Ge washer does not agitate; fills and spins okay
Can't do anything about the one that's smoking. As with most electrical stuff, once you let the smoke out it no longer works.
Mine had the same original problem. Would fill, but would not agitate. It just sat there with a tub full of water and clothes.
I scoured the internet, and came to the conclusion that it was either:
The timer (unlikely, according to most posts I read), or
The motor. The motor in these is a reversing motor - one direction for spin, the other for agitate.
If half the motor quits working, you'd get spin but no agitate or vice-versa.
I took the motor out to take it and have it bench-tested to be sure before I spend the money on a non-returnable new motor. Unfortunately, no one here can (or will) bench-test the motor.
In the meantime, my wife called the retailer where we bought the machine and asked if they could test the motor. They said there was no need - that the control board in the machine probably just needed to be reset.
So far, I have taken off the front panel, taken off the control panel, removed the top of the machine, removed the ring on the top of the tub. Removed the agitator. Removed the four bungee-cord things that keep the machine from rolling over or something. Removed the bell thingy under the agitator. Removed the big nut under that to be able to remove the tub. Removed a plate on the top of the machine so that there is room to remove the tub. Removed the tub. Removed the big tub by lifting it to disconnect the shock absorbers, and disconnecting the drain hose and the air tube that controls the fill level. Tilted out and removed the big tub with the motor frame attached to the bottom. Removed the pulley, belt and motor frame. And removed the motor from the frame. All just to get the motor out to take it to the shop. Who would not test it.
But I digress.
The procedure to reset the control board is this:
1) Unplug the washer.
2) Wait 30 seconds or more. (This allows all capacitors to discharge and make the "computer" forget everything.)
3) Plug the machine in.
4) Open and close the lid 10 times. (The magnets in the lid are the only method you have to "talk" to the "computer.")
5) Run the machine.
It sounded stupid. It sounded like a Monty Python skit, but I did this. I reassembled the machine, and did the reset procedure. The machine worked just fine. Filled, agitated, drained, rinsed, did the spin cycle. Just like a wash machine should.
Makes me wonder about $300 repair bills.