Washing machine motor with 6 wires - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: matn1
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 14, 2019, 11:52:32 am
content: Greetings!I have picked up a mystery motor. Well, not entirely mysterious - the only mystery is how it was wired to the washing machine it was in, as I have found no reference other than that it was made for Haier.I am attaching 3 images. One is the model number and motor information, which can actually be found online:http://www.sinomotors.com/rolling.htmlModel is YXG162/2/16C6, which is a 110v, 60hz dual speed induction motor.The puzzling part is the fact that this motor uses 6 wires, none of the wire colors I have found documentation for. Most motors appear to be 5 wire motors, which further confuses me.I have however taken the time to document the 6 wires resistance (there are a total of 8, with 2 going to a speed encoder).Wire1: red on connector, black to motorWire2: black on connector, grey to motorWire3: black on connector, brown to motorWire4: brown on connector, red/white to motorWire5: brown on connector, blue to motorWire6: brown on connector, red to motorWires 1 to 3 have continuity and a given resistance.Wires 4 to 6 have continuity and a given resistance.None of the sets of 3 wires has any continuity to the others.1-2: 9.2ohms1-3: 9.2ohms2-3: 13.7ohms4-5: 2.5ohms4-6: 7.2ohms5-6: 9.5ohmsPictures are attached.I have a cap right sized for this motor and I am ready to start testing it, but I am looking for some basic pointers about what _might_ work so that I stand the least chances to burn it. I really only need it in low speed, not sure I care for high speed, but it would be useful to know both I guess.Thanks in advance!Mat

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2019, 12:14:00 pm
content: Check the resistances carefully again --- especially the first 3. The second 3 look a little closer to what I'd expect from a fixed-direction induction motor with a start and run winding (two of them add together to give the third), like a refrigeration compressor, but I believe these are usually reversible.Was it known to be in working condition?

author: radix
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2019, 03:44:06 pm
content: IIRC, these washing machine motors have two sets of windings, a low speed and a high speed one. The low speed winding is symmetrical, as the motor needs to run in both directions. The high speed winding (for the spin cycle) is not symmetrical, as there is no need for reversing the direction during that.To run the motor, connect one of the supply lines (let's say N) to the center tap of the winding. Connect the capacitor across the outer ends of the winding. The other supply line (that would be L in our case) can then be connected to ONE end of the winding/capacitor. This connection determines direction. If you want the motor to run in the other direction, switch the second supply line (again, L in this example) to the other end of the winding/capacitor.For the high speed mode the connections are similar, except you can't switch the direction. You MUST connect the incoming supply to the low resistance winding.Note that it has been quite some time since I last played around with a washing machine motor, so check these instructions somewhere else if you're not sure what you're doing.I realize that this description might be a bit confusing. I'll try to add a schematic later.

author: duak
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2019, 03:50:59 pm
content: I used a washing machine motor for a drill press. It was definitly reversible and if I remember correctly, it had two speeds. It did have lots of wires, at least five & probably six. I believe it was from a Hotpoint machine made in the 70's or early 80's. I gave the drill press away so I can't check it out.Maybe the extra wire was used to supply AC power to some electronics or to a lower voltage solenoid like a lid lock, ie., the motor acted as a transformer.Cheers,

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2019, 05:41:03 pm
content: Have a look and see if this helps.http://www.ingdemurtas.it/en/automation/washing-machine-motor/

author: jaycee
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 15, 2019, 08:52:03 pm
content: There will be two connections for the rotor (going to the carbon brushes on the back), a few connections to the stator coils (which are usually tapped for speed control), and two of the wires look as if they are for the Tacho sensor on the back of the motor.The important thing here is these motors NEED electronic speed control with feedback from the tacho, otherwise they will run insanely fast and ruin their bearings very quickly.The tacho is basically a field coil with a ring in it, attached to the motors drive shaft, that has a magnet in it. It produces a sinusoidal signal whose frequency is proportional to the motors RPM.edit: ignore me.. it's an old motor that doesnt do that.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2019, 07:16:30 am
content: It depends on where you are. In North America traditional washing machines have used induction motors exclusively as far as I've seen, while in Europe/UK most used brush type motors. Modern machines are more often now using switched reluctance, 3 phase induction or BLDC motors all driven by electronic controllers. The advice pertaining to one type won't apply to the others.

author: matn1
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 16, 2019, 11:42:43 am
content: Thank you all for the feedback!Basically, the troublesome part is that I dont have 1 common wire amongst all 6. I really have 2 sets of 3 wires with continuity between them. The link provided helps somewhat, but it remains a mystery as to how to wire the 6 wires. Are the red-black-black essentially 1 common and 2 others JUST the start winding and the rest of the brown ones the actual running wires?I dont know the state of the motor, only that my stepfather pulled it from a reportedly functional machine...Thanks again!

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2019, 02:17:34 pm
content: Quote from: matn1 on March 16, 2019, 11:42:43 amDid you read the page I linked to? It explains exactly that case. What part do you not understand?

author: matn1
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 16, 2019, 04:37:28 pm
content: Quote from: soldar on March 16, 2019, 02:17:34 pmI did. Thank you for that!Quote from: soldar on March 16, 2019, 02:17:34 pmIt does not.Quote from: soldar on March 16, 2019, 02:17:34 pmIt explains how to wire washing machine motors with 5 wires, sometimes 2 of them combined. 6 position connectors with 1 wire absent. None which relate to my case where I have 6 positions with 6 wires.Thats the part that I dont understand.I have one set of windings over 3 wires, and another set of windings over 3 wires.I have tried connecting a cap between wires 2 & 3 (both black wires), and AC110v to 1 and 2. Motor buzzed, but did not start and I cut power to avoid damaging the windings. Thats the telling sign that I dont have the right pair figured out.

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2019, 04:48:38 pm
content: I dunno but I think I see some resemblance between that page and your case.Quote

author: matn1
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 16, 2019, 06:23:04 pm
content: I made the assumption that I have simply distinct common wires, and that worked!Thanks.Thus, wiring:1 -> AC (that seems to be the common wire for low speed, since it has the same resistance to both 2 and 3)2 -> AC & capacitor3 -> capacitorMakes the motor spin. I assume I can revert 2 and 3 to change the direction of rotation.Thanks again!Mat

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 16, 2019, 06:43:25 pm
content: I suggest finding the service manual or at least a wiring diagram of a machine that used this motor.

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 17, 2019, 07:44:37 am
content: Quote from: matn1 on March 16, 2019, 06:23:04 pmThat sounds right. I would be careful with the high speed windings though because they have quite different resistance and I think probably it is meant to be connected with the capacitor in a certain way and maybe cannot be reversed. You could start out by testing with an incandescent lightbulb in series and see what information you can deduce.