I went down to take a load of laundry out of the washing machine and found a huge pool of water. The machine got stuck on the rinse cycle, constantly filling.
I let it all drain and tried resetting it. The water reached the top of the tub and kept right on filling.
Is it broken? Is there an easy way to fix this that doesn’t require calling a mechanic? It’s an older machine (maybe about ten years) with very simple, knob-style controls.
Was the knob stuck? You might try (unplug the machine first) removing the knob and maybe the face of the machine and seeing if it’s gunked up or if anything is caught in it. If it sticks at a certain spot (try spinning it all the way around a few times) it might just need to be cleaned or replaced. As for wheather or not you’ll need a mechanic that will depend alot on how confortable you are with taking the machine apart a little bit.
One of several components may have failed. There is typically a diaphragm operated switch which reacts to the chosen level of fill (S, M, L, XL load) and upon closing tells the cycle timer, “I’ve got the right amount of water, go to the next step.”
Said diaphragm operated switch may consist of discrete components, or may be an assembly. The hose connecting the diaphragm to the tub may have come undone, or could have split/decayed.
Unless you’re a really handy person, it’s time to call someone who knows appliance service.
There’s a whole laundry basket full of possibilities here.
The timer jams up and won’t click past “fill”
The water level sensor (sometimes a float, sometimes a pressure sensor) isn’t doing its thing, leaving the timer to think the tub’s not full.
The fill valve is sticking.
Usually, if the valve is stuck, it’ll be constantly open, regardless of what the washer’s trying to do, even if the washer’s just trying to sit there silently with the lid open, waiting for you to dump in some laundry. Sounds like that’s not the problem.
Usually, if the water level sensor’s gone duff, it’ll do so at all cycles that involve filling the tub - if the washer does a wash cycle OK, the sensor’s probably OK.
This leaves the timer as the likely cuplrit. Conceptually, it’s just a matter of getting at it, then doing a wire by wire swap of anywhere from five to ten wires to the new timer. For a ten year old washer, you might or might not be able to readily find a replacement. Some manufacturers are good about using the same core parts year after year, and having them available, but others may use a part for six months and not have any replacement stock five years later.
I just tried switching it over to small load and it still didn’t recognize that the tub was full.
The knobs seem to be fully functional.
Damn. I was hoping it was one of those jiggke-the-handle kind of fixes but it looks like I’m screwed.
Could be the water level switch.