GE Hydrwave washer was making loud jet-like sound during spin, now won't spin at all

by Patrick
(Houston, TX)

Hi. I have a GE model WHDSR316GOWW Hydrowave washer. About 9 months ago, the washer would all of a sudden make a loud jet-like spinning noise when in the spin cycle. Well, since the washer would still work, we figured, oh well, and just learned to live with it, since it only happened during the spin cycle. Fast forward to two weeks ago. The washer now does not spin or agitate at all. I've also tried spinning the agitator by hand, but it won't spin (could of sworn it used to!). I've tried the motor reset (unplugging and lifting the lid, etc..) but to no avail. There is no blinking light on the motor at all. I've put the washer through a light wash cycle to see if it worked after trying the motor reset, and it seems to go through the cycle fine, except for the spinning/ agitation part (the pump works fine, and you can hear a faint sound coming from the inside, which it has always made since I purchased it brand new). I've also checked the fuse and am getting continuity across it. Would the pump work if the fuse was bad? Because it does work. The only other thing I can think of maybe worth mentioning is that there has been a couple of times through the 3+ year life span of the washer, that it would vibrate badly just before fully powering up in spin mode. And I mean "the whole washer moves if you don't open the lid to stop it" kind of vibration. We figured it was because of an unbalanced load, but it seems these particular models are more sensitive to this than others? After redistributing the load, it would then be OK. I'm not sure if these problems are related, but the more I think about it, the more I believe they are. Help!





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Answer

Hi Patrick,

If the fuse were blown the pump would still run.

Have you looked at the pictures/video on this page to be sure you are looking for the blinking light in the right place HydroWave Washer Repair


Just to rule out a locked shaft and tube assembly try turning the large pulley under the washer that the belt connects to. If that pulley will not turn I believe you have a bad shaft and tube (drive system/transmission).

If the shaft and tube isn’t locked and the light isn’t blinking then I believe you have a bad motor.


Thank you,
Shawn/administrator

Comments for GE Hydrwave washer was making loud jet-like sound during spin, now won't spin at all

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Apr 06, 2011
 Double checked and...
by: Patrick

Well, I double checked, and I see no blinking light on the motor. Also, the pulley at the bottom does not turn. Could both the motor and shaft be bad? I hope not!
Apr 06, 2011
 RE
by: Shawn/Admin

Take the belt off and see if the motor will run without a load. Let us know what you find and we will go from there.

Also if you decide to replace the shaft and tube (make sure the motor is of first) this page will help

GE Washer Disassembly
Apr 10, 2011
 Still won't run
by: Patrick

I disconnected the belt to see if the motor ran. Put it in drain and spin mode and the motor still would not turn under power. The large pulley would not turn as well when I try to spin it by hand. Well, it spins about a less than 1/5 turn and then locks in either direction. On a side note, I triple checked both the fuse and the washer lid for continuity using the instructions on your site, and I do get continuity for both.
Apr 10, 2011
 RE
by: Shawn/Admin

Since the large pulley will not turn you can safely say that he shaft and tube assembly is bad. However with the belt off the motor should run and since it is not then you more than likely have a bad motor as well. I normally don’t say this but with two very expensive parts bad you are better off putting your money in a new washer.
Jun 18, 2011
 Motor and Shifter
by: Jaba

Washer will neither agitate nor spin. Motor has 4 blink code indicating shifter. I tested door lid and fuse and both tested ok. I tested shifter and circuit is closed. Mechanism spins fine.

So it looks like motor is bad. But isn't likely that shifter is bad too because machine was making horrible racket before it stopped working suggesting to me that shifter went out and that is what damaged the motor. Otherwise why would there be a four blink code?

Motor will not code reset.

Concerned that replacing motor alone will not fix problem and that if motor and shifter are bad new machine is better investment.

Disappointed to see all the cheap communist made components in my GE machine. My parents have had the same washer for the last 25 years. This GE washer of mine lasted just long enough for the warranty to expire, about 16 months.
Jun 19, 2011
 RE
by: Shawn/admin

What kind of ohm reading did you get on the sifter? For the most part if it is closed it is ok but in rare cases it could short and possibly cause the motor to fail. It should be approximately 90 ohms at room temperature. Note that you have to unplug the sifter to get an accurate reading.

I haven’t seen a sifter cause a motor to fail but like I said if it were shorted it may. At one time there was a problem with bad motors causing the sifters to fail which would cause to coil to open electrically and that isn’t the case.
Jan 12, 2012
 WHDSR316G2WW
by: Ali

No spin no agitate...motor code blinks continuously 1 sec on and 1 sec off....whether in off or in any cycle. The magnetic lid switch seems ok....Can you advise? Machine was purchased from HD March of 2009....
Jan 12, 2012
 RE
by: Shawn/admin

Did you check the lid switch with an ohmmeter? The reason I ask is because I have known people to say the lid switch seems of because they can hear it click. This doesn’t mean the switch is ok.

The motor is blinking normal (no fault codes) meaning there is a good chance the motor isn’t your problem. However, the motor can still be the problem. The problem is most likely the control. There are test you can run to possibly confirm this but I will need the model number to assist. You will need a meter to perform this test. If you don’t have one then my best guess is the control assuming the lid switch is good.
Jan 20, 2013
 second mode shifter in two weeks
by: jim

I also have this pile of crap called the GE hydrowave. So i had the 4 blink code indicating a bad mode shifter. I also could see the drum turn during the agitation cycle. Your video was a huge help (except that my agitator was very difficult to remove. It had a pressed on nut that required a 2x4 and a rope to pop it off. The video made no mention of how to remove it.) Anyways, i was able to install the new mode shifter. A week later my wife complained of a heavy vibration. I removed the agitator and discovered the large nut had backed off. I retightened it and ran an empty load and it backed off again. I also noticed the four blink code again and the drum is turning with the agitator again. I tried resetting the codes but keep getting the mode shifter code. Please help. Thanks.
Jan 20, 2013
 RE
by: Shawn/admin

They should take the shifter back it comes with a year warranty. There were some cases where the motor caused the shifter to fail. I have a list of the part numbers of the motors that were know for causing the shifter to fail on this page.

GE Washer Repair

Even if yours isn’t one of the numbers you may consider replacing the motor because it could have caused the shifter to fail or you can hope it was a faulty shifter and reorder without the motor.

Also test the sifter with an ohmmeter to see if it is an open circuit on the coil. If the shifter test ok but still will not operate then you could have a bad motor. The motor may not be powering up the sifter coil. Since most meters don’t have the capacities to test high DC voltage I don’t recommend trying to test voltage going to the shifter to confirm.
Jan 21, 2013
 thanks shawn
by: jim

Thanks shawn. I should mention that after i put the new shifter in it worked correctly. Does that lean towards the motor or another bad mode shifter? I checked the serial number on the motor. The one number on the sticker: 175D5106G030 and a second number stamped on the motor cover. This one is hard to read but i think it is: 1676999-6. It is made by Tyco. Also, the place i bought it at won't take electrical parts back. Again, thank you for your help.
Jan 22, 2013
 RE
by: Shawn/admin

They don’t take electrical parts back to resell (meaning they don’t take them back because you ordered the wrong part) however they should take it back under GE’s one year parts warranty (At least they should). When you do this you have to give them the model number, serial number, date installed and date failed.

They may claim they can’t take it back because it wasn’t professionally installed but this isn’t true because GE will warranty the part regardless. If all fails you may be able to by-pass the parts retailer and get GE to take it back. Just as a side note the parts retailers advertised on my site have a 1-year return policy regardless of type of part (for any reason).

It doesn’t look like yours is one that the motor was known for causing a sifter coil failure but it is a toss up between your coil being faulty and the motor causing your new and/or the old sifter coils to fail. However before it changed it again I would test it with an ohmmeter.

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