whirlpool 6th sense washing machine motor burnout?

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hey guys

my washer tripped the CB today

i got a smell of burning from the motor


i reset it again and the motor was making a buzzing kind of sound


just wondering is the motor kaput! and is there likely to be an underlying problem

there was an avaerage load in the machine and the drum seems to be free to rotate

i'm a sparkie and do most basic appliance repairs myself

thanks for any help
 
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Check the motor brushes. Also look at the commutator to see if any of the copper segments has come loose. If there is a loose segment you will hear a clicking sound as you turn the motor by hand.
 
i've looked at the commutator and brushes with the motor in situ-all seems normal

as i'm not a pro appliance repairman merely a sparkie it's going to take me a while to sort out

any other ideas throw them out??

assuming the burning smell was motor overload -do these washer motors not have any thermal overload protection??
 
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When I said "Check the brushes" I meant remove them to see how much length there is left on them. If there is only about 1/4" protruding from the brass holder they are worn out.
 
yes i'll be doing that asap

do i need to remove motor? i think i do

i would hope the motor in a modern appliance would fail-safe when the bushes wear

-rather than overload and tripping mcb

is that not the case then ?

thanks again
 
There are a few machines that have little spring loaded plungers set into the back end of the carbon. When the brush wears to the point where this plunger is exposed, the spring is released and it lifts the brush away from the commutator. These devices are very rare and your Whirlpool is unlikely to have them, so you will get sparking at the motor when the brushes are fully worn. Some machines have a 7.5 amp fuse on the main circuit board in the motor supply to protect the motor from overload but again this is not always included.
It is usually easier to get at the brushes with the motor removed. If you have a megger you could also do an insulation check on the motor, although I assume your machine is on an RCD protected circuit anyway.
 
thanks for the replies
i removed motor and inspected motor,commutator segments and brushes--all seems ok

i have megger but didn't do an IR test on motor( but circuit is rcd protected and didn't trip anyway)


i tried a cycle with the belt off to see what was happening and i now believe the smell is coming from the circuit board/module (don't know the correct name)

------the motor didn't budge this time

i know an ex whirlpool guy with a parts shop so i can tryout a new board handy enough---i'll report back on my progress

any ideas throw them out thanks
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You need to first pull off the blue cam wheel and the white soap dispenser lever thingy then it should be self evident. If I remember correctly, you have to push a plastic tag inward then the timer is slid sideways to disengage it from the metal plate.
 
thanks
that's what i thought

they seem tight-i didn't want to apply too much force?
 
bit of oil did the trick!

hopefully i'll be able to examine it and confirm if there's damage
 

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