Washer sometimes won't spin/agitiate

Model #, WHRE5550K2WW
Yesterday I washed a load of clothes, and when I put them in the dryer I noticed they were still wet. So I put them through the spin cycle again. Came back later and they were still wet. So I waited until to day to do some research. The first thing I found was on youtube. It showed me how to clear the error code. I did this. And the spin cycle worked! So I know put in a new load of clothes. I come back and they are still wet again... So it did not spin, but it did wash and drain as before. So I clear the code again, and this time it does not help. I take the front off, and spin the drive belt one revolution. I then turn on the spin cycle and it works. I decide to wash another load of clothes, but this time when it gets to the "wash" cycle it does nothing. It fills but does nothing when "wash" lights up. I change it over just to drain and spin, and the machine will drain, but it doesent spin. I now find your website and read everything about the hydrawaves. I suspect the Mode shifter. After reading everything I go back out and pay more attention to details. I unplug machine for about 5 mins. Plug it in. No error code, light blinks every one second. The times when the motor spins it blinks every 1/2 second. I start the drain and spin. Machine drains and then it spins! I start the machine from a regular load. It fills. As it fills the agitator goes forward and backward like it is supposed to, the bucket does not spin. When it hits "wash" it does nothing at all. Now I switch it back to drain and spin. It drains like usual, but when it kicks in to spin it doesent spin. This time it makes a noise like a solonoid would make. Now I need help. The motor seems to work sometimes, the mode shifter seems to work sometimes. The drain and the fill works all the time. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Craig Jackson

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Answer

Hi,

Do you know if at any point the motor had an error code?

Intermitting problems can be very hard to diagnose but lets give it a shot. First disconnect the power and try rotating the tub slowly to see if there is a point at which it tries to hang or get stuck. If so you know the sifter is bad. If the sifter is hanging you should get an error code but I don’t like to trust error codes 100% anyway.

Remove the belt and run a cycle with the belt off while watching to see if the motor runs the entire time. If it sill will not run during spin or any other time you have ruled out the sifter as being the problem. If it spins fine through a few cycles put the belt back on and see what it does. If you determine that the motor will run without the belt on but will not run (consistently) with the belt on you can determine that the problem is in the sifter.

If you rule out the chance that the sifter has failed mechanically then the problem is the motor or the control. My money would be on the motor but this will be hard to determine due to the intermitting nature of your problem. Let me know what you find.

Thank you,
Shawn/administrator