Hello,

I have an 11 year old Magic Chef top-loading washing machine that suddenly
won't work. It worked yesterday when I washed a small load. Today, it filled
up with water just fine, then when it was to start agitating, it did so
after a long pause. Then it agitated for about 5 seconds, paused 5 minutes,
agitated, paused, repeat, repeat. The dial never changed and it would not
work if I set it to Rinse or Spin.

I reported this behavior to a local appliance parts supplier and he said it
could either be the timing switch, or, possibly, the motor. A switch on this
machine is probably rather inexpensive, maybe $35, but the major savings is
in the time NOT spent taking it seriously apart to look at the motor, or
paying someone else to do that. The switch appears to be an easy fix.

Is there a way I can reasonably confirm the switch is truly the problem?
After all, I can pick and choose from a huge number of washers and dryers
for sale right now on my local Craigslist, as it is moving time for many
folks. I can probably get a decent machine for $50 and the time I spend
moving it.

Thanks,
Bee