Top 10 Maytag Neptune FAV6800AW Top Load Washer Questions & Answers

take off the back of the washer,,follow where the water hose goes into it..there is a square piece where both hot and cold hoses hook to..i needed to replace the cold water valve..this fixed my problem...

I have a 3 year old neptune top load and have experienced the same problems you all have had here. Problem: Washer was leaking 1/2 gallon of water every load and sounded like a freight train on spin cycle. I usually do my own repairs but didn't have time so I called A&E by the recommendation of Maytag. Diagnosis! The tech said the tob o-ring seal was bad as well as the transmission. I had no reason to dought this professional right. I did after he told me the price... $450 to fix it!!!! I reluctantly gave him his $65 service call fee and said goodbye..
I called maytag and they said the transmission should have been covered by warranty (10 years). The tech was either an idiot or just plain trying to rip me off. I called Maytag back and they sent me the supposed bad tranmission and seals. I replaced them in 1/2 an hour. Guess what.... This did not fix the leaking or the loud spin cycle noise. What is the problem with this neptune model? The problem for every owner including myself has at minimum been the main seal inside the outer tub. This leaking for months took out the bearings causing the noisy spin cycle. I replaced both 6207-2rs bearings compliments of ebay for $6ea. After reassembly it was like new for the first load. On the second load it would stop on the spin cycle.... It would cycle between the agitators and trying to spin but never engaging into spin. After 5-6 minutes it gave me the code that stated an unbalanced load. What the problem was is the leaking had made its way into the clutch as well. I pulled the clutch/pulley back of and cleaned and lubed it. Problem solved! She now goes into spin and has no problems whatsoever. I'll never call A&E again...Mechanically this washer is a piece of cake to work on. Electronically it could be a bear... The bearing replacement took approx. 2 hours total from start to finish. Next time I'm buying Kenmore and the extended warranty. I'm tired of screwing with this junk... Good luck guys.... Jos Roach... CA.

I just did a repair on my FAV6800AAW by lubricating the needle bearings in the clutch pulley hub, the tub displacement sensor checked OK per the service manual check. I was getting dc/uc errors, washer was purchased in 7/05. I have basic mechanical skills and used a socket wrench to remove clutch pulley hub, just follow the service manual removal steps to remove clutch pulley hub. Pull the plastic cover off the clutch pulley hub and inspect the spring, clean/lube needle bearings and the clutch hub coupler that drives the spinner shaft. I used WD40 I may need to re-lube down the road with a good light grease. It took a few tries for me to get the clutch pulley hub to stay on after re-install and power up, getting the clutch pulley seated properly is the trick. I did not remove the washer tub for this fix, I believe I saw a posting where someone did. I just leaned the washer back to get a better reach angle, it is a tight work area. I did not want to junk 3.5 yr old $1k machine with out trying a fix. If you want to work on this model get the service manual, I found it online and I believe you can order it in PDF format from Maytag. Good luck!

I just went thru my 10th load of a mix of light, medium heavy loads and all work fine no unbalance errors (DC/UC). Doesn’t fix the tangle problem :) Prior to this fix I could only run the washer with no clothes in it to complete a cycle with no dc/uc error codes.

Hello all, back with an update.  I am sending this with my fingers crossed.
 
First, I got smart, sort of,  and called Sears for the repair.  Sears offers a plan that cost about $200 and guarantees that they will repair the unit or they will give you $500 toward a new machine. You do not have to pay for any parts or additional service calls.  It also gives you a 1 year service contract on the entire machine after the repair is complete. So far they have been back 4 times to try to fix our dc code problem.  They have replaced the pump, pressure switch, wiring harness and main circuit board. They have now determined that it is a clutch.  They are coming back next week to replace that.  But since they replaced the wiring harness and main circuit board the unit has been working pretty well 12 straight  loads of all sizes have  gone through without a problem).  They are coming back today to replace the clutch, I might wait on that repair.  The best part is, has not cost me anything over the first $200.
 
You will have to be very patient if you chose to go this direction because Sears service has its problems.  The first as you see is that they have already been back 4 times.  This is because they have no parts in there trucks.  They need to order it for you and ship it to your house each time they identify a part that needs to be replaced.  They, like many service companies, give you a 4 hour window of when they will show up (they will however, if you ask, call your cell phone 1/2 hour before they arrive if this helps). They also have missed two of there scheduled appointments.
 
One other thing I learned for those of you who don’t want to bail out the water in the tub.  If you want to have the machine drain the excess water without bailing this should work.  Turn the machine off and make sure the "locked door" light goes off.  Then hold the "Spin" and "Enviro Plus" buttons at the same time for 3 seconds.  "00" should then show up on the display.  Then hit the "Delicate" button, then the “Pre-soak” button. This should activate the pump and get all the water out.  Once the water is out hit the off button.  You then may want to try the Spin cycle alone.  These directions can be found on the Troubleshooting Manual found folded up behind the rear panel of the machine  where the main electrical circuit board is located.

I had a similar problem with the fab. softener chamber. Clean
out the buildup and it will drain. To do this, remove the cap and wipe out the softener. Also, be sure to wipe inside the drum, just below the dispenser.
As for a water flow to the dispenser- You will need to remove the plastic portion of the lid. Start with the detergent dispenser, then gently remove the bottom corners of the lid. Then are held by two plastic clasps. Then gently remove the "L" shaped plastic holders. Use a pipe cleaner to clean out the tube where the water flows directly out of the unit, before entering the lid. I did this last night, and it works beautifully!

The clutch needle bearings may need to be lubed, this was my fix;

I just did a repair on my FAV6800AAW by lubricating the needle bearings in the clutch pulley hub, the tub displacement sensor checked OK per the service manual check. I was getting dc/uc errors in the spin cycle, washer was purchased in 7/05. I have basic mechanical skills and used a socket wrench to remove clutch pulley, just follow the service manual removal steps to remove the clutch pulley. Pull the plastic cover off the clutch pulley and inspect the spring, clean/lube needle bearings and the clutch hub coupler that drives spinner shaft. I used WD40 I may need to re-lube down the road with a good light grease. It took a few tries for me to get the clutch pulley to stay on after re-install and power up, getting the clutch pulley seated properly is the trick. I did not remove the washer tub for this fix, I believe I saw a posting where someone did. I just leaned the washer back to get a better reach angle, it is a tight work area. I did not want to junk 4 yr old $1k machine with out trying a fix. If you want to work on this model get the service manual, I found a link on this site, good luck!

Hello domino14

Your experiencing symptoms of clutch malfunction with the FAV6800AW. Do you want to dive in and try to fix? Here is what is involved to pull the clutch out of your machine. Also read the last couple of post in this forum. If you call a repair service in your are looking at $300 +. If you can DIY the repair cost could be from $10 dollars if you just need a roller clutch clean up and re-lube to $50 -140 for a replacement clutch. I’m cheap and would go for the $50 Clutch.

First check is to lift lid and see if you can rotate the empty wash basket CCW with one finger. That will let us know if you are experiencing some drag with the roller clutches in the clutch assembly. Here is a step by step to remove the clutch. It is a tight work area but can be done with basic hand tools and basic mechanical skill sets.

What is the serial number of your machine? Just need the first two digits i.e. 10, 12, 14, 16. This info is located on the top right back side of the console.

Next comment will be the clutch removal process, this board has message limits.

The Service Manual for reference. Sears Parts Direct for reference.
I have tried to work with a few folks on this issue never received feed back to resolution see this post. I feel the issue is caused by one of three possible issues.

A stuck key issue/defective Spin Cycle key making constant contact forcing the Key/LED to cycle thru the Spin Cycle settings. Under normal conditions if you press and hold the Spin Select key it will cycle thru the settings, yours has a mind of its own (defective issue).

A false signal from the Control Board for the Spin Cycle.

A corrosion path issue at the Membrane Pad ribbon cable socket connection between pins 5 and 4. See page 20 of the SM button functionality “Spin” key.

Try to verify that the spin cycle membrane key is not stuck/defective signaling the Control Board to cycle thru the spin settings. I have not experienced this issue but let’s try the Membrane Pad Test to get a start point. See the Service Manual page 15, I have modified the process to make it a bit more understandable at least for me. Make sure the two digit display is not On or Lite.
Press the off button first so there is nothing displayed in the Two Digit display of your FAV6800AW.

Now Enter / Exit Service Mode

To enter Service Mode press the Enviro Plus and Spin Only keys for three seconds or until the control beeps. While in Service Mode, pressing the Presoak key will start a membrane switch check that verifies switch operation.

All the LEDs (except Presoak ) can be toggled or slewed by pressing the key associated with the LED or set of LEDs. Do not press the Presoak again during this test.

Press each key once and only once including the Signal Key the on side and the off side, also the UP and Down Arrow key of the LED display. All keys (including the OFF button) must be pressed within 5 minutes for this test to pass. “PA” will be displayed for five (5) seconds once all keys have been pressed and the test is completed (more like PA will be displayed for only a few seconds on my FAV6800AW). Following 10 seconds of inactivity at any point, this test will exit without any display. Let us know the results.

See my additional comment this board has message limit issues.

Hey geonkarla637,

Good job on troubleshooting, let’s focus on the Left Hand Lid Lock. It has the dual signaling functions to allow the Machine to operate as designed. The first signaling function is “Lid is Open/Lid Closed” signaling the “OP” error code for lid is OPEN if you press the Start button at the Start of a cycle or during a pause and resume portion of a cycle and “OD” error code if the machine has not seen the lid open for three completed machine cycles your issue. The second signaling function is “Failed to Lock” the “FL” error code.

Because the Control Board programming is looking for the contact open/closure transitions at appropriate times of the wash cycle from the Magnetic Reed Relay in the left lid lock. I see no way to fool it by bypassing the magnetic reed relay in the Left Hand Lid lock assembly and have the machine work as designed.

What I would do next is remove the Left Lid Lock and very carefully open it up. I found it is very easy to break off the enclosure locking tabs. I use a fine flat jewelers screw driver and X-acto blade and work around the locking tabs to open the case halves. I wedge small paper clip ends in the case halves as I work around the tabs. Again I stress they break off in a heartbeat take it slow and no coffee for 24hrs before you begin this operation …. (:

How do the black and red wire on the reed relay look? If they look like this I would take a low wattage soldering iron fine pencile tip 25W no more than 60W iron and solder back on the broken end if that has happened. If you don’t want to deal with that you need to replace the Left Hand Lid Lock .




I would also use a drop or two of WD-40 on the slide switch in that signals “Lid Is Locked”. I’m going to include a pic of my attempt to document the Left Hand Lid Lock Control Board inputs and signaling outputs. I have labeled the Pins on that lock assembly for my reference, I cannot correlate them one for one to the schematic packed in the machine console. I have measured and watched the +12VDC input and output transitions with my DVM for the Lid Is Closed and Lid is Locked on the Control Board at connector P3. If your Left Hand Lid Lock is signaling correctly out of the assembly then I would trace the +12VDC signaling back to the control board. From your previous troubleshooting you have insured there is no corrosion on the male Left Hand Lid Lock assembly and the mating plug end.


Please let me know what you find, I hope this helps; I’m a rookie owner still learning how to troubleshoot/repair the machine.

As a side note I unplugged the Right Hand Lid Lock and taped up the plug end. I would never replace that lid lock if it failed my choice; I find it helps to simplify troubleshooting.
Good Luck …………..Rich

If the Lid Locks won't release you can release the Washer top from the base. You need a putty knife and press in to release the.

Un plug the washer from the 120VAC outlet.

Insert a plastic putty knife in line with the lid seam and

push in to release catches on the left and right side.
Yhe top cover is hinged at the rear.
See Pic fpr putty knife insertion point;


Ypu can get the Service Manual for here Neptune TL Washer FAV6800AWW

5 post doen in the sticky.