Thread Number: 41039
Problems with KA washer w/ rapid advance timer
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Post# 606920   6/28/2012 at 17:25 (4,291 days old) by Supersuds (Knoxville, Tenn.)        

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My first "rescue washer," and it's giving me some trouble!

As mentioned in a previous thread about the closure of a local appliance dealer, I bought a sort-of new Kitchen Aid washer with a an all-pushbutton, rapid advance timer. The owner of the store thought it had been returned because of a leaky fill solenoid, and he had just put it in his basement rather than fix it. It was a long time ago, though, and he wasn't sure. Tim (macboy) generously took a look at it and found that everything seemed to be working, except for a missing fill flume (vacuum break) which he showed me how to replace. That went very well and I took the washer home last weekend.

The good news is, no leaks at all, and the agitation is very smooth and quiet. There seems to have been a big drop off in DD quality over the years as the newer ones are much noisier and clunkier. It isn't insulation because this model clearly doesn't have any!

The bad news.

First, it seems very off balance on spin. I did a test run with no load, and then a couple of light loads with some shirts and underwear. At all times I had to lean on the machine to keep it from wobbling badly. Now, I definitely hadn't been able to level it completely (not sure if the self-leveling feet in the back are working, or maybe I'm doing something wrong), but this was not because of being off level. Tim did not mention seeing anything wrong with the suspension when he had the bodyshell off, so I suspect it might be the balance ring on the tub? Apparently they do go bad at times? How can you find out for sure?

I could not tell if balance rings are NLA for this model, but apparently not all balance rings interchange among DD washers? How hard are they to replace? Or can it be fixed?

Second, and more serious, the "start" button completely stopped working. The second load I did, it took a few minutes of fiddling with the button to get it to start. The third time it took even longer and the fourth time, it was no go at all.

Since the timer itself worked fine on three different cycles, I would guess the problem is with the contacts in the start switch. Barry (bwoods) suggested spraying it with contact cleaner, which would certainly be worth trying. The thought of trying to disconnect all those wires to get at the contacts is terrifying! Is this the kind of thing that would call for the timer to be sent out to be rebuilt or is it something I can likely fix at home?

Any advice appreciated!



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