Thursday, May 13, 2021

Tuesday, May 11, 2021 -- Manhattan Beach Pier



The bike path and the pier area were relatively quiet.
All the benches in the pier area were not being used.
Rested at my usual resting spot (bench on the right).

The fat-tire electric bicycle on the bottom right has HUGE tires!

One of the front brake shoes came loose.
Noticed when I got home...

Easy fix.

 

Washing Machine Broke. - Whirlpool Duet Front Loading -- Part 2

This is the error that I'm getting.
I checked the power (not it).
Checked the harness connections at the MCU (not it).
Can't check the wiring at the CCU (can't get to it).
Visually checked the drive system (motor and related parts) & no problem found.
Ran a Diagnostic test (several) and the diagnostic process  works so not the CCU.
The drive motor doesn't turn on (could be the motor or MCU).
Serial harness at the MCU is connected correctly.

So the items that I can't check or are not sure about are:
(1)  connection at the CCU
(2) MCU malfunction
(3) Motor malfunction

This is the diagnostic procedure.
I was able to follow the instructions and perform several of the tests (C00, C01, C04, C07)

The diagnostic test instructions say to push the RINSE/HOLD button (don't have a PREWASH OPTION).
Also don't have a RINSE/HOLD button but there is an "Extra Rinse" button.  Tried using this button and it worked in getting the machine into diagnostic test mode.

C00:  works
C01:  the water starts flowing so it starts to work
C:04 does not work (the drum doesn't turn)
C07:  doesn't work (drum doesn't rotate)

Based on the diagnostics, and the F11 code, my guess as to the most likely suspects are:
(1) MCU
(2) wiring connection at the CCU
(3) motor/drive

I ordered an MCU online from a seller who has "free returns" on Amazon.  It should arrive in about 6 days.
Will try it out when it arrives.
If it doesn't fix it, I may just replace the washer...

Until then, I'll have to take the laundry to the nearby laundromat...



 

Wednesday, May 12, 2021

Local Laundromat... & Mateo's

Until the washer is either fixed or replaced, will have to visit the local laundromat (5 minutes away by car).
I've got two loads going at the same time in the washers on the left.
30 minutes to wash, so not too long to wait.

Mateo's (Mexican ice cream store) is next door to the laundromat.
With the washers going, went in to get  something.  There was no one waiting.

Later, when I was leaving the laundromat, there was a long line!

Their truck is parked on the street in front of the store.

I got the pistachio bar.
Very good!
 








Putting away stuff from the Red Blue-Point Tool chest...

This tool chest was full of trinkets and tools.
Moved the stuff into the flat files and tool boxes in the garage.


The top compartment was full of miscellaneous stuff...
Nearly all of it fit in the flat files (only one item was too tall).

The three drawers were full of car badges, wrenches, pliers, etc.
They all got spread out into various flat files and tool chest drawers.

Don' really have space for this tool chest so will try to move it on...

 

Tuesday, May 11, 2021

Saturday, May 8, 2021 -- Bike Ride with a Coworker who lives near me...

The bike path was very crowded, although this section in front of the Powerplant wasn't too bad...

This is a "T" junction where two bike paths meet.
If you go straight, you end up going south along the beach.
If you go right at this junction, you end up going north via some streets to the bike path in front of Venice & Santa Monica beaches.

On our way back, saw this situation at the junction.
A woman was on the ground and groaning.  There was a pretty big crowd trying to help.  There was a guy on the phone with 911, I assume, telling them the exact location of the accident (for the paramedics, I assume).
There was nothing for us to help with...

Just before I left the house to meet the coworker on the Ballona Creek bike path, my bicycling shoe broke!
I had to call my friend and tell him I'll be a few minutes late meeting him.
Fortunately, I have an older pair of the exact same shoes.
I swapped over the cleat to my old shoe and was able to get to the meeting point just a few minutes late.
I had previously fixed this shoe but it broke somewhere else.
I may fix it so that I have a backup shoe, but I plan to buy a new pair of shoes to replace the old shoes soon...

This is the broken shoe, after I removed the cleat...

 

Washing Machine Broke. - Whirlpool Duet Front Loading -- Part 1

Getting an error code (F11 -- Serial Communication Error).
Can't recall how long we've had this washer.
I remember installing it but can't recall the year.  Maybe about 10 to 15 years?

There appears to be two computers in the washer; Central Control Unit (CCU) and the Motor Control Unit (MCU).
The CCU is located at the top of the machine towards the back.
The MCU is located at the bottom near the left front.

Getting to the CCU is extremely difficult with the setup that we have (narrow pocket that the washer/dryer sits in, with a wall and a built in cabinet on either side; plus it's in a side door entry area that's so small that there's no place to put the dryer, even if you got it down...).  Would have to remove the dryer, which is a huge task  It was a huge task to lift it up to this position while making the vent, gas & electrical connections.

Checking online, there's some suggestions to check the wiring connection at both the CCU and MCU.
I can check the MCU...

There's three T15 Torx screws holding the bottom access panel in place.
These turned out to be easy to remove, although they're basically down on the floor so you have to lay down while removing them...

With the cover removed, you can see the MCU (white plastic box) on the left...

There's a living hinged plastic cover over the wiring connections.
You just need to use your hands to release the plastic retaining tabs to open the lid.

You can see the for small plastic tabs on the plastic lid over the wiring connectors.  It takes some force to release these tabs but not too difficult.

The MCU is mounted to the steel chassis/floor of the washer with four plastic feet that engage a hole in the sheetmetal then slide over to a locked position.
The picture below is how I found it when I opened the access cover.
The "locking tab" on the left (red arrow) is not engaged.
The foot on the rear of the unit (right arrow) is loose and is actually coming out of the hole.

Slightly better picture showing the condition described in the previous picture...

The whole unit should be located about 10 mm towards the right in this picture, when it's properly positioned.
The MCU plastic housing has a clip on the bottom right to guide a single wire and a zip=tie clip in the middle to hold the wiring harness with the black and green wires.

Behind the cover, there are four connectors.

This is the bottom "communication" wires connector (from the CCU).

In the process of disconnecting the communication connector, the outer locking housing broke apart (very thin and brittle plastic).

The unit has this part label.
Looking online, it appears that the Whirlpool service part # is W10756692.

In the process of removing the MCU, the plastic tab for locking the feet in place fell off.  It was just hanging on by a thread (took almost no force for it to fall off).

My guess is that the MCU has been loose for a while.
During that time, the MCU has been vibrating/bouncing around and this tab became weakened.
The other guess is that the MCU may have become damaged from being loose...

I cut the wire harness zip-tie to get the wire harness off.
I used a new zip-tie going into the old zip-tie.
It's exactly the same size so it works!

These are the four slots for the MCU to mount.
Goes in then slides over...

Don't see any obvious signs of damage on the circuit board...

There's a fuse on the right side of this picture.
It doesn't seem to come out so I'm not sure how you're supposed to replace it...

Made in Philippines...

The communication connection




Monday, May 10, 2021