So, a few days ago, our washing machine stopped in mid-cycle. The clothes were in the basket, it filled up with water, then … nothing. No matter what I did to the controls, or if I unplugged it and plugged it back in again, it would’t go. I even flipped the breakers to see if that might be the problem. Nope.
Doing some research on the Internet, it seems that the most likely explanation is that the lid switch is faulty. The lid switch is a mechanical switch that gets flipped when the lid is closed. This lets the wash cycle continue, since the lid is closed, it won’t be flinging water and clothes everywhere.
OK, fair enough. I looked up our particular model and tried to find the right part to get a new one. Turns out there are several different ones and it depends on the model of washer you have. Righty-o. I found the tag with the model number, serial number and other information on the machine and make note of it.
I returned to searching the Internet and I think I tracked down the correct part. Then I looked at the websites for any store in our area that might carry it. A big fat bupkis on that.
There are plenty of places online that I could order it from, in a wide range of prices. It seems to me that it is the same part, it should go for pretty much the same price everywhere, possibly a little less if someone wats to try and draw buyers in on price. This thing ran between $11.99 to $40.00. I hesitated to order it just yet as the only way to really know if I have the right one is to open the washer and look.
I started looking at YouTube videos to see what is involved. All of them had the same basic process – remove the top part of the washer so you can remove the lid, locate the old non-working switch, undo the grounding wire, take the old part out, put the new part in, reconnect the grounding wire, put the lid and top back on, you’re done. The problem comes in that there seems to be a near infinite number of different models and ways to take the lid and top off. I haven’t been able to find one that exactly matches our model. There was one that was close so I’m going to go with that one. I ran out of time today and had to go do other things, like make dinner (mac n’ cheese – oooo!), so I’ll look at it again tomorrow.
Quick update on Gizmo – last night I decided to brave the snow in the backyard and see if I could retieve Gizmo. Major Tom went along with me. I told him to go get Gizmo and he sat there looking at me like I was an idiot. I took two steps into the backyard and he ran right over to Gizmo, picked it up and brought it inside. Goofy dogs!
I hope all your appliances are in working order, my Hordeling.
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