- Model Number
- 110.20922990
- Brand
- Sears Kenmore
- Age
- More than 10 years
Model 110.20922990, purchased in 2000.
Hello, first time posting on the forum. Been battling a strange intermittent issue since November.
Symptoms
=======
There seem to be two places during a wash where the machine will not advance. One is the point where it needs to drain the rinse water and start the spin cycle, and the other is during the spin cycle. Sometimes we start a load and everything works fine for a while, then we check on it maybe a couple hours later and the clothes are sitting in a tub full of water, the dial is somewhere in the rinse/spin region of the dial and the machine is silent, not doing anything. At this point I try engaging the timer at various points of the dial and all I get are buzzing sounds. I manually drain and get the clothes out and then at some point during futzing around unplugging, spinning the dial to different cycles, etc., it starts working again. I start another load and this time it goes all the way to the final spin and never stops spinning. It "seems" like it usually shuts off if I manually advance past spin.
What I've tried
==========
It first happened last November and I found there was a broken motor speed switch and replaced it. The white plastic centrifugal switch lever has a pin that it pivots on and that was broken so it was loose and not making good connection to the contacts. There were burn marks and carbon deposits around the contacts. After replacement the machine worked pretty well but did stall once in a wash cycle and I had to monkey with it a bit. But we probably washed six or seven loads between then and now without further issues.
A couple days ago it started failing every time. I ordered a new timer and installed it but the problem was still there, no change. While testing, I usually jump the lid switch so that's not the problem. I suspected the fill switch so I've jumped that as well (to indicate either full or empty tub) but that doesn't alter the behavior as far as I can tell, so I think I've ruled out that switch unless it's just really flaky. Currently I can reproduce the problem over and over by starting the spin cycle, it will never complete, and when I check continuity in the fill switch, it looks good (pink wire connected to violet wire indicating the tub is empty). I inspected the motor speed switch I replaced last month and it operates correctly (checked pin continuity with white lever pressed and not pressed).
I inspected cables and connectors and they all seem to be in order. The motor, water pump, coupler, etc. all seem to be working fine. I looked in the speed selector switch and the contacts seem to be OK. There's dabs of brown color grease in there on the contacts, I guess that is normal?
Other possible suspects?
============
1. I haven't checked for an intermittently broken wire within the harness. Is this a common problem? If so, any pointers on how to check the harness for proper continuity?
2. Could I have gotten a second faulty timer? Seems unlikely since I bought a new part. Is there a good description somewhere of how to check the timer for faults?
3. Any other ideas with these symptoms?
Thanks much for any help on this conundrum!!
- John
Hello, first time posting on the forum. Been battling a strange intermittent issue since November.
Symptoms
=======
There seem to be two places during a wash where the machine will not advance. One is the point where it needs to drain the rinse water and start the spin cycle, and the other is during the spin cycle. Sometimes we start a load and everything works fine for a while, then we check on it maybe a couple hours later and the clothes are sitting in a tub full of water, the dial is somewhere in the rinse/spin region of the dial and the machine is silent, not doing anything. At this point I try engaging the timer at various points of the dial and all I get are buzzing sounds. I manually drain and get the clothes out and then at some point during futzing around unplugging, spinning the dial to different cycles, etc., it starts working again. I start another load and this time it goes all the way to the final spin and never stops spinning. It "seems" like it usually shuts off if I manually advance past spin.
What I've tried
==========
It first happened last November and I found there was a broken motor speed switch and replaced it. The white plastic centrifugal switch lever has a pin that it pivots on and that was broken so it was loose and not making good connection to the contacts. There were burn marks and carbon deposits around the contacts. After replacement the machine worked pretty well but did stall once in a wash cycle and I had to monkey with it a bit. But we probably washed six or seven loads between then and now without further issues.
A couple days ago it started failing every time. I ordered a new timer and installed it but the problem was still there, no change. While testing, I usually jump the lid switch so that's not the problem. I suspected the fill switch so I've jumped that as well (to indicate either full or empty tub) but that doesn't alter the behavior as far as I can tell, so I think I've ruled out that switch unless it's just really flaky. Currently I can reproduce the problem over and over by starting the spin cycle, it will never complete, and when I check continuity in the fill switch, it looks good (pink wire connected to violet wire indicating the tub is empty). I inspected the motor speed switch I replaced last month and it operates correctly (checked pin continuity with white lever pressed and not pressed).
I inspected cables and connectors and they all seem to be in order. The motor, water pump, coupler, etc. all seem to be working fine. I looked in the speed selector switch and the contacts seem to be OK. There's dabs of brown color grease in there on the contacts, I guess that is normal?
Other possible suspects?
============
1. I haven't checked for an intermittently broken wire within the harness. Is this a common problem? If so, any pointers on how to check the harness for proper continuity?
2. Could I have gotten a second faulty timer? Seems unlikely since I bought a new part. Is there a good description somewhere of how to check the timer for faults?
3. Any other ideas with these symptoms?
Thanks much for any help on this conundrum!!
- John
