Why would my washer just STOP?

Question

My washer was fine yesterday and I did two loads. But with that third load...I opened it to add detergent, and I hear a pop and it went dead. I checked the circuit breaker. It was fine. THEN all the water turned black. My husbands grey jacket is now solid black. I smell no oil and its not greasy water. BUT now it won't do ANYTHING. Can't rinse out the tub....or go to ANY setting. It's like it's unplugged. I checked and it;s not. ANYONE out there know ANYTHING about washers? Please advise.....HELP! Thank you.

this is a very old top loading Maytag, and had already been re-paired several times. But worked fine for a lot of years. We're buying us a new one for Christmas. BUT, determined to get this one working till we do.

Answer 1

the most common culprit is the lid switch. you can test it by bypassing the switch. after that i would look at the timer.

Answer 2

some of the older Maytag washing machines had a round glass fuse just behind the timer area.I dont have a clue as to the make you have so it is a little hard to give sugestions.could be a broken or shorted wire.did you try to plug the washer to a differnt outlet.The lid switch could also be bad. sound like an electrical problem.And if the washer is a didgital model the board could be bad or the on off switch.

Answer 3

Sounds like the water-pump failed and its jamming the motor. When that happens the motor overload turns off the motor. It sounds like a click or a pop. I'm not a washer expert, but I am an electrician.
Go to this website, it came very handy when my refrigerator went out. www.RepairClinic.com

Answer 4

plug a lamp into the out let, to see if the power is on to it,
its 110v, if there is no power, turn the breaker off, don't just flip it, push it to the off position then turn it back on, will the lamp turn on now ? if si plug the washer back in and try it, the pop and water turning black tells me there was something in the jacket pocket,