42198 LG Washer - Overview

Removed the top of the washer by removing the 4 back screws and 2 small brackets. Then I removed the front panel, this was actually the hardest part, 2 screws and 8 tabs that you pop out carefully from the top of the panel. I only disconnected the power button and was able to rest the panel on top of the washer. The rest of the washer came apart quickly just moving down the front of the washer and removing the door, latch, tub gasket, drain cover. Removing the pump was just a mater of disconnecting the drain hoses, and one clip under the drain assembly. 3 screws attach the drain to assembly to the pump and only 2 wires that are clearly marked. Reassembly is just going back through in reverse order of disassenbly. The best thing about this is that it all comes apart with a standard phillips screwdriver.

I first tested the motor per the service manual. I checked the resistance between the terminals of the 3 pin connector. It's supposed to be 5-15 ohms. The motor checked out so I replaced the main electrical board. It turns out that wasn't the problem. After a brief web search I found out that the hall sensor (which is attached to the motor stator) was the likely cause of the failure. I replaced that and everything works great now. And now I have a spare main board in case that ever fails. I also want to mention that I took the time to remove the dispenser box (where the water comes in and is directed to the different cleaning products) and cleaned it with a very strong bleach solution. It got rid of the mildew and funky smell. It seems that the fabric softener caused a lot of mildew to form inside the dispenser directly above the fabric softener tray. The bleach took care of that. This is probably something that should be done routinely to keep the mildew from forming.

Pull washer away from wall. Unplug cord and remove drain hose from receptacle. Remove 4 screws holding panel to rear of washer. Squeeze and slide back hose clamps on each end of drain hose and loosen center clamp with screwdriver. Remove old hose. Reinstall new hose in reverse order using existing clamps. Re-install back panel.