Fisher & Paykel GWL 10 washer won't agitate

9 years ago

I have a FP GWL 10 washer.--First would not drain
a) On a wish and prayer I ordered a new pump and replaced old one. The wish was expensive and the prayer failed.
b) Went to online appliance repairman. He directed me to make sure the drain line was clear and nothing was caught in the diverter valve or base of drain pump. Those were both clear.
c) I was then directed to replace the diverter valve which I did. All the washing machine would do is recycle the water back into the tub but still wouldn't drain.
d) I read your thread about disconnecting the wires from the diverter valve in case the motor control panel was keeping the diverter open. I did that and miraculously the machine would drain so based on that I ordered and installed a new control board.
e) The machine will now fill but just makes a noise and will not go into agitate mode. I ran diagnoses mode and got no problems communicated there. If I advance the wash cycle the machine will drain and go into spin mode.
Wondering if not in engaging with drive cog properly but if that is the case why is it ok in spin cycle. Or could it be I need to replace the RPS? Thanks in advance for your help.

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Comments (5)

dadoes
9 years ago
There are no routines or tests in diagnostics to run the SmartDrive motor. Setting the machine to spin should effectively test it and the RPS. The only difference between agitation and spin is that the motor oscillates for agitation and rotates straightaway for spin. It should agitate if it spins ... unless perhaps there's a weird software flaw on your replacement board.

Is your agitator perhaps stripped-out such that it's not gripping the drive shaft?
Doncrawley
Original Author
9 years ago
How do I determine if the agitator is stripped? I don't have a visual of how the machine is put together. Is it 2 different mechanisms for agitator and the spin cycle? How do I get to the agitator?
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It's normal to feel some "cogging" from the magnets in the SmartDrive motor when rotating the basket by hand. F&P bearings don't fail very often, although it surely can happen. The control board monitors and directly controls the rotational speed of the motor, so theoretically it should trigger a fault code if the motor can't reach the target speed. If you aren't getting any fault codes, then something else may be wrong, such as a clogged diverter valve that is allowing the water to partially recirculate during drain. Or, possibly a piece of clothing such as a sock or some other foreign object is caught under the inner basket. Run these tests and report the results. - With the machine's power off, press and hold Wash Temp Down, then press Power at the same time. The panel should turn on in Diagnostic Mode. - Press Spin Speed Up (or Down as needed) to turn on BOTH the Hold and Slow lights. The Wash Progress lights indicate the last recorded Fault Code in binary numbering. Add up the total of the lights that are on, that's the fault code. From left to right, the eight lights are numbered 128, 64, 32, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1. You may not have a code displayed. - Press the Delicate cycle button. This activates the diverter valve for testing. The Delicate light will come on, but nothing else obvious happens at this point, so don't be concerned about that. - Press Wash Temp Down to turn on the cold water (again to turn it off). Press Wash Temp Up to check the hot water. Let the machine fill with just enough water to see it coming up in the tub. - If less than 3 mins since you turned on Delicate, wait a little longer after filling the water. Otherwise, press Regular to turn on the pump. Water should shower out of the recirculation port at the top right-rear of the tub, and NO WATER should come out of the drain hose. Note also if the pump sounds normal, or is noisy similar to what you hear during the spin problem. - Press both Regular and Delicate to turn the pump and diverter off. Wait 3+ mins again. Press Regular to turn the pump back on (do not press Delicate). Water should flow out the drain hose, and NONE from the recirculation port. Let the water drain fully, and note again if the pump sounds normal.
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I don't think you're doing the diagnostic correctly. For the fault code display, you need the HOLD and SLOW spin lights on. The fault code is displayed via the eight Wash Progress lights. Add up the binary value of the lights that are on. From left to right: 128, 64, 32, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1 The Med spin light is for testing the lid switch and OOB switch, not for getting the fault code. Correct, the water level transducer is an integral part of the controller board. Being as you were able to blow through the tube successfully, the board may very well be bad. However, if you want to investigate further, you could pull the inner basket and confirm that the small hole to the air dome at side of the tub is not clogged. What's the source of your tech sheet being wet? Being that it's stored inside the console, there shouldn't be any exposure to water unless the water valves and/or mixing chamber thermistor seal is leaking. If so, that needs to be fixed ASAP before the console floods and zaps the board. I'm not sure if this applies to GWL10 or only to newer models, but one of the diagnostic displays should (may) report the sensed water level in millimeters. You could perhaps check if it's sensing a reasonable level for what you observe in the tub. Get in Diagnostic Mode. Press Spin Speed Up/Down as needed to get the Fast and Med spin speed lights. Add up the (binary) numeric values of the lit wash progress lights.
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dadoes
9 years ago
The agitator is bolted directly to the drive shaft and turns as per the motor's rotation (or oscillation). The agitator is always driven by the motor's rotation, whether during agitation or spin.

The inner basket sits atop a clutch cog under the agitator. When the tub fills with water, air caught under the basket base causes it to float upward slightly and disengage from the cog so the agitator can oscillate separately (the basket free-spins during agitation). The basket settles back down on the drive cog for spin when the water drains. Turning the agitator by hand when the machine is empty of water should rotate the basket with it.

Removing the agitator -- Take off the softener dispenser/cap at the top. Reach down inside and unscrew the hold-down nut. The agitator then lifts up and out (unless it's stuck). Turn it over and examine whether the keyed socket that fits on the shaft is perhaps worn or cracked. Don't overtighten the plastic hold-down nut when replacing the agitator to avoid stripping the threads.
Doncrawley
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks for the info.
1) Checked as directed and agitator is not stripped or cracked.
2) May have misstated the problem
a) Machine will fill as directed but when it advances to the third wash button the system stops and the 3rd wash light and the water temp button start to blink.
b) If I manually advance to the 4th light the water will start to circulate (assume that is mixing of the washing powder)
c) The machine then advances itself to the next light and starts to agitate.
d) It will complete the wash cycle and go into the spin cycle.

So the the problem is occurring when the machine fills with water and then stops. What do you think?
dadoes
9 years ago
Regards to your b) above, water recirculation function is a pretreatment phase that runs on all cycles except Perm Press. It should happen on the 1st/2nd (amber) Wash Progress lights, not the fourth (green) light.

A blinking water temp light usually means either hot or cold water is not working ... per which light is it (hot or cold).

You should check Diagnostic Mode for what Fault Code is recorded, if any.
1) With Power off, press and hold Wash Temp Down, then press Power at the same time. Two beeps and the panel turns on.
2) Press Spin Speed Up repeatedly until both Hold and Slow are lit. Press Spin Speed Down if you overshoot the mark until Hold and Slow are properly lit.
3) The eight Wash Progress lights indicate the Fault Code. Report back here which are lit, numbered in order 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 from left to right.
4) Press Power to exit diagnostic mode.

Fisher & Paykel GWL 10 washer won't agitate

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Fisher & Paykel GWL 10 washer won't agitate

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dadoes

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