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My washer cuts out in the spin cycle?

I have a whirlpool awm 8163 and it shows error code F11. It seems to wash OK but about 30 seconds int the spin cycle it shuts down, even when we run it empty. It is balanced OK. An engineer said I needed a new motor but that does not make any sense. Any ideas on code F11?
John, November 2005
We have the same machine and the same problem. Additionally, the machine smells horribly. We have investigated the problem a little bit. The smell comes from the main motor. We have fitted new brushes and resurfaced the commutator. The machine worked fine after that using only 400rpm spinning. However, trying 1,000 rpm - same problem came back.
It seems that the commutator cracks and two of the poles start lifting and causing the brushes to lift and fire.
So - new motor seems the solution.
However, it would be nice to know what problem F11 means and also whether this is a design fault, manufacturing fault or materials fault. After all, the motor must be spinning at about 30,000rpm. This is quite a lot for such a machine.

DD, June 2007
link Click here to see other fixes for Whirlpool AWM 8163.