Fixing washing machine--bad capacitor?

[SunshineHarvey7]

I'm trying to fix my LG washing machine (bought used, maybe 8 years old). The motor was humming but just barely moving when it ought to be agitating or spinning. I pulled the motor, and it spins freely, and the lugs on the motor ohm out between 23-46 ohms (not sure if this is an "normal" resistance or not). I also noticed the start/run capacitor looked suspicious and pulled it out. Here's what it looks like:

 

 

Seems to me this capacitor could be fried. It also doesn't behave as I think it should when checked with a digital capacitance meter.

 

My original purpose of this post was to ask if anyone knows where to find a replacement capacitor, but I discovered that exact replacements are on both Shopee and Lazada. So, in case you are looking for parts, that's a couple places to look. But I'd be interested to hear if anyone "out there" can tell me if the resistance of my motor seems within an acceptable range.

[johng]

14 minutes ago, SunshineHarvey7 said:

Seems to me this capacitor could be fried

100%  certainly fried...don't know about the motor resistance readings  but in 2 cases I had the capacitor go bad the motor was fine.

[SunshineHarvey7]

2 hours ago, johng said:

100%  certainly fried...don't know about the motor resistance readings  but in 2 cases I had the capacitor go bad the motor was fine.

Thnks, JohnG. Funny thing is, I was away from home on Saturday, and that evening my wife decided to do a load of laundry, and I smelled something funny and then noticed that the machine wasn't agitating. Around the same time, my wife also discovered the our refrigerator felt warmer than it should (i.e. it wasn't cooling). Thankfully, I was able to "reset" the fridge by unplugging it for about 10 minutes and plugging it back in. Working fine since then.

 

Makes me wonder if there was some kind of electrical spike while we were away from home, although I don't know how it would fry a capacitor when the washing machine wasn't running.

[johng]

9 minutes ago, SunshineHarvey7 said:

my wife also discovered the our refrigerator felt warmer than it should (i.e. it wasn't cooling).

I think fridges go through a  "less cool"  cycle to prevent frost forming   you may have just happened to notice it.

 

9 minutes ago, SunshineHarvey7 said:

Makes me wonder if there was some kind of electrical spike while we were away from home, although I don't know how it would fry a capacitor when the washing machine wasn't running.

If the machine was plugged in then  possible for an electrical spike to cause damage but I would of thought that the microcontroller board buried under the buttons would have fried too/first.

I suspect the capacitor just leaked due to "old age"   they often fail like that.

Edited July 19, 2021 by johng