Kenmore Oasis washer 110.28032700 UL problems

[ghserv]

I did a web search on this and found a whole bunch of complaints about unbalanced load issues with this (Oasis, apparently Cabrio) washer and no definitive repair, just a lot of very pissed off customers. This washer is not mine but I looked at it for a neighbor. She said it is about 18 months old and this problem started about 3 months ago. What I found is that a spin cycle results in a "UL" display and the unit will stop the spin and fill and agitate in an attempt to balance the load, always unsucessfully requiring then a manual attemp which is also always unsuccessful. Unfortunately it appears that there is no load that will ever balance and not cause this condition, including an empty tub, so its rebalancing attempt is never successful and neither is any manual attempt at repositioning the load. Consequently the washer will never spin enough to get much water out of the clothes. Observing the spin it is apparent there is an issue because the tub gets to moving around so much as to hit the sides and jump up as well, including with an empty tub and then of course it senses an unbalanced condition and goes into the routine to attempt to balance the load. I've visually checked the suspension rods and springs and they appear to be fine. I pulled the inner tub and found nothing to explain the problem other than I noticed that the bottom and top sections of the inner tub have  plastic areas that appear to have a liquid (water perhaps?) in them as you can hear it slosh when you tilt the tub. Perhaps they are factory filled for some reason with a liquid or wash water leaks in, I have no idea. Not sure if that may be a problem or not. The "floating tub" hub pieces look fine. Since this washer didn't have this problem the first 15 months of its life something must have changed. I'm not surprised it senses an unbalanced condition considering how much the tub moves during spin. In fact it was a little scarey watching it and then hearing it hit the sides and jump up and down as well (both with a small load and also empty). Any ideas?


Model 110.28032700

[dentdaddy]

You need to install a spring kit. It comes with 4 new suspension rods with new, upgraded stronger springs. I have made this repair 6+ times in the last year.

Good luck.

[whirlpooltech]

You need to install a spring kit. It comes with 4 new suspension rods with new, upgraded stronger springs. I have made this repair 6+ times in the last year.

Good luck.

Got a FSP part number?

[JWWebster]

A while back a guy commented he drilled holes and drained the liquid out the balance rings and that cured it. From my AJ notes:
One recent solution was: I have a similar model 110.27032602, and I was experiencing the same problems with the UL code with an empty washer as well.
When I removed the basket I noticed that there was water trapped inside the hollow plastic rings on the bottom and top of the basket. I drilled a few small holes, drained the water and plugged them back. Ran it through a quick drain and spin cycle , and the washer seems to work just fine now.

[whirlpooltech]

Do you have a link to that topic JW?

Then how is the balance ring going to work without the liquid in it?
The balance ring is made to have liquid in it, correct?

If that don't work, then your kind of screwed...

Kind of like drilling a hole in the bottom of your window air conditioner to drain the water out, lol..

[JWWebster]

Maybe Fearless Leader can find it. When I first read it I placed it in a file along side the tech sheet info:
The Oasis washer has no transmission,belt, or drive basket. The washer is one great big motor basically with a floating waterproof tub in the middle of it. A bunch of copper windings are mounted at the base of the washer. The agitator and inner tub has the rotor of the motor prmanately attached to it. Artificial intelligence controls the motor using a power inverter to convert wall current into 3 phase dc. The basket floats upwards when filled with water and the agitator turn and washes the clothes using a computer program. 2 pumps are used. A circulation pump and a drain pump. Both are attached to the bottom.
Some Oasis Fault codes:
Long Fill F-30
LF flashes when the water level does not change for a period of
time after the valves are turned on. Is water supply connected and turned on?
Are hose screens plugged?
Is water entering the tub? If so check pressure hose
connection to machine/motor control.
Long Drain F-32
Ld flashes when the water level does not change after the drain pump is on.
 Is the drain hose clogged?
 Is the drain hose height greater than 96?
 Is the pump running?
Unbalanced Load uL Notes
uL is displayed when the machine/motor control detects an
off-balance load, and is steady on while the washer runs a
mini-cycle to rebalance the load. Display clears if mini-cycle successfully rebalanced the load.If the mini-cycle is unsuccessful, uL will flash until the door lid is opened, allowing the customer to view and redistribute the load. You will end up replacing the tub to solve this issue. They had problems with the bases on them and the cam that is supposed to ride up and down on the shaft. You  mentioned the tub floats, but does it settle down as the water drains?  Watch with the main top up and see what happens.
One recent solution was: I have a similar model 110.27032602, and I was experiencing the same problems with the UL code with an empty washer as well.
When I removed the basket I noticed that there was water trapped inside the hollow plastic rings on the bottom and top of the basket. I drilled a few small holes, drained the water and plugged them back. Ran it through a quick drain and spin cycle , and the washer seems to work just fine now. Perhaps this could be the same issue you are having.
Overloaded F-70
oL flashes when the machine/motor control detects a load size
that exceeds the washer’s capacity.
 Open the door lid to clear display, remove excess laundry,
then restart the cycle.
Suds Detection F-71
Sd is displayed when the machine/motor control, by analyzing
drag on the basket, detects a suds-lock condition, and is
steady on while the control then runs a mini-clean out cycle.
If the clean out cycle is unable to correct the over-sudsing
problem, the cycle ends and Sd flashes in the display. This
may signify:
 Excessive detergent usage.
 Basket cannot engage during drain step.
 Mechanical friction on drive mechanism, not allowing
basket to engage.
Open/Close Door Lid F-81
lid flashes when the following conditions occur:
 User presses START with lid open.
User presses START after 2 consecutive machine cycles
without opening lid.
 Magnets in door lid are out of place, preventing completion
of the lid switch circuit.
 The machine/motor control cannot detect the lid switch
opening and closing properly.
Pump Out (lid opened) No fault
Po flashes when drain pump begins pumping out water from
tub upon activation by the door lid having been left open for
more than 30 seconds.
 Close door lid to stop drain pump.
Hot, Cold Reversed
HC flashes when the hot and cold inlet hoses are reversed.
 Make sure inlet hoses are connected correctly.
Door Lock Failure
dL flashes if the following conditions occur:
 Door lid is not closed completely due to interference.
 Wash media buildup is preventing the lock bolt from
extending.
 Machine/motor control detects open door lid switch when
attempting to lock.
 Machine/motor control cannot determine if door
 lid is in a locked state.
Door Unlock Failure F-83
dU flashes if the following conditions occur:
 Excessive force on door lid is preventing lock bolt from
retracting.
 Wash media buildup is preventing lock bolt from retracting.
 Machine/motor control cannot determine if door lid is in an
unlocked state.

[ghserv]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I did find that topic about the guy that drained the liquid out of the balance rings on this forum and I also ran across another post on a different forum that held the same position as whirlpooltech posted here in that the other forum post said the balance rings were filled at the factory. So, I am reluctant to drain them. I suppose it is possible that something has happened to the original factory fill, in that case I'd suppose it would be best to replace the tub. Not a cheap option, especially if it doesn't cure the problem. The suspension spring kit might be a possibility since some people appear to have had success replacing them. The question is, why would they need to be beefed up if the washers ran fine originally for a year or more? It seems to me a lot of things have been tried to address this issue and nothing concrete has been identified as a cause or cure. Some of the "cures" may have been a temporary cure and the failure of the "cure" never got posted after the fact. Another possibility that occured to me was the motor not ramping the spin up smoothly. That possibility however doesn't seem to have been proposed anywhere and is probably unlikely. My observations of the spin process with the basket causing the whole tub assembly to jump around even to an almost violent level and even with the tub empty leads me to question the balance of the basket itself. While stiffer suspension of the assembly might improve the situation it may only cover up the actual cause. And that only temporarily if the basket balance worsens over time. As many problems as there are posted about the Cabrio on the web about UL issues you'd think someone would find the actual cause. If you guys haven't run into this issue yet on the Cabrio/Oasis I'd think you will soon. I'm still leaning towards the basket being the culprit since the observations of the spin lead me in that direction and if you have an out-of-balance basket and try and spin it on that skimpy hanging suspension system you are bound to have problems, empty or full. Of course if I order a new tub and it doesn't fix the problem it will be at my own cost. The thought occured to me of filling the tub up with a full load of heavy items such as jeans so that the basket would have less influence and see if that smoothes out the spin.
 
I'm certainly open to further thoughts. I'll let you guys know if I determine anything for sure.

[JWWebster]

Take the basket out and run it. See if the error code shows up

[ghserv]

Well, I went back to look at the washer and thought I might try JW's idea. In the process of removing the basket I examined it more closely this time and what I found was cracks in the base of the basket. These cracks are in what is apparently the "flotation chamber" which also serves as the support for the tub in that it contains the bushing that retains the basket to the tube that the drive shaft is in and it is also the section that the basket hub is mounted to. I'm guess the cracks are due to the stress placed on this area as it supports the entire basket assembly. The cracks may allow water into the flotation chamber although I could not verify that happened. The cracks may also allow flexing of the basket during spin and cause imbalance. Possibly. Regardless, the cracks are not good news and they are certain to worsen over time. It is possible that installing new tub support assemblies that are "beefed up" might temporarily lessen the balance issues but that is sure to be short-lived as the basket cracks worsen over time. I am currently waiting to see if this neighbor will spring for a new basket. If she does I'll post the results.
 

 

 

[ghserv]

An update on this.........the lady decided to buy a new washer so I guess we will never know if replacing the basket would have solved the unbalance issues.