FIXED Kenmore Washer 110.22102311 agitates but doesn't spin

[joshuagodinez]

Model Number

110.22102311

Brand

Sears Kenmore

Age

6-10 years

Problem happened on and off, but then started happening all the time. Error code F7E1. Multimeter test on control board connectors was good. Brake sometimes was engaged without being able to disengage making manual tachometer test unavailable, but unplugging the washing machine for a few minutes would disengage the brake upon plugging the machine back on (or maybe it was something else). Now, that doesn't work. Seemed electrical (no signal to tell brake to disengage) and with the connectors testing well I replaced the main control board, but that didn't fix the problem. First step in tech manual is "if basket does not turn freely, determine what is causing the mechanism friction or lockup". How?

Thought it might be clothes under the agitator that's got it binding up, but took it out and nothing there. Tried to remove the inner basket to check for clothes under that, but it's frozen on the axle which seems to be a common problem. So, I wanted to check the shifter directly and took it out, but without knowing if the brake is engaged by the shifter seems like a waste of time (but I'll test all the pins and then curse my waste of time). Since the tachometer is in the shifter it seems like it makes sense that the shifter would be involved. Online says how to replace brake and what a brake does (stop the spin, duh), but not what controls the engagement/disengagement of the brake.

Basket not spinning freely by hand seems like it can be multiple things: clothes under the agitator, clothes between inner and outer basket, brakes engaged which can be alleviated by lubrication, shifter(?), bad brakes which need replacement, brake cam, brake assembly, brake bearing. Is there really no way to know which of these things is the issue without disassembling the whole washer?

On other posts I notice recommendations to replace the brake/clutch assembly, but I'd rather avoid if there's something simpler to try since I'll have to take things apart that I don't know if they're necessary to take apart. So, how can I force a brake disengage to see if the brake is the issue?

 

[joshuagodinez]

Took me 5 more minutes to answer my own question. With the shifter removed, the white plastic above the pulley that the shifter goes into is easily moved by hand left and right. One direction is agitate. The other is spin. It's basically what the shifter does electrically, but doing it by hand. Shifting it by hand from one position to the other allowed me to test that the pulley will now move. That indicates that the shifter isn't going back and forth and therefore I need to replace the shifter. Tilting the machine back, removing the shifter and then disengaging the agitate mode by hand to verify that the basket will turn freely would have saved me a couple days and the cost of a main control board. Now I get to try to spin the axle to see if it turns freely and I'll know it's not the brake.

 

[Jake]

Yes, 9 times out of 10 the problem is the shift actuator for error code F7E1.

Here's the shift actuator for your model:
W10913953 Actuator


This model doesn't have a brake or clutch, your thinking of the older direct drive models.

After the final spin the basket slows to a stop while the lid remains locked.

Jake

 

[joshuagodinez]

Thanks!

 

[Jake]

Anytime!

Jake

 

[joshuagodinez]

Thought I was a goner. Replaced shifter and the problem continued. Calibrated and then did automatic test. Test failed at the spin cycle. There were two error codes: first was F2E1 (stuck key) and second was F7E1 (basket speed fault). The second one seemed to be caused by the spin mode not engaging. I don't know why the first one happened. I didn't detect any stuck key. All the LED's worked, start button worked to start automatic test (and any other test). I had replaced the main control board and the shifter. Did a whole lot of stuff with my multimeter and couldn't find any problems. Watched a few videos on the assembly of the actuator transmission and decided to take it apart (I'd only taken the main pulley off before to ensure the teeth weren't ground off). One video made me realize that I shouldn't have had the problem where the transmission was completely frozen in actuator position. It should turn by hand. So, I took the whole actuator apart (only the bottom, I didn't drop the shaft out). As I was taking it apart I realized that the housing around the cam shifter wasn't completely seated in; maybe it got knocked out by a violent load (my son tended to overload the washer). After I took it all apart down to the spring and verified it was all lubed up, no grit, no worn parts, and then put it back together again with the housing completely seated, the shaft now would turn. So, there was some sort of misalignment in the shifter/actuator/transmission set-up. My clue should have been that I couldn't turn it by hand in the agitation position (yes, it should require force, but not be impossible).

So, after spending hundreds of dollars on parts and tools and weeks taking the washer apart and putting it back together again (except for the part that would have fixed it, naturally), it came down to one piece of plastic not being completely seated in the right way. Anyway, that's my theory. Automatic test no longer fails at spin cycle. I'm doing a small load to test, but I have to be up in 5 hours so I'm going to head to bed and check on it in the morning. I've got my fingers crossed. And a spare control board and a spare shifter.

 

[Jake]

it came down to one piece of plastic not being completely seated in the right way.

Which piece of plastic was that?

Jake

 

[joshuagodinez]

I don't know what it's called, but it's the plastic housing for the splutch parts that keeps it attached to the washer after you take off the pulley. The housing has 4 tabs. One of them was not inserted which I think was throwing the splutch off kilter so it wouldn't retract properly when the cam switched from agitator to spin. Everything else looked fine. I inserted the housing properly and then the whole thing worked. I never even knew to test whether the splutch was moving up and down when the cam was shifted. Anyway, I'm back in business and washing clothes. Thanks for being engaged, Jake!

 

[Jake]

Thanks!

Here's the parts diagram for those lower parts:

Parts for Kenmore 110.22102311 (11022102311, 110 22102311): Gearcase, Motor and Pump Parts - AppliancePartsPros.com

Parts for Kenmore 110.22102311 (11022102311, 110 22102311): Gearcase, Motor and Pump Parts in stock and ready to ship today. 365 days to return any part.

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Jake