Maytag Neptune Front Loader Washer Wax Motor Question

Here is another Maytag Neptune question I received today... 

Q: Hi, I have a MAH7500AWQ that the motor stopped working. I need the motor upgrade kit (motor & control board) and as a precaution I wanted to put a fuse in the Wax motor circuit (protect the board) and get a new wax motor for when the one I have dies. What do you suggest? 

 A: Hello, I would suggest that you don't have to worry about the door latch wax motor because your Neptune does not have one... In addition, I don't recommend making any changes to any appliance in the name of safety. If the Engineers felt that the door latch wax motor needed a fuse they would have put one in the circuit. I'm sure that when the Neptune was on the drawing board they did not foresee a design problem with the wax motor. 

The Neptune models affected by the faulty wax motor are the MAH3000, MAH4000, MAH5500A and the 2000 Stackers. If you know anyone with a Neptune front loader please rush them to this blog or the www.neptunehelp.com site so they can replace it before it fails. If your machine won’t spin because the door locked light doesn’t come on and you have one of the affected models listed above then you probably have become a victim of the Maytag Neptune Wax Motor Meltdown. Note: I highly recommend that you don’t keep trying to start your Neptune because you can damage the lower motor control board as well. 

Listen, you have 2 options… 1) Replace the machine control and the wax motor at http://neptunehelp.com/index_files/Page667.htm or, 2) purchase the STAGE 1 repair kit with wax motor and see if your Neptune will come to life. About 45 out of 50 boards work without a problem. 

Occasionally, I get folks whose boards refuse to fill with water which have to be replaced because they suffered more damage… maybe they did not heed my warning about trying to keep starting up machine? 

Look, you would have had to replace the control board anyway… When ordering your control board, it depends on your model and serial number as to which board you need. The simplest replacement is the MAH4000 and the MAH5500A Neptunes as these both use the 22002989 control board. 

The MAH3000 has two different control boards based on the model suffix and 1st two digits of serial number. Here is a breakdown: MAH3000AWW - (10-16) 12001725 or (17 - present) 22002988 MAH3000AWA - (10-16) 12001725 or (17 - present) 22002988 MAH3000AWQ - (10 - present) 22002988 MAH3000AKW - (10 - present) 22002988 MAH3000AAW - (10 - present) 22002917 MAH3000AEW - (10 - present) 22002917 MAH3000AGW - (10 - present) 22002917 MAH3000BGW - (10 - present) 22002917 (50 hertz) Note: I just checked and I don't see any 22002917 control boards in stock... 

 I hope this helps!

Until next time...

Maytag Neptune Front Loader Washer Mold Question

Here is another blogosphere question that an unhappy Neptune owner had made recently... Q: I have a maytag neptune front loading washer and there is mold on the front seal. I tried to get it off with bleach etc to no avail. Does Maytag have a replacement part I can get (that works better than the old one). The appliance is only 3 years old.... needless to say between the digital display I had to replace on the dryer and this issue. And the new rattling in the 3 year old dryer.. I am done with Whirlpool/maytag/ and product they build. I have a problem with my whirlpool fridge also...Their products are garbage and I would tell ANYONE to STAY AWAY !!!! A: Yes, you can replace the door boot. The part number is 12002533 and a link to purchase these is on my www.NeptuneWasher.com page.  You may also need the hose which can be found with this link https://ebay.us/xrwXtD via Ebay.

In addition, if you have a MAH3000 you can add a drain hose to the new boot. That way the water in the boot pocket can drain after every wash cycle which should help reduce the mold colony potential. Note: Some earlier MAH4000's also were shipped without the drain hose kit. Below is a picture of the door boot with drain. Below is a picture of a door boot drain hose retrofit. You actually drill out the center of the nipple which allows the water to drain back into the outer tub. As for the quality of some manufactures you listed above... I occasionally do searches on the Internet for other front loaders and I see folks who have problems with other manufacturers, too. Let's face it... Our appliances work very hard and there are a lot of environmental factors that play into how long your machine will last that is really beyond the control of any product manufacturer. 

 I know... The grass is always greener on the other side... but the fact is you own a Maytag Neptune and the good news is that the issues are posted on my blog over time and they are what they are. The three main issues of the earlier Neptunes are the door latch wax motor, moldy door boot and the motor/ motor control board combo reliability. 

 I will now add a forth issue to the list and it is a wear issue and that is the bearings. Unfortunately, Maytag does not have part numbers assigned to the bearings so service technicians are going to leave you a $900 quote to fix your Neptune bearings. They will want to transplant the whole outer tub which runs about $450 by itself! Fight back and replace your bearings yourself with the help of http://www.neptunebearing.com/page4.html. If Shirley in the video can do it... so can you! You can even rent the Neptune Bearing Tool Kit which really reduces the time you are replacing the bearings and there is an awesome step by step video that shows you how to take the Neptune apart, replace bearings and install the seal kit. 

The bearing failure victim in the video is the standalone Neptune but the stacker bearing job is not that much different. Once these four issues are taken care of you will be the proud owner of a happier Neptune front loader! Lastly, don't forget to sign up for the Neptuner list so you will be kept up to date with more Neptune information and other valuable tips as they happen.