W124 & bra wire

[rildin]

I previously posted about a bra wire being hung in the drain valve of a wasco 124. Thanks to the help here, I replaced the drain valve motor and the drain now closes.

However, this is what happens now: I insert money and the washer starts. It fills and starts agitating. It does that for the entire washer cycle (through pre-wash, wash, rinses, and extract). The washer then stops.

Any ideas, and is this related to the bra wire incident somehow?

Thanks,
Frank.

Also, I want to thank all of you for sharing your time and knowledge. I really, REALLY appreciate the help!

[MSKLAUNDRY.]

So are you saying that the washer is not draining? If so then your drain valve is not opening. Again you will need to fix the drain valve assembly.

[BWJR]

This is an on-going problem with wasco's Replace your drain valve with a dependo drain valve. That will cut your clogging down to a minimum.

BWJR

[rildin]

Hi,

From the pictures I see on the web, the drain valve appears to be a Dependo.

I removed/reinstalled the motor again, and made sure that the return spring was in position.

While I had it off, I powered it up, and noticed that the motor turns continuously. I'm guessing that it turns (when installed) until the valve is closed, power remains applied, and when it's time to drain the 220v is removed and the spring opens the drain.

So... I ran the machine for a cycle, and it still fills, agitates for the entire washing cycle (including through the rinses and extract), and ends with the washer still full of water. I turned off the power at the breaker, and the machine still didn't drain.

Am I missing something in the installation of that motor? It seems straight-forward, lining up the slot and spring, and sliding it on. Is polarity an issue here? I suppose I might have put the wires on the wrong terminals, but the valve does close.

Any thoughts or ideas are welcome.

Thanks,
Frank.

[Anonymous]

You may have the spring so tight that the motor is having trouble opening the valve. The other issue could be that the motor is going backwards. Some after market coils are backwards, you might try flipping it over so it sticks out.

[rildin]

I installed the spring with no tension, figuring that tension would be put on it by the valve closing.

I do know that even after the washer completes the cycle, water is still in the machine.

Is the drain system purely that when 220v is removed from the drain valve, the spring opens the drain? If so, then perhaps I need to put tension on the spring when I install the motor? The only way I could see to do that would be to engage the spindle then turn the motor assembly a turn or two completely around before seating it.

I'm confused, since even when I turn off the breaker, the water stays in the machine.

I operated the valve by hand without the motor on it, and it turns very easily, so I'm pretty sure it's not jamming (I previously cleaned out all the gunk, when I removed the bra wire).

I curse all bra wires.

One more point, the washer ran for over an hour or so before the customer pointed it out to the attendant. Could something have "fried" that should be controlling the drain action? I hear assorted "clicks" as the machine cycles, but it just continues to agitate. Much as it is agitating me. :)

Thanks,
Frank.

[KJD]

There should be NO power to the drain valve when the machine is off.

The drain valve should be completely open until the machine starts and power goes to the valve and closes it.

Buy a new complete valve, they are not worth messing with.

[rildin]

There is no power when the CB is off, you're right.

What I meant to say was that even with no power the drain valve didn't open. I was wondering whether it was spring action that was supposed to open the drain (and I didn't have it tensioned), or whether the motor opened and closed the valve.

Thanks,
Frank.

[Ryano23_98]

the motor opens it and the spring close it , there needs to be 2 truns on the spring

[TTLES]

After some years and testing we have found the following:
1- We prefer to rebuild, in the shop, the origional valve. We feel that in the long run it is a better valve.
2- The Dependo is a throw away valve.( not counting failure of the stator and gear assy)
3- The "ball " of the dependo can become damaged and become troublesome. On another note, we try to replace all origional Dependo type ball valves with the flapper type.
4- The market is flooded with aftermarket (Korean) motor and gear assys. They are TROUBLESOME. ( I AM BEING KIND!!!)
5-In the feild we replace the origional Wasco gen 4 valve with a completely rebuilt unit.
6- REBUILT GEN 4 VALVE
New origional motor and gear assy.
New return spring & drive shaft pin
New origional diaphragm and rubber ring (better quality than aftermarket)
New wire harness
Metal frame cleaned, and coated with brite galvanize compound
Plastic parts, cleaned and epoxy coated
New origional clamps, new hex screws

The Gen 4 machine is worth the extra trouble and time. After twenty + years of servicing, I have yet to determine a life expectancy for this machine. These machines have more positive aspects than any machine to date. Rebuilt, and or, repaired CORRECTLY they are a great value, and excellent profit makers.

[buddy]

My guess is that the spring is not anchored correctly. When the Valve closes, it should create tension on the spring. When poer is cutoff the tension on the spring should pull the valve back and open the drain. I have replaced motor/gear assembly and spring on Dependo valve and it works fine. Check to make sure everything is installed properly.

I had similar problem on one of my Wascomat. Although the drain valve opened, the water would not drain. It turned out to be a solid clog at the end of the e feet drain hose that extends behind the washer just before it eneters main drain line.

[rildin]

The solution in this instance was to reduce the spring tension to 1 turn.

At 2 turns, I could see that the motor had difficulty completing the drain closure. On power-up, the motor would turn, and then stop, then make little "trying motions" a little at a time.

I took it back off, put it on at 1 turn, and everything seems to be working fine.

Thanks for all the help. I attribute the problem (probably) to being the aftermarket motor, without enough "oomph" to get the job done. I'll use this one until the next bra wire.

Thanks,
Frank.