The plan was to replace the drain pump in the washing machine.
The next day, I checked our local appliance parts store to see if they had one in stock. I would plow ahead and replace the pump without checking if the old one was bad. I went to the store and picked it up. $145 later, and no ability to return it, I was committed.
When I got home from work, I installed the new pump. I turned the water back on and put the drain hose into the laundry tub. I plugged in the washer and ran a “Rinse & Spin” test. I stopped the cycle once I had plenty of water in the drum and ran a “Spin” cycle. I pushed “Start,’ and the water poured out of the drain hose. Wow, I fixed it! I put the back on and pushed the washer back in place.
Efiwym, my wife, and I were excited to give the washer a try. We put all the wet towels and other towels into the washer and ran it. I walked around the house proudly as I discussed my success with Efiwym. About 40 minutes later Efiwym walked into the laundry room and viewed the thing that we did not want to see, the “OE” code. What happened? Efiwym went through the process to reset the machine and…nothing. We had a washer full of towels and water. In retrospect, we should have tested it with a couple of towels. Feeling defeated and ashamed, I had to help Efiwym hand-wring a lot of large towels.
The next morning, I decided to give the washer another test. I put the washer on “Spin Only,” and the water from the tub discharged from the drain hose. Maybe the machine reset itself. Excited to give it a try again, Efiwym and I put a few items this time into the washer. She told me she would do a “Quick Wash” instead. That worked for me. Once again, I was ecstatic. I fixed the washer. About 20 minutes later, (say it with me), Efiwym walked into the laundry room and viewed the thing that we did not want to see, the “OE” code. “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, I am such an idiot.” One more time of handwringing wet items.
Efiwym believed it was the control panel. She even called LG® customer support. The technician stated that it was the drain pump. Uh, no. He asked if the new one was installed by an LG® technician. Uh, no. He stated again, it got to be the pump. Again, Uh, no. She might have been right. The decision was made. Let’s go shopping for a new washer.
