On my washing machine, the sensor that tells it that the lid is closed is losing its sensitivity. Closing the lid in a normal manner no longer alerts the sensor that the lid is closed, so the tub fills up, and the cycle stops. In order to trip the sensor, I have to drop the lid from its maximum height with a bang. I can feel the sensor affixed to the underside of the top of the machine. A metal bar attached to the lid slips into a slot when the lid closes and pushes a switch.
Is this a DIY fix? Can I open the top of my machine? And if I do, is this switch something I can replace? If anyone has experience with this item, I’d appreciate hearing about it.
See this thread where the lid sensors are discussed a bit. The basic answer is, yes it can be done fairly easily. I was surprised at the number of youtube videos on washing machine repair, but there’s a good chance there’s one for your model or a similar one. That should give you an idea of how hard it is to remove the top. From watching a few before repairing mine, the steps are often easy, but non-intuitive.
Replacing the actual switch was dead simple. A connector was used to attach it to the wiring harness, and screws to attach it to the body. In my case, it was the plastic sockets for the screws on the switch which had broken, not the electrical part. For the price of a new switch ($20-30) if you’re going to open the machine up, you may as well just replace it instead of doing something to defeat it.
Thanks! I thought this problem would be too esoteric to have been addressed before, but I should have known.