in pieces.

I cleaned the printed circuit with some rubbing alcohol and replaced the #4 switch and the #1 switch, which was darker and discoloured, compared to the others. I got everything back in place and the wires re-attached and tested it out and was thrilled to see it works great! I washed a load of sheets and I'm BACK IN BUSINESS!!!

Thank you for all of your support and suggesstions - I was intimidated by this project but now feel even more confident in my knowledge of these machines!


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Post# 658887 2/8/2013 at 08:26 (4,093 days old) by geextrarinse (Hudson Valley, New York )
Checkrate/Likes 1 I'm so proud of myself - I was able to fix the timer on my 69 GE FF last night! The reason I had to put off continuing for a while was because my grandfather passed away on January 27th. I will post his obituary in another forum - many of you hear would probably be interested in his life in early Television. Anyway - after speaking with John Lefever (combo52), who is always so wonderfully helpful and encouraging, I realized that I could easily tackle this. I got my service manual out and my ohm meter and tested the switches - thanks to Coldspot for first suggesting that! All the switches worked fine but it wasn't until I took them apart that I found the problem. The small fiberglass spacers for the #4 switch - which controls agitation and spin - were worn down so much that the cams were no longer able to engage them. So it spun but wouldn't agitate or activate the cold water solenoid. I found a switch on ebay -thanks agan for that recommendation Yogitunes -and was able to easily see the difference in the fiberglass spacers. I'm sorry I have no pics as I was just trying to get through it all and get the timer back together. I was late for work - but determined to not leave it in pieces. I cleaned the printed circuit with some rubbing alcohol and replaced the #4 switch and the #1 switch, which was darker and discoloured, compared to the others. I got everything back in place and the wires re-attached and tested it out and was thrilled to see it works great! I washed a load of sheets and I'm BACK IN BUSINESS!!! Thank you for all of your support and suggesstions - I was intimidated by this project but now feel even more confident in my knowledge of these machines!

Post# 658891 , Reply# 1 2/8/2013 at 08:30 (4,093 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)
Checkrate/Likes *Yay* That is just great Matt, now it will be even more satisfying using a vintage machine that you fixed yourself!

Post# 658898 , Reply# 2 2/8/2013 at 08:40 (4,093 days old) by geextrarinse (Hudson Valley, New York )
Checkrate/Likes *Here is the thread for my grandfathers Obit - check it out!* www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/T... CLICK HERE TO GO TO geextrarinse's LINK

Post# 659168 , Reply# 3 2/9/2013 at 11:39 (4,092 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey)
Checkrate/Likes Wonderful news that it is up and running again...... sometimes repair projects can be intimidating, but you gace it a shot, and the results were fantastic.....it is a great boost to know you did it yourself.... you don't have to tell me about the great help JohnL is.....he can talk you thru anything.....a great guy....

Post# 659203 , Reply# 4 2/9/2013 at 14:49 (4,092 days old) by classiccat ()
Checkrate/Likes Nice job getting that vintage machine working again! My condolances to you and your family for the loss of your grandfather; he would've been proud!