Washing machine motor causing out of balance!?

Extremely pissed today after I was declined a warranty repair on my washer by some mop head looking wrench jockey $%^^& that came in with headphones on around his neck(very professional...) leaving his #%$%^^ing shoes on then stating it was my wood floor causing the washer to be out of balance, I know this $%^# just doesn't want to do the work so he can get off of work early and go smoke his pot pipe, I got a late afternoon friday(today) repair scheduled. So the side loader POS washer I paid $1000 for just last year is a heap of vibrating, knocking, wall shaking... #$%t unless I can fix it myself or if I feel like sitting on the phone for 3 hours screaming my lungs off at the arabian/indian crap phone service that Samsung(never buy from them please) offers. I can not take another question of "what detergent are you using". The $%%k!

So I did some searching for parts and asking questions to part sales people and found it could be the hall sensors on the motor. Could anyone give me some incite to this? Could it just be out of place/alignment? I guess most of the balancing is done by the current draw from the motor. The machine is easy to get to the motor, just a bolt opens the motor up and I can see everything. The first repair I got was for excessive vibration which was from a missing bolt on the balancing weights so for the year I had used it before the first repair it was vibrating heavily. I thought this was normal.

The last one I had shook badly, it was the springs that support the weight of the drum that had stretched letting it sit to low, I tightened the springs up and it was fine. also look for a chunk missing out of the drive belt surface, loose motor mounts or even the weight may have fell off. I have not seen a bldc motor in a washer before? they are usually AC induction motors?

Most washing machines today have imbalance detection and will stop the spin to even out the bulk in the drum causing the imbalance then re start the spin again.

This is on front loading machines, I'm sure the same applies to the top loaders too.

One of the best machines I had for a stable spin was a Bosch and the AEG we have recently bought is even better and the quietest machine I've ever heard. It's a washer/dryer. Amazing thing.

I remember the machines of 20+ years ago used to jump half way across the floor.

What is Samsung model number?
Try Google - samsung [model number] balance
YouTube is also a good place for appliance repair videos.
Pull the washer out and take a good look at that wood floor. Floor under washer needs to be level and have no bounciness. Get some longer hot and cold hoses and move washing machine to another part of the house as a test.
Try less or more clothing. Small loads can cause washing machines to vibrate during spin cycle. Over loading is also bad. Any shoes in the wash?
Take a good look at the washer feet. You level some washing machines by pushing them forward and back. Its hard to describe.
Look in owners manual. Samsung should have this on line. What is Samsung model number?
Get a service manual from a place that sells parts.

Re: mop head looking wrench jockey leaving his #%$%^^ing shoes on. I am the guy you call to come to your house and fix stuff. The most important thing with every job is safety. Shoes protect my feet. I WILL NOT take my #%$%^^ing shoes off! I do keep a large supply of drop cloths, blankets, and sheets, in my truck and I will be happy to make a path from the door to whatever I am working on. If you want to pay me by the hour I will be happy to take my shoes off when I enter the door. Put shoes on when working on dangerous stuff. And repeat the shoes off and on every time I need to run out to the truck for a tool. Some guys have slippers that they put over their shoes.

Also nice to ask people who come to your house to fix stuff if they would like anything to eat or drink. Also nice to have a place to go to the bathroom.

Marty pretty much covered the best ways to procede. I've repaired appliances for decades and Youtube is a very helpful resource.

Unfortunately, I've never worked on a front load washer but 'don't think there's much that could be causing violent shaking. Might be as simple as flooring or perhaps something's broken in the tub drive mechanism? Either way it should be fairly obvious once you pull things out and inspect.

It's empty, correct? No large bed spread, rugs or jeans still inside?

When dealing with people by phone yelling and screaming will only slow the process down. The people at the other end are just doing their job, and they had nothing to do with the making your machine or the design decisions that caused your failure. On top of being at least cordial the best words you can use to help solve your issue are "Please help me."

An out of balance condition is simple enough to remedy that I wouldn't hesitate to DIY the job, especially if I was concerned about the repairman coming inside with his shoes on. First check for loose or missing parts as mentioned by other posters.

Hall sensor problem...no way. Running rough has nothing to do with balance and big vibrations.

Is the problem just on the spin cycle? If so, did you try running it empty to be certain that an imbalanced load isn't the problem. I've never used a front loader, do they even have spin cycles?

Since you have wood floors, you should want to protect them, so as part of the protection process balance the machine relative to it's feet too.

Tench said:

The last one I had shook badly, it was the springs that support the weight of the drum that had stretched letting it sit to low, I tightened the springs up and it was fine. also look for a chunk missing out of the drive belt surface, loose motor mounts or even the weight may have fell off. I have not seen a bldc motor in a washer before? they are usually AC induction motors?

Click to expand...

The springs are not adjustable, they look good and the front rubber boot seal is not out of alignment so I assume the drum is help up well. It does have the stop and try again to balance it again which it does if it is really out of balance at the start of the spin cylce, but that just gets it back to it's "normal amount" out of balance. It looks to be a belt less motor, see around .50 in the video below, that is my washer. The bolt that holds the motor is all beat up like it was opened previously, or they messed up on it. The top balance weight was the original problem, it had one of three bolts missing so was loose/wobbled around when in the spin cycle. I think I got a refurbished machine, it was bought on a 33% off sale and maybe they were just out of stock when I ordered.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2k3w6suShU

marty said:

What is Samsung model number?
Try Google - samsung [model number] balance
YouTube is also a good place for appliance repair videos.
Pull the washer out and take a good look at that wood floor. Floor under washer needs to be level and have no bounciness. Get some longer hot and cold hoses and move washing machine to another part of the house as a test.
Try less or more clothing. Small loads can cause washing machines to vibrate during spin cycle. Over loading is also bad. Any shoes in the wash?
Take a good look at the washer feet. You level some washing machines by pushing them forward and back. Its hard to describe.
Look in owners manual. Samsung should have this on line. What is Samsung model number?
Get a service manual from a place that sells parts.

Re: mop head looking wrench jockey leaving his #%$%^^ing shoes on. I am the guy you call to come to your house and fix stuff. The most important thing with every job is safety. Shoes protect my feet. I WILL NOT take my #%$%^^ing shoes off! I do keep a large supply of drop cloths, blankets, and sheets, in my truck and I will be happy to make a path from the door to whatever I am working on. If you want to pay me by the hour I will be happy to take my shoes off when I enter the door. Put shoes on when working on dangerous stuff. And repeat the shoes off and on every time I need to run out to the truck for a tool. Some guys have slippers that they put over their shoes.

Also nice to ask people who come to your house to fix stuff if they would like anything to eat or drink. Also nice to have a place to go to the bathroom.

Click to expand...

Model is wf395btpawr/a2
Searched all over and this is a rare model not made anymore, and suprize I can get them new for $700 including shipping when they were $1500 without shipping last year.
I moved it all around when I had them stacked to every possible part of the laundry room and made sure it was level, the floor is sturdy enough to have it perform better then it is. It is a mobile home, I know when the floor boards need to be replaced, about to do it under the toilet this summer.

I have no problems and have no hate for anyone who fixes my stuff but this guy is an idiot. How would you feel about someone who comes to your house to fix a $1000 disaster wearing headphones around his neck, what do you plan on listening to music on the job? And yes there was no cloths, shoes covers(like the cable guy wears), bottom line if someone works a union job and takes advantage of that by blowing me off so he doesn't have to work, he is a #$%^ing idiot! He came into my house to blow me off so he can leave, I could literally tell he wanted to just get in and out quick so he would be done at 4pm!

I have been pulling this machine apart to try to fix it. I think I found the culprit. The back bolt which holds the rotor(magnets for stator), which I remember the repair guy tried to remove then stopped because he could not get the bolt loose :x he knew the real problem but didn't want to spend the time to fix it!, is basically stuck. No amount of force will get it to come loose even with a hammer. In repair video's on this same washer they just give the wrench a smack with a hammer and it comes right off. I assume the drum is wobbling because the metal rod that connects to the motor from the drum is warped or twisted... Obviously shitty quality steel not up to spec with spinning a drum filled with heavy water soaked cloths. So I am looking at a new spider assembly and possibly drum. I read on this thread a few of you have appliance repair skills. Any advice on how to get the bolt off?

Penetrating oil, breaker bar, breaker bar with a pipe on it, pneumatic impact wrench, Be sure you have the right size socket. Helps to make grunting noises when using wrenches. Gloves will protect hands when something slips. Are you in the US? Standard of metric sockets? Reverse threads? Try going the other way?

My washer was shaking all over. Spring that holds drum to base was broke. $7 for a new spring and all is good with my washing machine. Give the machine a good visual inspection. Anything missing or broke? Get some good lighting. [flashlight]

There is no way to brace it, it just spins on it's own. See the video below at 40 seconds. I checked all the springs and shocks, they are all good.



[youtube]EoDSJ_Irp0A[/youtube]

Invite a friend over for beer. Have him or her hold the rotor. Pneumatic impact wrench might be best tool. Do you take the wheels off your car? Pneumatic impact wrench is great for that. Snap-on makes a nice battery powered impact wrench.

Looks like it's time to break out the torch lol. Or the sledgehammer. NO- just kidding! I don't think heating or beating will help.

Anyay, just a few days ago I couldn't figure out how to loosen my neighbor's crankshaft bolt to replace the seal. I'd never done it on an auto transmission, and it would just spin. Youtube showed two methods, and I tried the 'safer' one. Sure enough, impact took that thing right loose. I was really surprised, cuz I've broke 1/2" sockets trying to loosen the crank bolts on my own vehicles.

So +1 penetrating (or cocacola?) and impactwrench to remove that bolt.

Also, from what I hear on reliability/repair, I will never buy a new-fangled front load, and hopefully may even revert to '50's style washer. I'm not kidding, I am very aware of 'tech's weakside, and am probably closer in age to the repairman than you.

I try not to judge the people/generation that always seem connected to their music on the exterior. I know that I appear similarly in some respects to my previous generation, so why judge the newest ones when they could learn from us? I want to learn from the previous gen's, not be judged.
But I hear ya op, sounds like the 'kid' was slacking and took the easy way out. If we only each had a dime for the times we did that right?

I hope ya get that bolt a'loose, and get that dam thing fixed.

I will have to find an impact wrench and have someone hold the drum. Hopefully it will come off. The part below is what would make it out of balance unless the drum is causing the issue. If that shaft is bent that bolt would be wedged in it, not sure anything will get it out if that is the case without snapping the bolt inside it. The thing is that bolt is not suppose to be tight and never could be tight due to there being no way to hold the motor and torque it down, and there would be no need to torque it since it just holds the motor rotor in place. Due to the motor/drum assembly being the main part of this unit it will be hard to find a complete drum/motor replacement so if I can't get the bolt off it is basically totaled! Might pull all the parts out sell them on ebay and hopefully pay off most of another washer, a f$%*ing top loader this time!

Learn from my mistake, never buy one of these side loaders! If you do don't load it very much! Whatever had bent or warped just wasn't strong enough to sustain the extreme high speeds and weight of water soaked cloths. It is a shame they have been conning people into buying these poor quality machines and leading them along with the high efficiency, be green shit. And they are still are way more popular then top loaders!

Try this:
https://www.google.com/#q=samsung+front+loader+washing+machine+vibration
I search for.... samsung front loader washing machine vibration

Also I am a big fan of service manuals. Not owners manuals but service manuals. You usually have to pay for service manuals.

I've never seen a top loading washing machine apart from trips to the U.S. Front loaders work just fine, it's the same principe and forces but on a different axis.

I think you just got unlucky with a bad machine.

Have you operated the washer's calibration mode?

The operating manual:
http://downloadcenter.samsung.com/c...313/POTOMAC_[User]WF395BTPA-03145B-06_XAA.pdf

The video above shows an impact wrench they just happen to call it a socket and mallot.
Shorting the phase wires would help hold the rotor while working on the tight bolt. If the wires are hidden then maybe a belt around the o/d of the rotor? Good luck.