"Al" wrote in message
oups.com...
We have a Whirlpool washing machine that will fill with water,
but won't rinse or spin. It is model # LA5330XSWO.

Any idea what the cause might be, and how I might easily
disgnose it or rule out some common causes?

Not a nice job trying to empty out that grubby soapy wash water; you can
siphon it (often at expense of a mouthful, no worse I suppose than
stealin...... Err. I mean 'siphoning' gas! And until you do the washer is
heavy! Use a little pump if you can.
Recent problem with our Kenmore was that the pump assembly had loosened one
of its two bolts and it had sagged just enough for a slot in the main
mechanism to not engage the arm which operates the valve that allows water
from the bottom of the tub to flow into the pump.
In our model the belt was fine and the pulley on the pump itself was
turning, as it should be, all the time. But no water was reaching it due to
above. First time in about 20 years we've had that problem. We did once,
maybe 10 years ago replace the belt. Teenager overloaded the washer!
Another problem was that on one occasion a contact on the timer became burnt
up. In our model there is no 'pump circuit' as such. Pump-out occurs when
the timer reaches certain points in its cycle and operates a solenoid which
is part of the motor driven main mechanism; the solenoid then engages the
main mechanism to the arm which operates the outlet valve on the pump, as
mentioned above.
Important point is; that whatever your model study the operational
sequence/timing chart and circuit diagram often/usually on the back of the
machine or under a metal plate. Otherwise you may just be 'poking' at it.
Apparently there is a good appliance repair site on the internet?