LG WM2501HWA Drain Issue

[Ron6519]

This machine is 13 years old.  Has worked fine all along.  It started to throw an, "OE" code so I replaced the motor.  It wasn't repaired so I played around with the various control settings as well as getting a Service Manual.  Putting it on the "Speed Wash" it would fill, slosh and then stop the cycle. Using the manual spin override I could get it to drain occasionally.  Now it needs to be finessed as it would do nothing.  If I manually drained the water from the tub and a little from the filter it would drain all the time with the Spin override setting.

The filter is clean.  The drain tubes are clean and unpinched.  The pressure sensor tube is clear.  The drain motor has a 14.7 ohm reading. According to the Service Manual, that's within the 10-20 ohm reading.    Without draining the water from the tub and you try to use the "Spin" override something hums under the machine.  I'm going to look at that tomorrow.  I'm looking into replacing the circuit board as I've done it before on other appliances and it's repaired the issues.

Any guidance would be appreciated.

Ron Thompson

 

[Budget Appliance Repair]

@Ron6519 You need to replace the pump - that is what you are hearing when it's buzzing and not draining.

After 6-7 years on these pumps you can be pretty sure they are going to need to be replaced.

[RobinWinter]

Did you replace it with an oem pump motor?  Those Amazon specials are hit and miss

[Budget Appliance Repair]

9 hours ago, Ron6519 said:

so I replaced the motor.

Whoops, I missed this part - Do you mean you replaced the drain pump motor?

 

[ServiceTech_Daniel]

1 hour ago, Budget Appliance Repair said:

Whoops, I missed this part - Do you mean you replaced the drain pump motor?

Don't feel bad so did i, I'm so used to calling it a Drain pump , that when i saw motor , i thought he meant he replaced the actual motor and kept on reading.

but on the off chance he didn't replace the drain pump(Motor) i would start there as well as you said . A lot of time's the drain pump will ohm out perfect but the propeller is damaged/loose and not able to push the water through.

[Ron6519]

Drain pump motor was changed....twice.  First with a generic and the second time with an OEM LG.

[Ron6519]

All three pumps acted the exact same way.  They would pump when the water was low in the tub.  That is no visible water in the machine.  You open the filter and a few cups of water flow out.  It will pump that out into the sink.

[THRAMICH]

6 minutes ago, Ron6519 said:

Drain pump motor was changed....twice.  First with a generic and the second time with an OEM LG.

I would run a snake through the drain hose from the pump side to clear any obstruction. If the pump is running but water is not draining, then either the pump is faulty or the hose is plugged.

[THRAMICH]

Is  there any water in the tray beneath the tub? LG put a moisture sensor down there that will stop the cycle in case of a leak. Also, the pressure sensor could be out of range, causing incorrect function.

[Ron6519]

3 hours ago, THRAMICH said:

I would run a snake through the drain hose from the pump side to clear any obstruction. If the pump is running but water is not draining, then either the pump is faulty or the hose is plugged.

The pump, pumps.  Only in certain situations. The stream of water has force behind it.  It's been flushed, vacuumed and a camera put up from both ends.  There is no obstruction in the drain path.

 

 

[THRAMICH]

2 minutes ago, Ron6519 said:

The pump, pumps.  Only in certain situations. The stream of water has force behind it.  It's been flushed, vacuumed and a camera put up from both ends.  There is no obstruction in the drain path.

 

 

Then I would suspect a control issue.

[Ron6519]

This is a partial aside from my issue.  This is just an observation about the Drain pump, old and new and the circulator pump.  The original drain pump is measurable y smaller then either replacement.  Theoriginal has a 1" diameter shaft compared to the 17/8" replacements.  Both drain pump  replacements are the same size.  They are also identical to the circulator pump.

Both the replacement drain pump and the LG pump are Chinese.   The original drain pump is 120v and .9 amps.  The generic  replacement is 120v and 1.4 amps.  The original circulator pump is 120 v and 80 watts.

The circulator pump and the drain pump are identical and possibly interchangeable.

Back to the issue:

The circulator pump is  stiff to turn.  It doesn't feel resistance and release.  I'm putting one  of the drain pumps in the circulator space.

[Ron6519]

That was my thought late last week and I ordered a circuit board from eBay.  Should be in tomorrow.  I did pull out the motor assembly and found an issue.  The circulator pump was not turning properly.  There was a lot of resistance in the impeller and none of the magnetic swing.  I noticed both the motors were the same so I replaced the circulator pump with the  extra drain pump.  Ran a full cycle with one glitch.  It started to over fill the tub.  Water was going above the bottom lip of the tub.  I shut the machine off and put it into Manual Spin mode.  It Spun and then drained the tub, without the "OE" code.  I had disconnected (and reconnected) the hose from the Pressure sensor yesterday so that might be the issue.  I'll check it tomorrow.

The circulator pump I took out was interesting.  There was water inside the commutator chamber along with some dried pieces of lubrication.  The plastic part of the housing contained 2 chambers.  The outside chamber contained a lubrication the consistency of mayonnaise, but black.    Looked to have been carved out inside by water.  The impeller shaft was about 3/4 in diameter and spun around a pencil lead sized shaft.  No bearings in sight.  An inner "O" ring was supposed to seal the commutator in the cylindrical chamber, but I guess it failed over 13 years.  After I cleaned out the interior of water and bits of tissue paper consistency stuff, it spun just like the other pumps.  I just need to find a silicone based lube to replace the contaminated stuff in the plastic chamber.

I would like to know why the washer threw an "OE" code for a circulator pump malfunction?

Thanks for the advice.  Alway helps to bounce ideas off other people with more familiarity on the subject.

Ron

[Ron6519]

After doing some research, I don't think the black "lubrication" is what it is.  I think now it's organic matter from the dirt/soap process that got into the pump.  Poor sealing from the casing and "O" rings allowed the seepage.  New "O" rings should solve the problem.

[Budget Appliance Repair]

8 hours ago, Ron6519 said:

I don't think the black "lubrication" is what it is.  I think now it's organic matter from the dirt/soap process that got into the pump. 

You are correct with this observation - you will find water and the fine silt/sludge build up in any of these pumps after they are a year or two old - the other chamber around the rotor chamber isn't sealed at all and will always have water in it after a few runs.

The o-ring seal on the rotor shafts and the rotor shaft bushing and the shaft begin to wear out after 3 or 4 years and will let water into the inner rotor chamber.

The original pumps I figured out what was going on with them was in a Frigidaire frontloader that would pump fine every time I was there and tested it - the first or second load the customer did it wouldn't drain.  I finally caught it not draining at about the third visit and replaced the pump.

I couldn't believe it when I took the pump motor apart - the actual rotor shaft on the end opposite the impeller was actually worn about 1/3 to 1/2 the way thru on one side, it would make the rotor drag against the rotor chamber and not start - it was completely intermittent and only finally failed to start for me on the third visit.

I would have thought the bronze bushing would wear out first but they must make those rotor shafts out of cheap recycled metal for them to wear out like that before the bushing wear out.

Another way these motor fail is the magnet rotor separates from the shaft and just the magnet turns when it's installed with the water load trying to be moved, (checking the motor with a cheater cord and trying to stop the rotor by hand they seem to be OK but as soon as it's in position and water load to push the rotor won't turn and only the magnetic rotor spins in the rotor chamber.

[Ron6519]

Willie, thanks for the confirmation.  After cleaning the circulation pump it acts like it should.  The bottom of the shaft I'll check.

A question on the pressure sensor:

After I pulled the rubber tube (and put it back) and blew into it to check for any blockage, the water level in the tub over filled.  I shut the machine off when I saw the water 1/2 way up the glass.

Do these self-correct?  Does the water level off at the top of the tub rim after a few wash cycles?

Can they be adjusted, or do you need to replace them?

Thanks

Ron

[Ron6519]

The LG washing machine is fixed.

Circulation pump was the issue, not the Drain pump.

The pressure switch issue was normalized after the second run cycle.

Replaced the twin circuit boards just to make sure it worked.  Original set will be kept as a spare.

Total cost was about $150.00 for the two pumps and the circuit boards.  Oh and $3.75 for one trip to a laundromat.  Last time was March 1978.  I think a load cost 50 cents at that time.

Only thing frustrating was the "OE" code for the drain issue.  Sent the repair down the wrong rabbit hole.

Appreciate the help.

Ron

[Ron6519]

On 8/11/2023 at 10:25 AM, THRAMICH said:

Is  there any water in the tray beneath the tub? LG put a moisture sensor down there that will stop the cycle in case of a leak. Also, the pressure sensor could be out of range, causing incorrect function.

There was no water in the tray underneath the washer.