Dadoes & others: I need repair advice about my ~2000 Whirlpool top load, agitator, Direct Drive Motor clothes washer. One year ago, the Gentle and Hand Washable cycles failed to agitate (the timer switch continued to move) while regular cycles continued to run well. I realized this must mean the low speed motor wasn’t running. I found some website that indicated that the orange wire between switch and motor could be involved and I saw very mild corrosion at the motor end. I cleaned that off and reattached both connector ends. I was pleased to find that this brought the low speed cycles back to life.

One year later, the low speed cycles have again failed identically. I repeated the procedure above, unfortunately without success. I see instructions to test the motor wiring resistances (even ones specifically directed at the low speed end) and could do that. I see that some tests say the motor wires must be removed first and others don’t mention it. Are these tests truly definitive. How do I test the mechanical control switch? Shouldn’t there also be a way to directly connect 120Volts to the motor with running indicating OK and no spin meaning bad motor?

I hope this doesn't end up a duplicate thread as I originally posted 2+ days ago & it didn't show up.