Samurai Appliance Repair Man's Blog

If you're working on one of these GE Profile refrigerators with the knob controls in the fresh food compartment and it's DOA, this flowchart can help plan your attack:




And here are the part links to the most likely parts you'll need:

Encoder Board:
click on picture


Muthaboard:
click on picture


Sensor:
click on picture

The shaft and mode shifter assembly is used on the GE "Hydrowave" line of top loading washers.  These washers has the motor with the inverter board mounted on top of it.   The inverter board has an LED that flashes on and off according to an error condition or standby that it's reporting.  See the table below:


As you can see above, if the LED on the perverter board is flashes in a sequence of four flashes, this indicates a problem with the mode shifter circuit or mechanism.  More info on accessing the motor perverter board in this post.  For a detailed explanation of the mode shifter, what it does and how it works, see this post.  

Replacing the mode shifter assembly is not a bad job at all.  Here's the part link from RepairClinic with a one-year return policy ==> http://www.repaircli...8X10017/1475792



Excerpts from the GE service manual for this repair are on this page.

Here's a simplified video on how to do it:




And here are some worthy, enriching comments from a couple of Appliantological masters in the forums:

As the Samurai says this is not a bad job. I have done 5 or 6. I allow for about an hour to complete this job. A little longer if this is your first one.

After watching the video, a couple of points:

- I have never removed the Control Panel, Control Panel Bracket and Rear Panel. Although I can see that it would make it a little easier.

- For the Hub Nut, I bought a 1-11/16"  three quarter inch drive socket and an 18" extension from Tractor Supply that was fairly inexpensive. That coupled with an electric impact wrench makes quick work of that hub nut. Also, TWICE I got a  call that a tub was loose after a previous Tech had done a Mode Shifter. Both times I put that Impact onto the Hub Nut and that solved it.

- The Drive Pulley has never come off that easy for me. The way that was showed to me is to grab the pulley and lift up with one hand and strike the pulley near the shaft with a hammer and the pulley just pops off.

- MAKE SURE that you put all of the Wire Retainers back into their correct holes. This was a Mistake that I MADE and it cost me a Control Board. The wires moving back and forth from the action of the tub wore the coating off the wires, shorted to ground and took out the Control.

Piece o cake...I agree, about an hour...quicker if ya do a few.
my tip, the belt on these is a bitch to get on...zip tie the belt to the big pulley to assist keeping it in place as you run it on...then cut it off, of course.

You'll do fine...

Has anyone ran into this problem before? The washer is level and the suspension is good yet the machine continually faults out of balance with loads of all sizes. When load is rearranged the problem persists. I ran it in service mode with no problems, no stored faults, not unusually wobbly. Any suggestions?

thanks

You need to replace all 4 of the suspension rods as a kit.  Even though they look all right, they aren't.

http://www.repaircli...0189077/1456067

Click the photo to order the suspension kit:




And here's how to install it:




Source: Kenmore Oasis washer 110.27092601

Appliantology Newsletter Front Load Washer Washouts October 1, 2012 Presents... The Wisdom of Master Samurai and Appliantologist, Miyamoto Mushashi One thing I've learned after years of being an appliance repair Samurai is how to pick your battles. You don't want to engage in hand-to-appliance combat with an appliance that's not worth repairing, such as with a front loading washer with a failure in either the inner basket or outer drum. An inner basket failure is a corroded or broken drum support spider assembly, like this one: See this page for examples and further explanation. The most common outer tub failure is a bad drum bearing, but it can take other, more subtle forms. "But, wise and besotted Samurai," you ask incredulously, "what is it about these particular failures that makes even you, a seasoned veteran of the Appliance Wars, slink away from these battles like a ninja in the night?" Ahh, Grasshoppah, in the words of my venerable Master, Miyamoto Mushashi, "You must understand that there is more than one path to the top of the mountain [of Appliantology]." The parts alone for these repairs can run well over $500 and can take several hours to repair, sometimes requiring a second man. And then there are other things that can fail in the washer at a later time: motors, motor control boards, door boots, etc. So I ask you, Grasshoppah, would you rather spend your precious time, blood, and money resurrecting a machine that has given up the will to live or would you rather spend about the same amount of money and far less time purchasing a new washing machine? What appears to you as running away from a fight is in reality another path to the top of the mountain of Appliantology. And to get there, you must learn to, "Perceive that which cannot be seen with the eye," as my Master taught. To help you "Perceive that which cannot be seen with the eye," I have assembled three videos from my various encounters with these types of catastrophic failures in front-load washers to help you discern the situation and make a wise decision. Watch and learn, Grasshoppah... Diagnosing a Broken Drum Support Spider In this first video, you'll hear the noise that a broken drum support spider makes at low RPMs. The customer called in with the complaint that the drum would bind while running, stalling the cycle and causing the control to flash an error code. Watch and learn the distinctive noise this particular failure makes: Diagnosing Bad Drum Bearings Bad drum bearings in a front loading washer can manifest in a variety of ways. In this case, the customer called with the complaint that her Whirlpool Duet (Kenmore-labelled) washer was stopping during the cycle and, upon further questioning, also showing the F06 error code. The F06 error code is a tachometer error which, as it turns out in this case, was actually being caused by the drum bearings binding and interfering with the drum rotation. I could hear the bad drum bearings when I ran the washer in a spin cycle. Bad bearings can make a variety of noises depending on exactly how they are failing; you could hear a roaring noise like a jet engine or a clanking noise like in this video. But they all have one thing in common: they originate from the back of the washer and manifest audibly during the spin cycle. Had she reported that the washer was making this noise during spin, I could have saved her a service call fee! BTW, this particular washer is only 5 years old. Her daughter has the exact same washer, same age, and reports the same problem. An all-too common story with the Whirlpool Duet line of front loading washers. Diagnosing Outer Tub Failure This video is a great illustration of why it's so important to properly identify cause and effect when troubleshooting. In this case, what the customer saw as the problem, a twisted door boot (or gasket), was actually an effect of an underlying, catastrophic cause: outer drum failure. You want to make sure you're fixing the actual cause and not the effect. Oh, Canada! Finally, after years of travail and miles of paper work trails, we are now shipping parts to our cool neighbors in the Great White North! Same great prices, same awesome one-year, hassle-free return policy as we've always offered our customers here in the (once upon a time) Land of the Free! Come git you some using the Smart Parts Search Box at The Appliantology Academy: Wisdom from The Oz Man Heed the wisdom of The Oz Man and don't let the beauty of this Autumn pass you by: get up off your duff, get outside and take a hike! Samurai Appliance Repair Man, www.Appliantology.org

Heed the wisdom of The Oz Man and don't let the beauty of this Autumn pass you by:  get up off your duff, get outside and take a hike!