Actuator repair attempt

[qkcam]

Hi
very new to electronic things.  Trying to fix wash machine actuator.  I was getting a reading of 786 on the multimeter for resistance  Before I took it apart.   Now I am not getting anything on the multimeter.  I decided to take it apart becasue it was suggestd I needed to replace this part and  1.  not easy to find right now  2.  expensive. 3. fun to see how things work.  4.  noticed one of the connectors was corrded, thought that might help.   
Now I need help figuring out how to put it back together and get that 786 reading again.

here is the part number for the actuator 326042226

I really appreciate your time and expertise.

here's what happened and what I noticed.
1. the round copper component I(with yellow at the end) at one point came out I did touch the copper with my hands(although clean) i dont know if copper is sensitive ?

2. the wire ends came out of the copper thing -with yellow on ends(what is that? ) put them back in was trying to get the connectors out so I could get the wires a nice tight grip and reinsert. couldn't get the connectors out and didnt want to risk damage. maybe the connection is too loose in the causing a 0 reading on MM?

3. I have attached photos to see this one. the two pieces need to line up with the connections when i close the case. I highlighted in yellow. not sure if I am not getting these connections even and lined up and that is  causing the MM to read 0 ?

4 I noticed the wires have what seems like a slight "crimp" on one side. ( older i am getting worse eyes are getting- need a better magnifier i guess) I tried to get the wire back into place on the connection (line- not sure what it is called ) at one point I noticed a light bit of copper exposed on one side of the wire. not sure if that may be what is causing the MM to read 0 ?  I did try to wrap a very small piece of electrical tape around the wire.. didnt make any difference.

as you can tell I don't know much about these things. I did notice all the gears seem to work fine and no missing teeth. I have yet to open the other side of the actuator. figure I better get the first side put back together and get a reading if i can., before going and messing with the other side.

any ideas? any suggestions are gratefully welcome.   
thank you

[james_s]

There's nothing in there that's going to be sensitive to touch, although you do have to be careful taking apart mechanical gadgets like that because it can be very difficult to get all the bits back in the correct orientation. Do you know anyone who is good with fiddly mechanical bits? You're going to need to understand what the parts are and how they work together to be able to fix it.

[mikerj]

The wires are connected to the contacts using "insulation displacement"; the narrow notches in the contacts are supposed to cut through the insulation on the wire and bite into the copper forming a gas tight connection.  You will need to use a screwdriver or similar tool to force the wires all the way down into the notches.

I see corrosion on the contact shown in the top picture.  Pull the entire contact out of the plastic assembly and clean up the corroded end using e.g. wire wool or abrasive paper.

[EEEnthusiast]

The change in resistance could be due to the limit switch (the two metal contacts) being not in touch with each other and that disconnects the solenoid from the outer cables. So you would see an open circuit on the multimeter. The 786 Ohms was possibly the resistance of the solenoid coil. Makes sense as it looks like a lot of length coiled in there. Just move the white colour lever in and out to see if that limit switch makes contact again. I would recommend to add some grease to the gears just in case they are stuck.
Also move that pin in and out from the core of the solenoid just to verify that it is not stuck in there. May be add some lubricant there as well. Check all the crimps for loose contact.

[qkcam]

The change in resistance could be due to the limit switch (the two metal contacts) being not in touch with each other and that disconnects the solenoid from the outer cables. So you would see an open circuit on the multimeter. The 786 Ohms was possibly the resistance of the solenoid coil. Makes sense as it looks like a lot of length coiled in there. Just move the white colour lever in and out to see if that limit switch makes contact again. I would recommend to add some grease to the gears just in case they are stuck.
Also move that pin in and out from the core of the solenoid just to verify that it is not stuck in there. May be add some lubricant there as well. Check all the crimps for loose contact.

thanks.  the crimps sure are loose.. the wires came right out! I tried to pull the crimps out to reconnect the wires but couldnt get them out. was afraid to force the crimps. so i just tucked the wires in as deep as i could get them- not sure if that works?     the gears seemed to move ok but I will add some grease. great idea also to the solenoid pin,,which also came out and fell on the floor.

     I did try moving the white lever in and out and no change on the multimeter so still no connection. 

also noticed a small hole in one of the wires that exposes that copper.. I tried to put e tape around it but not sure that helped.
do i need to replace that wire?   and not sure what I will do about the insulation displacement if i do so. 

also a better picture of the yellow gear .    i had posted another reply but seemed to have lost it. 

[qkcam]

The wires are connected to the contacts using "insulation displacement"; the narrow notches in the contacts are supposed to cut through the insulation on the wire and bite into the copper forming a gas tight connection.  You will need to use a screwdriver or similar tool to force the wires all the way down into the notches.

I see corrosion on the contact shown in the top picture.  Pull the entire contact out of the plastic assembly and clean up the corroded end using e.g. wire wool or abrasive paper.

Good eye ~ ! corrosion all cleaned off  ..those pix were taken when I first pulled it apart.   now good to know about the "insulation displacement"  I think I messed it up by pushing that wire  really hard down into the notch.. I may have damaged the insulation.   
not sure how to fix that?  electrical tape or liquid tape?   or get a new wire  what about the insulation displacement?   

the corrosion was one of the reasons i took the thing apart. i wanted to make sure to give it a good cleaning.
thanks

[qkcam]

Progress!  I got it put back together as a trial run and instead of getting 0 on multimeter I am now getting 1048.  I have no idea what that means. I was told it should be in the 700 to 800s.   

Questions:
could the increased resistance be from the connection getting cleaned off?


is Lithium grease what is needed for the plastic gears and little metal piston?



 since the unit is so old all the little tabs on the gear box broke  taking it apart

. any suggestions on what to use to keep that case closed nice and tight? 

thank you
ps I have some bike chain lube white lighting on hand wondering if it would work for the plastic gears  and save a trip?
https://www.amazon.com/White-Lightning-Original-Self-Cleaning-Lubricant/dp/B000C14HL0/ref=pd_cp_468_1/146-3165019-0978536?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B000C14HL0&pd_rd_r=e5aa7229-945e-4a12-841f-8ab501047ca0&pd_rd_w=Rr4Lt&pd_rd_wg=i8Lbf&pf_rd_p=0e5324e1-c848-4872-bbd5-5be6baedf80e&pf_rd_r=V65137TW98ZSMQVVA066&psc=1&refRID=V65137TW98ZSMQVVA066

The change in resistance could be due to the limit switch (the two metal contacts) being not in touch with each other and that disconnects the solenoid from the outer cables. So you would see an open circuit on the multimeter. The 786 Ohms was possibly the resistance of the solenoid coil. Makes sense as it looks like a lot of length coiled in there. Just move the white colour lever in and out to see if that limit switch makes contact again. I would recommend to add some grease to the gears just in case they are stuck.
Also move that pin in and out from the core of the solenoid just to verify that it is not stuck in there. May be add some lubricant there as well. Check all the crimps for loose contact.

 

[Gregg]

Start on one end with your ohm meter and check the resistance of each connection.  The overall resistance should be very close to the two soldered connections on the coil.  Be aware that the copper wires are just a push in connection at the coil and may have a bad connection there.  For the insulation displacement connections, you might have to remake the connection to a new part of the wire; I’ve found that small flat tipped pliers used on both sides of the metal slot to push the wire to be very effective.

could the increased resistance be from the connection getting cleaned off?

NO, it should decrease the resistance if anything

what type of grease do i need to get for the gears?

Superlube 21030 synthetic grease would be my choice but don’t grease between the blue and yellow gears where the plastic spring arms are, they might need some friction.  Use grease sparingly.  I would avoid silicone grease because it creeps everywhere.

can the same grease be used on the piston?

I wouldn’t use grease where the metal slug goes into the solenoid; grease is OK at the plastic to metal joint. Using grease on what you are calling the piston might gum things up to where it doesn't want to return.
Holding it together depends on how much room you have around it and how it mounts

[qkcam]

Hi Gregg
this is very useful information.  I will give it a try in the morning.

Start on one end with your ohm meter and check the resistance of each connection.  The overall resistance should be very close to the two soldered connections on the coil.

Be aware that the copper wires are just a push in connection at the coil and may have a bad connection there.  For the insulation displacement connections, you might have to remake the connection to a new part of the wire; I’ve found that small flat tipped pliers used on both sides of the metal slot to push the wire to be very effective. 

I tried again to pull the connector pins our of the coil but could not.  I will test and see what the readings are.   if there is a bad connection  how can i sturdy it?  i tried to use a tiny screw driver to push the connector pin in on the wire but it didnt move.

does a small bit of copper wire need to be touching the metal slot at the connection for the insulation displacement connection or not?  I would think yes it needs to be.. but I am just learning what this is all about.
because i accidentally made a tear at near the insulation displacement  I am not sure I will have enough wire to make a new insulated displacement .  i will try.
 

could the increased resistance be from the connection getting cleaned off?

NO, it should decrease the resistance if anything

what type of grease do i need to get for the gears?

Superlube 21030 synthetic grease would be my choice but don’t grease between the blue and yellow gears where the plastic spring arms are, they might need some friction.  Use grease sparingly.  I would avoid silicone grease because it creeps everywhere.

I wouldn’t use grease where the metal slug goes into the solenoid; grease is OK at the plastic to metal joint. Using grease on what you are calling the piston might gum things up to where it doesn't want to return.
Holding it together depends on how much room you have around it and how it mounts

I have plenty to work on before I need to worry about closing it up.    I found some Lubriplate grease setting around, thinking that might work.  I will use very sparingly and if i get out tomrrow  I will look for the superlube.
thank you for all these great lessons!

[qkcam]

Start on one end with your ohm meter and check the resistance of each connection.  The overall resistance should be very close to the two soldered connections on the coil.

I just tried testing  each connector individually and the soldered connections on the coil.(except these connections seem like pins  inside the slots..but the wires will pull out. -hope this makes sense?)   I didnt get any reading on anything.  not sure what I am doing wrong...
will try again in the AM when the light and my eyes are better.

any suggestions? 
thanks again

[Gallardo]

You can try to short the multimeter's test leads, determine the resistance of the multimeter itself, and then use a multimeter to measure other circuits. The last displayed resistance value is subtracted from the multimeter's own resistance value, which is correct.

[qkcam]

i checked the multimeter with other circuits and it's fine.  so this has to do with what I am testing on the actuator and not knowing what I am doing.

maybe I am testing the wrong part of the coil ? 
so many questions.   

[james_s]

Never grease the plunger in a solenoid, they are designed to run dry. I've seen people grease pinball flipper solenoid plungers and it gums everything up, then the grease picks up all the crud and becomes abrasive paste.

[Gregg]

To check the circuit:
1.   First start with a sanity check by shorting out your meter leads in ohms mode.  Note the resistance of the leads; it should be less than 0.5 ohm.  Try wiggling the connections to see if you get a better connection and if you can’t get a consistent reading, you might have to replace your test leads.
2.   I have numbered the test points on your two pictures; start with the resistance between points 1 and 2; continue with points 2 to 3 etc.  All of the test pairs except 3 to 4 should be very close to your sanity check reading
3.   Points 3 to 4 are the coil resistance. If this is open circuit you have a real problem; if it is close to the expected resistance, then the entire circuit , points 1 to 6 should be within 1 ohm of the coil resistance as read on your meter.

[qkcam]

This is great Gregg thank you~! 
what are those grey tabs at 3 and 4? I accidentally broke one of them off when I was trying to pull the connectors out of the coil so I could put the wires in and re-insert with a good tight connection. 

the multimeter is a loan from the tool library and I dont have other leads for it.  will give all these cool tests a go tomorrow.  didnt have a chance to do anything today.   will report back.   thanks alot for the help and the lesson!

[Gregg]

Those gray tabs are where the fine copper wires of the coil are soldered to the spring clamp terminal that the black insulated copper wires are crammed into.
You may be beyond repair if you broke the tab that goes to the inner winding of the coil.  If you broke the tab that is supposed to connect to the the outside winding of the coil, you may be able to unwrap one coil, clean off the varnish insulation and re-solder it.  The coil won't miss one wrap of wire.
After testing continuity, tell us what you observe.

[qkcam]

Hi Gregg
sorry it took so long to get back here.  between health issues and stolen old paid off 2000 ford ranger, life has been interesting.   I was able to pick up another used washer that works, before my little truck was taken.  gratitude for that!  gosh ! i have had that truck since new.
anyway.
I got all the test results and they all look good, within the same range  EXCEPT 3 and 4 are OL link you mentioned since i had broken the tab off I was able to touch the lead to the tiny wire leading out of the coil and into the socket .. got no reading.

could this explain why the washer would agitated occasionally but not have enough power to do consistently unless i manual moved the breaker board?  wonder why it was inconsistent and not completely failed?   just curious.     
A new actuator cost almost $100.     wonder if i might be able to replace the coil? 
i really appreciate your help and again sorry it took so long to get the mission accomplished. 

[Gregg]

The coil wire is insulated with thin insulation; your meter won’t show continuity unless you make contact with the very end of the broken wire or remove some insulation.
It looks from the picture that the coil wire to #4 is the outside wire of the coil.  IF that is the broken connection, you may be able to unwrap one turn of the coil, remove the insulation and solder it on the tab.
If the coil wire at #3 is broken but there is enough remaining there is a slight possibility that you could solder another wire to the part going to the coil.  You need to be careful not to break it again; probably glue the new solder joint to the yellow plastic before soldering the other end to the tab.
IF you are really good at repairs, patient and careful; there is a possibility of taking the steel solenoid housing off and free the coil.  This procedure is most likely not worth the effort.  The end plate appears to be crimped to the side plates and with a really sharp cold chisel, strong vise and good hammer work could be separated so that it could be re-crimped.  With the coil out, it is not too hard to unroll the wire and rewind it.  Unroll it on some type of spool so you don't kink it.  The tricky part is putting it together so that the plunger operates freely and the joints are strong, it may require a couple of tack welds.  It will still function without one or two windings.