If the washer requires 120V into a regular wall receptacle, only the short opening should measure 120V with respect to the longer slot or the ground slot. Why he would put both probes into the same slot makes no sense, as the meter would and did read 0. Get yourself one of those plug-in testers that determine if a receptacle is wired correctly. If it is indeed wired wrong, which it may be, then rewire the receptacle yourself. Open the breaker to the circuit, remove the receptacle, and you should see a black or red wire to the gold colored screw (narrow slot of the receptacle) and the white wire should connect to the silver screw (wider slot of the receptacle). If these are reversed as I think they may be, just reverse them, making sure the bare wire goes under the correct screw in a clockwise direction. The reason your washer is acting up is because the electronic controls are seeing reversed polarity which will affect them. The old washer, with mechanical controls rather than electronic, was not affected by reversed polarity.

Thank you, bigbird_1. When my DH gets home, we will check the outlet using your wonderfully-detailed instructions. I'll let you know what we find. Thanks again!

Amcofar - I think you need to persist a bit with Sears. You might want to read this and this before you call them again.

Davidr: Thanks for the info. I took the outlet cover off and checked the wiring. It seems to be wired correctly. My DH is bringing home some testing equipment to check out the wiring.

The Sears tech sold me a maintenance agreement and suggested that I call service out in three months to check everything over. If there are any more problems, at least repairs will be covered. I have dealt with this problem on and off since March. The tech guy was telling me how they changed out the control boards all of the time. I told him that having to replace a part "all of the time" means that Sears is manufacturing a defective product. I remember a while back finding a Web site that was collecting names and email addresses in preparation for a class-action lawsuit against Sears for this very reason.

I can tell you that the Sears technician test of your receptacle show the results that I would expect from a receptacle that is working properly. Either the technician does not know how to interpret his test results or he is trying to deceive you. A receptacle wired "reverse polarity" should not adversely affect the functioning of an AC powered device. But the "reversed polarity" can compromise the safety of some devices that might be powered from such a receptacle. I have no reason at the moment to believe that yours is wired in reverse or that your washer problems are a safety issue.

My DH brought home some electrical test equipment from work. The receptacle is wired correctly and functioning correctly. I am washing a load of towels now. We'll see what happens.

Whirlpool told me the same thing when my new Whirlpool Calypso machine and its identical replacement failed within two months at my house. The first machine didn't run two days. The POCO placed a recording voltmeter/power analyzer at both the outlet and service entry, and provided the (well within tolerance) results to me, but Whirlpool still insisted it had to be a prolem at my premises. Like you, the old machine had worked fine for 15 years on the circuit.

The only "Whirlpool authorized" repairman around here walked in, looked at the machine and the video I had of its erratic action and said, "I can't do anything with this". Subsequent calls to Whirlpool were a waste of time- but the Lowe's store immediately offered to credit me for the machine and deliver the (non-Whirlpool) replacement for free.

I will never buy another Whirlpool made appliance at any price.

This sort of discussion really belongs over in the Appliance forum, but I would like to add one comment.

With great reluctance, I finally gave up on my washing machine (nearly 25 years old) last year and bought a new one.

The reason I was hanging on to the old guy is that I've read that new machines may be assembled in the US, but often the subassemblies (controls, transmissions, motors) are many times cheap low-bid Chinese imports, and not nearly as robust as earlier components. But when it came down to buying the special tool required to change the drum bearing, I finally decided to let it go.

Before shopping, I looked in Consumer Reports to find the makes with the best repair records. To my surprise, one of the brands near the top was a cheap one - Roper! Turns out that Roper, which I think is manufactured by Whirlpool, uses old-fashioned low tech mechanical timers and very little fancy electronics. Guess what components in new, fancy, expensive washers need repair and replacement most frequently! ;-)

I agree with davidr. When I get appliances I usually look for the most basic model. They're usually more time-proven older designs that can be serviced by any non-properietary repair shop. All these new electronic bells and whistles go bad, and when they do its a lot more expensive to replace than a simple mechanical contact or switch.

Sears is trying to blow you off. The F11 error is a known problem having to do with a poorly designed/built relay board in the washer. There are several threads on the Laundry Room forum that deal with this issue. Go do a search over there.

Thank you all for your assistance. At least I know that my electrical outlet is wired correctly.

If your BBB has a complaint procedure you should at least file a complaint about both Sears and the service company.