Are the loads unbalanced at all? If you say that it only happens more with a coloured loads and not with whites, perhaps the items in white loads are all of simialar nature and easy to balance whereas items in the coloured load could vary in weight & thus cause an imbalance issue. It definitely sounds like a load balancing issue to be, and the machine is operating how it should in that case, i.e. it doesn't spin if the load is too unbalanced. If it's tumbling back and forth during the spin, then it seems pretty sure to me that the loads are triggering the balance sensor.

Hope this helps,

Jon

I thought that might be it as well, but even when I remove half of the clothes from the load it still doesn't spin-dry. I'll try again with even smaller load and see.

We've jammed this thing pretty full in the past - and it seemed pretty good at self-balancing the load.

Do you know how the load balance sensing works in this thing? Maybe that part is getting worn/flakey or needs to be recalibrated...

Thanks,

Bruce

load balancing problem may be the forerunner of the problem we had, which was the bearings wearing out. the machine spits out shredded material...repair costs would be $450. bottom line...we're looking for a new washing machine

Crud. I'd be doing the same if I were you too...$450 is too much to spend to get to the next failure mode.

On my failed unit, I checked the 3 tub switches - all seemed to be fine, then I discovered a very weak wax motor that was not capable of pushing the spin switch. I replaced the wax motor today, and it works fine - pushes the spin switch correctly...

However, it still doesnt work properly. Now the big select knob (and entire machine) stops before each of the rinse cycles. We have to manually advance the knob and press start again to baby it though the entire wash cycle.

Needless to say, my lovely wife does not consider this a successful repair.

Any Neptune gurus have any idea what's still wrong? I'm starting to suspect brain damage, but spending $200 to replace the control board is not attractive. The wax motor circuit (a known weak area) seems to be working fine on my controller.

-Bruce

I might have an idea or two, but if you have read that many websites about the problem and all the fixes for it, and you still dont know what is wrong, maybe you should call someone out and get a true estimate of the damage. Heck you might be able to fix it yourself once you know what the problem is, or the tech may fix it much more reasonable than you are imagining. You can pick up tons of Neptune parts on the cheap on Ebay too. I have loads of spares for my 4000 set.

Well, actually getting a tech out to take a look does make sense. Except for the part where I am a pathelogical tinkerer/engineer, with a history of saying "how hard can THAT be?"

I thought I had it fixed with the wax motor as it was clearly dying and not doing its job.

I'm not sure why the machine is now essentially turning itself off after each program segment.

If you have any ideas i'd be happy to hear them...I figure I'm good for one more round of DIY-roulette to see if can figure it out. Then it'll be time to call the professionals.

I did see a bunch of stuff on ebay - I'll go take a look and see what a Control might cost me.

Thx.

If you had a bad wax motor then you likely had a bad control board. Was the door lock light staying on? If not the problem may be in the motor and control board. Ive replaced the wax motor, control board,washer motor and controller all in preventative maintenance due to the common problems with them. The new washer motor and control board is silent running compared to the original and the updated control board has better wash and rinse cycles to help prevent mold issues. My washer came with the updated drain in the door seal already installed. Those are the primary fail parts other than the much more rare but very expensive tub bearing failure. I purchased a full set of parts from Ebay for 100.00 that someone had replaced prior to having a rear bearig failure. You can find good prices even on brand new parts. Just do a search for Maytag Neptune on Ebay and watch the auctions regularly. There are many webpages dedicated to diagnosis of Maytag Neptune failures. Google will find all you can stomach reading.

I don't know if you resolved the problem with your Neptune, but I had the same exact problem (same model too). My clothes would not go through the rinse/spin cycle unless I manually kind of "forced" it by advancing the control - eventually that wasn't even working.

I called Maytag (I bought an extended warranty two years ago after a certain fiasco that ended up with a minor flood). The guy comes to my house and he asks if I have well water - yes, I do. He says, "I know exactly what the problem is, and it's not your washer." Okay, I'll bite, I'm thinking. He proceeded to unscrew the water line connectors, and removed a small piece of debris from the cold line. He said that's the line that the rinse cycle water comes from, and if there's any clog, the rinse/spin cycle won't work. He connected the line back, and what do you know, the thing works!!

Now, if the person on the phone could have told me something about this, I could have done this myself! Because I paid (reluctantly) for the extended warranty, the visit didn't cost anything. Hopefully, this will help someone else out.

shhhhh! This is EXACTLY the problem which has enabled me to shuck my sorry 2000 Neptune! DH took off pump & inspected drain line, ultimately pronouncing "it has lost its mind" & thus freeing me to get a new washer! This was the expensive FL - our ralitively cheap Frigidaire FL has outperformed crummy Neptune in every way - hope the Bosch does as well as the LIL OLE fRIGIDAIRE.

I had a Neptune front loader-paid a fortune for it. I year after I got it, it did exactly what you are describing. I called Maytag and found out this washer was part of a class action lawsuit. They claimed to have notified me, but I received no such notice. The bottom line was people had this problem fixed, but it broke again; there is no guarantee after spending big bucks, the thing will ever work again. I know tons of people in my area who simply threw away the certificates they received because of the lawsuit which allowed so many dollar towards replacement-about a thousand dollars depending on when you bought the machine. I received nothing so I went out bought an old fashioned washingmachine like my Mother used for years, and I love it-works perfectly and if it ever breaks, it won't cost much to fix or I could get rid of it. I was so upset because I paid over a thousand for that washer-it was the first year it came out. I hate Maytag and would never buy anything from them.

This is a long-overdue followup. I got my MAH4000 running again. I ended up replacing the wax motor ($20) and control board ($200). I got the parts from my local Marcone parts place.

Curiously, I also removed the WATER LINES from the back of the machine as Pam14 mentioned, and yes, the inlet screen (non-removable/replacable...grrrr...) were clogged with grey fuzz and a bit of sludge - nothing major, but suspicious.

It's all back together and working fine now. I know my wax motor was bad (it was not moving all the way to depress the switch on the far side). However, my control board _looked_ fine, and the new was motor worked fine with the original control board, so if I had to guess, I'd go out on a limb and say it was the CLOGGED SCREEN that was actually the source of my problems and NOT the control board.

So, cheap suggestion: clean out your inlet screens FIRST before you spend a week and $220 fiddling with it. Then check your wax motor.

The wax motors DO fail all the time, but if you have a later-model motor(reddish-orange plunger) it may mean that you only have to replace the motor and not the control board. I believe that the wax motors with the BLACK plunger (earlier models) are the ones which usually take out the control board when they fail.

So try this:

1) clean your water inlet screen
2) check your wax motor to see if goes all the way to the right and pushes the switch. if not, replace it.
3a) if it still doesnt work, replace control board
or
3b) buy a new (non-Maytag) washer

Fix your control board instead of replacing it. See this web page for instructions http://members.shaw.ca/gavb/

I followed the instructions without problems and solved it for less than $20, including a spike protector as suggested in the instructions.

Also... just above the wax motor is a micro switch. If that micro switch is not fully depressed for the spin cycle, you will see similiar symptoms to the R11 failure. I loosened the mounts on my micro switch and retightened the mounts while pressing the switch down on the mounting screws. This was enough to make it work again.

I hate coming to the party late, but I went through the same thing with my Neptune 2 years ago. The problem was a broken golf tee, (we live on a golf course) got lodged somwhere and the thing wouldn't spin. The guy was in and out, but I'm glad it was nothing major. I guess I'm lucky with my Neptune duo. That was the only thing wrong after 6 years!

My Neptune was working fine 2 weeks ago; yesterday I noticed the door lock light doesn't work, and the laundry never spinned.

Is there something I can try to do myself before calling in a repairman? The way I feel about the problems I've had with this machine over its 8 year life, I'd rather buy a new one than have someone fix it.

See http://www.neptunewaxmotor.com

I did that repair a couple months ago on a friend's MAH4000. I ran into a problem with the circuit board trace being damaged between the resistor and triac, worked around it by laying the resistor lead along the trace to reach the triac and solding it directly to the triac. Your mileage on doing that may vary.

I just let my husband know what the problem is, and he has no objection to us getting a new washer. Neither one of us are mechanically inclined, and do not want to deal with Maytag.

I have the stackable and would stop about 30 seconds into cycle and in spin mode would only spin slowly. Wax motor was new style and R11 was not visibly damaged, but another resister was. I replaced the resister and could only get intermittent use from the washer.

Ran motor control test and tub spun for 30 seconds. Did not see any visible issues with motor control board. Saw a post about a fuse under the heat sink on the motor control board so I took the heat sink off and looked for the fuse that I could not find.

However noticed that the connection from the chips on the board that get hot to the heat sink had very minimal and quite dried out thermal compound between them. Cleaned off, added more compound that I have from cleaning my laptop cooling fan (I used Arctic Silver) and reassembled.

So far, success and washer seems to spin faster (clothes are drier coming out) than before. I could see the board becoming hot, increasing the resistance and causing this issue. Heat sink seems hotter than before too, indicating better heat transfer away from the board. Since the board in at the bottom and there is a dryer on the top, I could see this as being clogged with lint, however, this was not an issue on mine.

Once again Artic Silver comes to the rescue, an overclockers best friend. Congrats on a great diagnostic repair.

Fordtech: Good to see you back again. I guess you are still using the Neptune 7500? Have you taken it apart anymore to check on the build up on the tub/parts and are you still using only the Sears detergent? Seems like at one time you also added STPP but maybe I am wrong about that.?

Hi Sparky, yes still using the 7500, but its a whole new 7500. I did a complete ground up restoration of it about 10 months ago with about 85 or 90 percent all new parts.

When I did take it apart at the 10 years old restoration the buildup had indeed continued. Hard crusty grey deposits. So I was glad I was doing the restoration project at that point. I am down to 2 boxes of Sears detergent and would like to try something else but its so darned economically priced... LOL

I stopped using STPP because of the cost of it and difficulty getting ahold of it. That may have been the downfall of it all, hard water. I have since moved to a different home and maybe the water will be different here. But if I get another 10 years from this build, I guess I wont complain. Too many other models have long been deceased and by then Ill be about 70 years old if I live that long, and maybe by then we will be washing with a whole new system, or maybe even back to beating them over rocks in the river... LOL

Nice to see you again Sparky.

Fordtech: Have you ever noticed in using the Sears detergent vs something else, that for some reason the clothes seem to spin drier with the Sears detergent? OR am I the only one that thinks that? Maybe it is just me, but clothes just seem drier vs Cheer or All. I wonder how the new Kenmore detergent works? I haven't tried it.

I am still using my 4000--now 15-16 yrs old. Just the one problem with the door lock/board burn out when it was a year old. Warranty covered. I hope it last several more years, maybe 20 anyway...Yours should last you many years ahead.

Honestly I hadnt noticed that, but I have been using it for so long I guess I wouldnt necessarily. Im not the main laundry person here anyway. I just play with the machines.. :)

I originally had a 4000 and would still likely but got a great closeout deal on a new 7500 back in 2005. I only rebuilt this one because at my age I dont know if I could wait 5 or more years and be healthy enough to do it then. That and I was just anxious to get it done before the renovation work I had to do to this house before moving in. I also didnt need to find a storage place for that mountain of parts!