110.47701800 Kenmore Washer HE5T drain pump loud

[csq]

Model Number

110.47701800

Brand

Sears Kenmore

Age

More than 10 years

I got my hands on two non-operational HE5T washers, and by using good parts from each, got one working - passes diagnostics, runs wash cycles without error codes.

However, the drain pump runs continuously whenever the washer is spinning clothes. The pump is relatively quiet for the first bit when it's actually pumping water, and then buzzes quite loudly for minutes on end as the clothes spin.

Is this normal behavior? It seems that the analog pressure sensor should be able to tell when the tub is empty and turn off the pump. Or is it fine for the pump to be running the whole time, and my pump just worn out / damaged and louder than it should be? Or is the drain pump on these just really loud?

Thanks for any help,
Dylan

 

[Jake]

Hi Dylan,

Yes, the drain pump is suppose to run during the spin cycle, that's normal. Now if its really loud then its likely the bearing is going bad on it, very common after 10 years of use.

Here's the drain pump for your model:
Drain Pump WPW10730972


Jake

 

[csq]

Thanks for the info. I can live with the loud bearings for now, was just concerned that I would damage the pump by running it for much more than the 15 seconds or so it's actually pumping water.

To be clear, it's not just running during the spin cycle proper, it's every time the washer flings off dirty water before another rinse, for a total of maybe 10-15 minutes of pump time per 50 minute load.

I'm not sure what Kenmore's engineers were thinking - why run the pump dry for minutes on end when you have a water level sensor telling you the tub is empty?

 

[Jake]

That's how it's supposed to work.

Jake