Pictures and progress to follow:

waiting for attention

gets replaced as its all cracking after 58 years of service.

she needed a new water level hose, new drain connector and a new tub fill hose. Thankfully the door gasket is in good shape.

I found in the sump and pump, pounds of precipitate, it would have clogged the whole drain system and might have jammed the pump when it was first turned on. My shop vac took quick care of this mess.

and Biblically as "they" say!

Yes Tom me too, the tranny looks in fine shape so I let it be for now. All the components on the bottom are now restored or replaced!

I always like to get into the motor on a machine this age. It always needs fresh oil on the bearings and a good scratching on the switch points.

a very dirty motor, but it confirmed my first look at the machine, its kitchen grease which means this lived upstairs in the kitchen. Always a better machine to restore!!

new drive belt in front installed, motor back on the machine, new drain hose, new air hose. Now the base components are restored its time to move to the upper components.

lubricated, new hose , clean wires again showing their colors:

get yur butt up here so we can finally finish that LKCombo!! 

Why do you think these pumps are so bad? It looks very durable to me, the bearings are in good shape the impeller looks good. That style motor usually runs cooler too. Did you see lots of failures in the field?? Maybe we can ask them whats up with their pumps since they are a global leader--see link.

And get "that Smitty" to place an order dammit!

Eddie - love the new avatar. You on the other hand…well… we'll discuss your Paulophile tendencies in private!

Looking real good, Jon!  What is the little red switch for next to the trans on the base?  Off balance?

it rests on a large long sliding platform and when I took the belt off to get the motor in and out, the platform slide left tripping the switch I. I can't wait to see this machine in action, its so different than the 3 belt combos!

does your machine have the "scissors balance switch" up front or does it have the newer motor and tape winder balance switch??

Is the pump constantly pumping during the dry cycle?

but I bet the reason they changed was cost not reliability. GE is extremely cost conscious it drives everything there.

A clutch they could machine in one of the shops at GE would be far cheaper than buying another motor from a second tier vendor.

Can't wait to see the scissors mechanism at work since I am so familiar with the moto-tape system!!

Jackie comes next week with a surprise machine for me! Something I do not have in the collection….hint..put your thinking caps on!

those 3 belt machines are workhorses. I remember falling for your black undercounted machine years and years ago. I had to have one in my kitchen!! And you gave me the first avocado one made. Because you said it was the first I can't bring myself to paint it black but maybe this year--charcoal perhaps??

But those shaded pole motors are used extensively in Sub Zero refrigerators and they run for decades, so what gives? Why would Sub Zero use them continually if the design wasn't sturdy like the "63 Frigidaire washers?

those 3 belt machines are workhorses. I remember falling for your black undercounted machine years and years ago. I had to have one in my kitchen!! And you gave me the first avocado one made. Because you said it was the first I can't bring myself to paint it black but maybe this year--charcoal perhaps??

But those shaded pole motors are used extensively in Sub Zero refrigerators and they run for decades, so what gives? Why would Sub Zero use them continually if the design wasn't sturdy like the "63 Frigidaire washers?

motors have their own electronics on board so that they are plug and play?

And where do I get two for my SZ's?

get that '56 out and  up and running! I hope to do a water test this week, I have to build a wooden form in order to hold all the components away from the machine. 

a problem with the buttons. I powered her up today and everything ran in wash cycle except the WATER HEATER feature the entire machine died once I pushed that button. And in the DRY portion it also died completely.

It was dramatic I was headed to a water test but no! Back to the wiring diagram.

too Paul, I didn't blow a fuse but was wondering if the heat relay was dead. But would that also shut the motor down, you would think it would just stop the heat and continue to tumble no?
When I recycled it the next time, not even the water valve would energize.

Its a puzzle. I need to scan the schematic so I can study it in detail.

I followed through on your input, the CB is NOT blown repeat NOT blown. The mystery deepens--TO DOCTRINE !

Jon,

I don't know if you checked inside the timer but in Paul's 1956, some of the contacts wouldn't close, probably because they've been forced to stay open for a long time by the timer cam. We had to bind them to allow them to close again. 

major problem- someone bojacked the wiring in the deep past for some reason and wired together the timer circuit TAN to the PushButton/Water Level switch RED-BLACK.

at the wiring diagram if you look TAN comes off the Timer Motor directly to the Thermostat and RED BLACK off the switch goes through the timer block to the water switch. Bojack Wiring I say!

was trying to power the safety thermostat and regular thermostat through the switch button. Why ?? I need to figure out what that switch button actually controls.

I know:

-Once I pushed the WATER HEAT button the machine went dead

-That the push button switches were badly seized and have since lubricated and checked continuity- it works now

-still no power to machine

-CB is on

-testing now I find one leg to ground is reading 240V and the other 0 _THATS NOT NORMAL!

-I found someone had cross wired the legs to the heater relay so that the black leg from supply was energizing NOT the gray to the motor and Black to safety thermo but the yellow leg of the heater coils -when on the diagram it shows the yellow leg from supply should make to the yellow leg of the heater coils.

- corrected that to match the wiring diagram

- know I have continuity from the Door Switch to Timer Control, Water Valve, Motor, and she is still dead 

-tested the supply cord it has normal continuity

- need to check the belt switch BUT from what I read it only comes into play during the dry cycle not the wash cycle so it shouldn't be a factor, need to check the scissors mechanism maybe i tripped it or knocked a lead off?

I traced the odd 204 V one leg other leg 0 reading back to the internal wiring of my supply plug, 2 wires had come out and joined inside the plug. Once that was repaired she fired right up normal.

She has blacktimermotor death - not unexpected!!

All functions into dry work except the heater elements and heater relay. It looks like the belt switch controls the heater relay only not the motor and doctrine states she will keep tumbling even if the heat fails so that clothes won't get scorched as the elements cool.

Isolating and powering the heater relay I find it works.

I took the elements out of the circuit and tested they both have continuity - good!

So I have to assume the thermostat is to blame for not powering the elements. Bugger all. Have not worked on a thermostat before.

Otherwise all functions are go.

are designing a dryer control circuit - this is gonna be interesting as I want to preserve the knob control yet it has to serve two cycles regular and delicate.

 a digital control that oscillates between 180 & 280F , is there such a beast??

Just tried the thermostat rebuild guy in CA, he ONLY does stoves and says even the fluids are different for other appliances so its a new design for the washer Jeff John Phil get your thinking caps on !!!

Phil did you ever get me text of a few days ago?

guys

the guts

switch mechanism out of the block and filmed what is wrong,just sent you an email link to the video but I'll post it here too

Fascinating, Jon.  Good work so far!

It does illustrate the need for our collective skills to extend to switch and timer repair for these classics!

Paddle pushes too hard against the contact block 

I checked the thermostat today by dialing thru all the options. The 2 contacts you asked about are closed all the time, the dialing only changes the angle at which that flapper bar addresses both contacts, in delicate it rotates away from the 2 contact and rotates towards  the 3 contact switch. 

In REG & BULKY it rotates the flapper down onto the 3 contact switch.

input.  

I think I have repaired the thermostat just by staring at it - no I played around with bending the contact bar ever so slightly and it seems to work electrically. 

Now the whole machine still plays dead in the dry portion. I have traced that to the timer block, in dry there is no power out of the timer block to the belt switch nor the heater relay nor the condenser valve ( ah I should say if the condenser valve is operative- i haven't checked the windings yet on that one )

Just walking through the Combo...

No power in Dry portion of cycle timer. Paul was lucky his is a 1956 as the SM is available but for my 1955 no such luck! Electrically they are two different dogs!

So tearing down the timer tonight and playing with it I found the same problem  Paul found!! Ofcourse on different contacts and colored wires BUT one whole circuit that evidently flows through the water level switch back to the control switches where the 110 enters the machine was dead. It is a double throw contact in the timer like Pauls , it was contacting in one direction but not in the other but only by the  slightest amount yet 0 is 0 for electrical contacts.

So that is one whole side of the timer diagnosed. Now to check the other side and then put on a working motor then reinstall the timer and do another dry test.

The bad contact seems to have gotten bent back slightly somehow, how inside a timer box is beyond me! But Paul was it contact or the arm that needed to be bent in your machine?

Jon, we disassembled the timer in Paul's machine and bent the contact arms so they would travel further when the cam allows them to. Before we did, the contacts barely moved and didn't close when they were supposed. 

well I seem to see the opposite with this timer, the stationary contacts have been bent way back so there is a huge gap between them-  so the moving contact just swings back and forth in air, I'm closing the gap so that should make the timer very responsive. Cross your fingers.

Jon, can you make a video of the timer? I can't see why someone would have bent these!

On Paul's timer, the contact arms barely moved when they hit the low spot on the cam.

the  stationary contacts had bent back away from the moving contacts and today I found 3 other contacts on the other side of the timer block with the same problem. I have worked on many timers and found it better to bend the stationary contacts not the moving ones as there are very specific dimensions that must be maintained between the moving contact and the timer cycle wheel. So now the block seems to be working correctly but the timer motor is dead and I found one last black timer motor that works.

I installed that today and NOTHING! I was pissed! 

The motor was working when I tested it, come to find out the Escapement was jammed up completely with grease that had turned to solid varnish over the last 58 years. I was able to move it with a screwdriver but now the whole shebang is soaking in Gunk B Gone .

And the saga continues

You should have seen the black crap that was loosened and flowed down the drain! But my hurdle was retrofitting the "new" timer motor to the escapement.

The jamming was actually caused by a mismatch between motors and escapements. These machines; it has been my experience that each one has a UNIQUE escapement/timer mechanism. So what I discovered in this unique GE case was the gear shaft was too short on the replacement timer so the drive gear was contacting two sets of wheels and jamming up. 

I decided for replacement as you will see below instead of trying to jack hammer the new gear up the shaft and thereby damage my only working motor.

 Oh an interesting side note I believe this was the last year a GE laundry appliance utilized an Ingram escapement, in 1956 GE created their own timer mechanism called a clamshell which was used right up throughout 1970's.

See the shaft difference for you own edification:

surgery was in order- get out your finest tools! 

I swapped out the gear mechanisms between timers, I have to file down the staking, and cover the motor mechanism so brass filings didn't get in there.  The beauty of these early timers is their accessibility and interchangeability. The ones I've worked on that are black all seem to turn CCW, whereas the later silver timers can turn either way at different speeds.

block the brass filings:

was relubed with Tufoil , so were the bearings in the timer block, and taking the motor down I was able to give its gear train a lubing too. Everything turns nicely now.

The motor was assembled back onto the timer body and I ran an entire cycle and the switches all seemed to make contact.

Now to reinstall in the machine and give it a dry run.

Jon, how did you stake the mechanism back down onto the motor after filing down the original stakes? 

I was going to use fine machine screws but I found the plate that holds the gear contacts the lid of the timer just under the hex nut so I just snapped the plate back down on the remaining stakes and  reassembled and tightened it down. If it moves off its an easy fix and I can get right at the timer motor at the back of the machine.

Put the timer back into the machine and ran it. First time it has run in dry, the condenser valve , pump, motor, timer motor and dry light all came on! Progress!

The heater relay and heater elements stayed cold however so there is more work to do. But Its 90% there now.

It uses water to condensed and it is sprayed against the outer tub. I don't think those heater elements remain that hot thru the whole dry cycle, it looks like a broiler to me!! I am still working out the semi-working control thermostat.

More to come she's not done yet!

I worked on the Combo yesterday and for the first time I got it to run on the dry cycle WITHOUT the timer motor engaged !! So big progress on that front. Now it seems to be narrowed down to one glitchy little problem, on dry sometimes I get 220V out of the control thermostat and sometimes I don't. If I can correct this then I can reassemble and try a virgin load!!

I started this thread what? back in ......November??

I gotta get this machine outta the lab, I got more stuff com in'!

but I don't get the calrods on at all so it is not satisfying the thermostat through heat. The control thermo is behaving like its satisfied and I double checked the safety thermo its working on the cold side. Its something inside the thermo since it worked once intermitently.

Back to the drawing board OY
!! 

Vid and then onto the "virgin water test"!

I hope to have the water test completed soon and then next real laundry!!

I'll keep the spares in mind but the funnels are brass , I think the problem is me, I removed the entire valve assembly to clean and update and didn't think about how I put it back in place because the funnels are so huge on this machine. OOPS!

Brent as far as I know this is the only known example of a 1955 GE Combo , as to working well I leave that up to you!

I have run the entire cycle and this may interest some of you- there are 5 rinses! But there are no spins between rinses. AND the 5th rinse is with HOT water !!! I would guess to prepare the clothes for the broiler-dry cycle to follow. After the 5th rinse the machine goes into high speed spin - 225 RPMS LOL  for a time the drops to a tumble and then if I remember a short spin again before starting dry. 

Well I've scheduled this weekend to try and finish the Combo, get the water inlet aligned, tweak the timer a bit and do a load!!

Wish me luck everybody!! Hopefully I'll have laundry window video to post at weekends end.

I'm sure it'll be a success, Jon!!  Can't wait to see it in action again (possibly in person) 

FYNALLY you're coming back !!!

What I discovered yesterday really surprised me. The Combo would not engage the timer motor on a full water level switch. I took the machine apart and went through every circuit! I came up empty handed as to any circuit that would engage the timer motor on a full switch. And that is why when I first opened the machine up I found those two wires taped together that I called a bojack move by someone in the past ! See the reply #49 above where there is a picture of this. 

It turns out John remembered correctly , this was an after factory fix!

It means people!! - that GE built a machine - sent it down the assembly line and discovered AFTER the fact that they hadn't planned a circuit to engage the timer motor on a FILL !! A colossal booboo!

This will be one of the reasons Paul's '56  machine is SO different than my '55 is and why electrically the '55 is the unique oddball of GE machines!

So I got rid of the bojack fix as seen in reply #49  and installed a jumper on the timer block which is what should have been done 59 years ago! See the red jumper crossing the timer block with the yellow connector. This circuit carries the signal from the level switch to the timer motor to activate the timer at a full tub of water. Now after electrical testing yesterday it all works.

So hopefully today she will get her virgin load!

I have never seen such a booboo in all my 35 years of modern appliance living. This is a rare one.

YET AGAIN for the umpteenth time!

Robert, GE used the Mallory timers on their pre-1957 dishwashers as well.  That's one of the reasons why I was so ticked off that I had pull a working motor out of the 55 GE pull-out dishwasher to revive the 56 combo!

Jon - great detective work!  Can we send you back to 1955 to kick someone's behind in Louisville??  LOL  

Yes send me back I have a few words to the wise for 1955!!

John- If I had only listened but you know me Mr Hands- On. Actually there were so many problems with this machine I really can't see any short cuts, the one I took kicked me in the butt today!

When I rebuilt the water valve I reused one gasket in the WHOLE machine because its a quirky gasket. Well the water valve typical for a Combo restore blew water all down the inside and got the insulation all wet today!

So take it apart again and run to the "Hadhware" store to find a new O-ring. Never never never reuse a water gasket!!

Oh, you should get one of those new direct drive machines in there...  LOL 

You know, a vintage 'Tag washer should fit...

just what was on my mind Paul, good you'll be here to help me move it in!!

I taped the virgin wash yesterday. 

This whole restoration began on Nov 25, 2013 and it finally has come to full operation after 7 months. Combos are complex machines, and they take patience and persistence to get back on their feet. Especially after 59 years leaving the factory floor. 

It can be a frustrating experience but I wanted the club to see an complete restoration from start to finish and this machine gave a lot of kick back so that you got to see every system completely disassembled and rebuilt from the ground up.

Some interesting differences to this unique machine that set it apart from all later GE Combinations-

First it has a transmission not 3 belts, this makes for a quieter machine overall.

It has a separate pump motor engaged from the timer.

Like the 1956 it has a scissors balance mechanism.

Unlike all other Combinations, this machine has 3 baffles in its tub, not 4 not 6.

It tumbles & spins counterclockwise only - sorry Chuck!

It has 5 Rinses and I discovered yesterday that the first rinse is really a fill/drain. The machine fills and as soon as the water level switch is satisfied the drain motor comes right on. All the other 4 rinses actually tumble for a minute or two.

The 5th rinse is a hot water rinse, I'm guessing to reheat the clothes for the Broil-A-Dry cycle to follow.

The machine has a Rinse period then followed by a Spin period marked in "Danger - Will Robinson Red". So there are no spins between rinses. The spin is divided into two periods, one long spin with a minute tumble then back to spin to the dry cycle.

The dry cycle works on one set point marked by a small moon & bar symbol on the dial. The machine sits there drying until a predetermined set point is reached then the thermostat engages the timer motor again and the machine progresses to cycle end. 

This load took a little over 50 minutes to dry.

Enjoy and thanks for tuning in these past 5 months!

Excellent work, Jon!  Thanks for sharing all of your trials and tribulations getting this machine running again, it was worth it.  That is one beautiful machine, so different of a wash-action than the later GE six-vane drums, makes it even more vintage-y.

John, turquoisedude and PhilR are here and last nite we sat around eating dark chocolate and doing a load so we did a close observation and found that it does have a cool down cycle! After the first set point the burners shut off but the machine is soooo hot by then that it seems it wouldn't cool down but when we drew the towels out at the end they were "nicely warm" not scorching hot.

Nothing like what a GE dryer of that era was like. 

WOW Jon that is just awesome!  

CONGRATS on making this beautiful example of a rare machine operational again! 

YAY!

Kevin