[JesseB]

I see that others have had problems with their Maytag washers running for a number of seconds, and then shutting off, blinking lights, etc. Several members have immediately and correctly identified that the control board was the culprit, so I know there are posters with experience and talent here - gotta' love the Internet.

My story is a bit more complex though...

We've had this washer, which ran perfectly for four years, and after a day of ice-storm-induced power outages, it will only run for a few seconds, blinking lights, etc., just like above. I replace the control board, and the unit runs great for a few WEEKS.

Then my wife tells me that our electricity goes out for about 2 minutes, followed by the sound of sirens in the distance - someone must've tagged a pole... and the washer won't work again.

So, I order TWO control boards this time, and consider buying a surge protector for the AC (I'm in the industrial automation industry, so I know where to find them with enough current capacity for a washer. I never get that far though...)

The wife is again happy, and decides to unplug the washer after every use, just in case we get surges, outages, etc. This new board lasts just THREE DAYS even though she unplugs it after each use. (This last board wouldn't power the LEDs at all this time.)

Now, moments ago, I just installed the last of my stock, and at $100+ a pop, I've spent considerable money keeping this thing going.

Anyone have any ideas why am I going through these boards faster and faster every time?

I did find that the chassis ground wire just behind the panel was loose, and it's on painted metal in the first place. Could a bad ground cause stray voltages to hit the processor? I don't see anything in the way of filtering on the board, which baffles me. The products that my company manufactures have all kinds of filtering where AC is involved.

Any gurus out there have some thoughts on this one? Anyone seen this before?

Thanks
Jesse

[denman]

I would not consider myself a guru, but quite frankly appliance manufacturers do not have a clue as to designing and isolating a printed circuit board. They are switching high current loads and do not protect or purchase integrated circuits for the voltage/amperage spikes. Just look at the crappy power supplies they put on the cards.

In one manual I read, they recommended using a grounding wrist strap when installing a printed circuit board in a dryer. What kind of goof would put a board which is sensitive to static electricity into a machine which when running produces huge amounts of GUESS WHAT static electricity.

Take a look at all appliance types and you will see tons of people with control board problems on units only a couple years old, and then you see: "My timer is kaput, appliance age 10 years plus".
AIN'T MODERN TECHNOLOGY WONDERFUL!!!!

Just venting

[JesseB]

Originally Posted by denman

I would not consider myself a guru, but quite frankly appliance manufacturers do not have a clue as to designing and isolating a printed circuit board. They are switching high current loads and do not protect or purchase integrated circuits for the voltage/amperage spikes. Just look at the crappy power supplies they put on the cards.

In one manual I read, they recommended using a grounding wrist strap when installing a printed circuit board in a dryer. What kind of goof would put a board which is sensitive to static electricity into a machine which when running produces huge amounts of GUESS WHAT static electricity.

Take a look at all appliance types and you will see tons of people with control board problems on units only a couple years old, and then you see: "My timer is kaput, appliance age 10 years plus".
AIN'T MODERN TECHNOLOGY WONDERFUL!!!!

Just venting

I hear ya. For what it's worth, I was careful when installing the first one, constantly touching the machine to ground myself out while handling the board, which is common practice when a strap isn't available. But, I lost my patience by the time I got to the second and third replacement, so I was admittedly less careful.