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Hi guys 😉 ,
I have a Hoover 550M toploading washer vintage 1999 and need an educated guess as to what may be causing the following fault-
During the wash cycle the agitator rotates clockwise as usual for a second or so then stops dead and hums loudly for a second or so then rotates clockwise again and so on, its not reversing at all as its supposed to.
What makes the motors in these to run in reverse????
I welcome any thoughts even if you have not worked on one of these before……
Thanks,
GregRe: Hoover washer agitator action
The common causes of that problem are:
Burnt out brake solenoid
Gearbox faultyPower off before investigating this as some of these parts aren’t earthed
This is generally caused by a faulty brake solenoid or a faulty gearbox. If the brake solenoid is faulty (generally burnt out and stuck in one position) then it can be worth the repair (part is ~$60). If the gearbox has failed then the machine is scrapmetal as the cost to fit a gearbox is generally $300-$400
Less likely is a problem with the motor controller, but that would not normally make a loud hum, but rather just sit quietly between agitations.
Re: Hoover washer agitator action
Hi qas 🙂
thanks very much for your help, I’ll check it out and see what I can find mate,
Regards,
GregRe: Hoover washer agitator action
Hi all 🙂
After checking underneath but without much disassembly I found 1 definate fault. I found what I assume to be the brake solenoid and this has a pull rod that activates a lever which appears to do more than one job. Above the planetary gear casing there is a plastic ring gear and the lever moves a plastic arm the tip of which usually meshes with the plastic ring gear (ratchet motion?) but the end of the plastic arm is broken so what appears to be a “ratchet” motion (one way movement) is not possible, the ring gear can move freely. Is this broken part going to cause the agitator to move clockwise only????? ❓I also learned from mum that this problem possibly came about as a result of the machine being overloaded.
I removed the end cap from the planetary gear casing for a look see and although the cogs look to be perfect there was only a dribble of oil in this casing, no idea how much oil it usually holds but it was nearly dry.
Cheers,
GregRe: Hoover washer agitator action
I found what I assume to be the brake solenoid and this has a pull rod that activates a lever which appears to do more than one job. Above the planetary gear casing there is a plastic ring gear and the lever moves a plastic arm the tip of which usually meshes with the plastic ring gear (ratchet motion?) but the end of the plastic arm is broken so what appears to be a “ratchet” motion (one way movement) is not possible, the ring gear can move freely. Is this broken part going to cause the agitator to move clockwise only????? Question
This is definately going to be the cause of the problem. The part you need is called a brake arm.
As to the amount of oil, there is not much in these when new and most I have seen have leaked some out, generally any leaked oil will be thrown out while spinning and would leave a stain around the inside of the cabinet.
Re: Hoover washer agitator action
Hi qas 😀
well I replaced the damaged arm and found a sneaky way to get some oil into the gear casing and the machine seems fine now 😀
Thankyou so much for your help mate 😀
GregRe: Hoover washer agitator action
G’day 🙂
Sounds like I have a similar problem to twum_au.
I have a Hoover 500M and the agitator will only move anti-clockwise (during wash cycle) then it stops and hums for a couple of seconds then goes anti clockwise again. The agitator is “trying” to go clockwise it twitches but can’t go all the way.
By hand the agitator will move anticlockwise with moderate effort but it takes more effort to rotate it clockwise and there is a kind of dragging sound like “the handbrake” is on….. ❓
I had a look underneath and I can’t see anything broken like the other member did…….
Any thoughts???
RobRe: Hoover washer agitator action
rob_rools wrote:“the handbrake” is on….. ❓
Rob
A ratcheting sound?
Generally, in order of probability and expense;
1 The brake lever is worn
2 The solenoid/motor (not sure which on that model) that operates the brake lever is faulty
3 The gearbox brake tag is physically broken.1&2 are worth fixing, 3 is probably not.
If you can’t see what is the problem it is best to call on the experience of a professional who will know what to look for.
Steve
Re: Hoover washer agitator action
G’day Steve 🙂 ,
thanks for your advice.
This machine has a date inside of 1998 by the way.
I have not pulled anything apart yet but I’m not afraid to.
Is it possible to get a diagram of the internal workings of the transmission on these?
I don’t know if my machine is the same as the other members 550 but I can see that the plastic gear box is almost half full of oil, should I pull the bottom plate off to check the cogs?.
The “handbrake” sound I heard was not a clicking ratchet sound it was a light scraping like you might get from a bicycle handbrake and this drag also seems to make the agitator harder to turn by hand in a clockwise direction.
What is involved in checking the gearbox brake tag?,
CheersRe: Hoover washer agitator action
Sorry for the delay in replying (bl**dy computers)
The brake on the gearbox is a band around body of the gearbox. The plastic brake lever has a metal end which locks around a tag sticking outwards form the brake band. If this tag is missing, then the brake lever has nothing to grab onto.
If it is a brake problem, you would be able to turn the bowl freely while the machine is off, otherwise the bowl should be locked in position and resist movement.
Re: Hoover washer agitator action
His qas, my computer is giving me grief too 🙁
My bowl does lock as you mentioned, when switched off, it does not move.
Recently I decided to check out some similar machines to see how a “working” machine differed to mine. I got to fiddle with a Simpson Esprit(very similar to mine) and a second hand but later model Hoover just like mine and what I noticed was that the agitators on both these could be turned either clockwise or anticlockwise with moderate hand effort and without any dragging/scraping noises (the “handbrake” noise I mentioned mine does).
My agitator requires similar pressure to the other working machines to turn the agitator anticlockwise (viewed from above) but turned clockwise it requires greater effort and makes the dragging noise which I assume is the brake engaging??. When operating in wash mode the motor is struggling to overcome the friction that exists in the clockwise direction, it moves it some of the way but stalls when the “mystery” friction exceeds motor torque. ❓
I did check the brake tag as you suggested and it meshes with the slot in the brake arm, nothing appears broken.
I think its time for major surgery, a clue as to the order of disassembly would be appreciated,
Cheers.Re: Hoover washer agitator action
It definately sounds like the gearbox is faulty.
Pulling it apart is something that I can’t help you with as I usually consider these a disposable item, generally the gearbox is only available as a complete unit (and costing ~$150.00)Being a 1998 model I would be hesitant to spend much as the expected life of these is usually 8-10 years.
Re: Hoover washer agitator action
Hey Qas,
well I pulled the bottom plate off the gearbox and the internals are fine, no probs.
More head scratching……… ❓
We are having our annual kerbside hardwaste collection and a few blocks from here somebody was throwing away a Hoover 650L a bit younger than my 500M.
I looked it over, not a scratch on it and appeared to be nearly identical to my 500M except for the pump, it must have a fault, owner was not home to ask but I figured it was a source of free spare parts so into the station wagon it went 💡
The missus suggested I try fixing the 650L with bits from the 500M because we could use the larger capacity so will tackle this over the Easter break, fingers crossed 😉Re: Hoover washer agitator action
I tested the Hoover 650L I scrounged and you won’t believe this but its got the SAME fault as my 500M 😯
During wash mode the agitator rotates normally anticlockwise but can’t rotate clockwise, it just hums.
By hand the agitator can be turned anticlockwise with moderate effort but if I try to turn it clockwise I have to use so much force the whole bowl and agitator move as one.
The gearbox in the 650L is fine as well.
I can’t think of anything else to check and I tried to get a look inside the brake mechanism but its a mongrel to get access to, my gut tells me thats where the problem is…………..
This must be a common fault surely?
I hate to but I’m close to throwing in the towel 🙁
Any thoughts ❓Re: Hoover washer agitator action
There is more to the gearbox than just the plastic gears that you see when you take off the cover. There is also a clutch mechanism between there and the shaft and the brake as well. It all comes as a single unit and is (apart from replacing the plastic gears) not repairable, and not worth replacing
These machines must be at least 8-10 years old and have lasted as long as they were designed to last. I would say that it is time to look for a replacement machine.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news
Steve
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