If you have a Maytag Neptune front load washer and it is not spinning fast or at all you
could have a number of different issues. Let's take a look...
First, you need
to verify the door is locking.
If you have a Neptune with timer knob and your machine has
the first symptom I would check the door latch wax motor. The original MAH3000,
MAH4000, MAH5500A and some 2000 stackers shipped with a faulty wax motor and
when it fails it damages the machine control board and your washer will not
spin because the door won’t lock anymore. See www.neptunehelpsong.com for a video
that explains the faulty brown tipped wax motor better. I have Q6 R11 repair
kits at my www.neptunehelp.com where
you can repair your machine control board by replacing 2 components and the
door latch wax motor
Second, you need
to know if the inner basket is just rotating back and forth slowly and not even
attempting to ramp up.
If you have the door locked light on and you hear the
machine attempt to ramp up to 90 rpms, stop, rotate back and forth some and
then attempt to ramp up again thus repeating the cycle and never getting up to
full speed spin then you have an issue with the balance circuit.
The Balance Circuit:
There are 3 inertia switches in a series loop that normally are closed.
If one of these switches open up (or a wire comes off) the machine will reach
90 rpms, stop, tumble back and forth a few times and then attempt to ramp up
again thus repeating this pattern and never getting up to full spin cycle
speed.
The most common cause of this issue is the switch located at the bottom
of the large tub in front. What happens is this switch gets bumped when washing
a large heavy load of laundry. Usually, to reset the switch you can wiggle the
plunger and it helps to have an ohmmeter to measure if it is closed or low
impedance.
If that does not work then you can inspect for a loose wire that
connects all of the switches together. If you look at your electrical diagram you
will see most of the balance circuit wires are blue.
Next, the other 2 inertia switches rarely go bad but it is possible.
What you can try is jumpering each one out and test washer again and if it
spins up to full speed then you found the culprit.
Third, do you
hear the drive motor growling when it is turning the inner stainless steel basket?
If your drive motor is growling then you more than
likely have a failing motor drive control board which is located on the right side near the floor. What happens is one of the
three phases fail and that only energizes two phases of the motor which electrically unbalances the motor and the motor
will have less torque available. I would carefully unplug all of the wire connectors on the motor control board and the upper machine control board and
re-seat them. This process will sometimes help because connectors can become
oxidized which can make bad electrical connections and the wiping action will
clean them. If that does not help then you will need to see the troubleshooting
guide for tests you can run to help diagnose a motor or motor control board
issue. You can goto www.washerbearings.com/parts for ordering any
replacement appliance parts.
I hope this was helpful.
Leave any comments or symptoms you have in the comments
below.
Jeff Hartman
“The Neptune Man”
