Amana are a fairly well known home appliance manufacturer. They make both front loading and top loading washing machines. Today, I will explain what it means when the wash light is on or flashing but your Amana washer is not doing anything, as well as, how to troubleshoot this issue.
As a general rule, it’s indicating that it’s in the wash part of the wash cycle. But, if it’s flashing or on, and nothing is happening it means that there is an issue with the water filling the tub, or draining from the tub. Both, of which should be checked using the steps below.
There are four main areas to check: the water coming into the washer, the filter where the water hose connects to the washer, the water outlet hose, and the drain pump at the bottom of your washer. Below are the steps to check each of these, and how to identify which one is more likely to be the issue.
Amana Washer Wash Light On or Flashing (Fix/Reset)
There are multiple lights on an Amana washer, one for each stage of a wash cycle, as well as some miscellaneous lights. The wash light will be on when the wash cycle begins, but if it stays on and nothing happens or it flashes it indicates an issue, here is why this happens and how to fix it.
Overall, it means water is not filling the tub, or water can’t drain from the tub. If water is not filling the tub, the water supply lines could have an issue, or the screens at the end of the water supply lines can be blocked. If water is not exiting the tub then the drain hose can be clogged.
The wash light on an Amana washer can either stay on or blink. Below is what to do for each of these, one for when the wash light stays on and nothing happens, or if the wash light flashes.
Reasons Why Amana Washer Flashing Wash Light
If the wash light is flashing it’s a clearer sign that something is wrong with the wash cycle. There are two main reasons why this can happen, and each of these reasons can also be caused by a few different factors. Here are the 2 reasons this happens.
In general, there is no water entering the tub, or the water can’t be pumped out of the tub. Both will cause an Amana washer wash light to flash. This occurs when the onboard computer on an Amana washer detects the water level not changing when it should be.
Below, is a breakdown of both of these reasons, and the fixes you should do for each. Wait about 15 minutes. Then open the lid, and see if the tub has filled with water. If you open the lid and there is no water in the tub, it’s virtually guaranteed there is an issue with water entering the tub.
Therefore, you should start with the first reason. If the tub has water in it but is not doing anything, then skip to reason 2 below, and then come back to reason 1 if that hasn’t fixed the issue.
Reason 1 – Water is not filling the tub from the water inlet valve
A washing machine is similar to a faucet in other parts of your house such as the bathroom or kitchen. At the right part of a washing machine cycle the onboard computer will open a valve that turns the ‘water tap’ on, which flows into the tub.
However, the filter where the water hose connects to the washer can commonly be clogged. The other reason, but, which is less common, is there is no water going to the part of your house where the washer is.
To clean and inspect the filter you need to unscrew the water inlet hose at the back of your Amana washer. However, it’s very important you turn the valve off at the wall. Otherwise, when you unscrew it water will start pouring out of the hose.
There can also be a little bit of leakage. The water filters are located on the washer, and can be seen after the water inlet hose at the back has been removed.
All washers are very similar, so the steps above will also apply to Amana washers. I have noticed in a lot of different instructional videos for how to repair an Amana washer, that the water inlet hoses, and filters are identical to other washers, and the ones shown in the video above.
Reason 2 – The tub is not emptying the water in it
If the water can’t drain out of the tub it will cause the wash light on an Amana washer to flash. The reason is it can’t proceed to the next part of the cycle, which is the spray rinse, or rinse cycle. For that to happen all the water in the tub needs to drain.
Copyright protected content owner: ReadyToDIY.com and was initially posted on November 5, 2022.
Typically, this occurs because there is an issue with the water outlet hose, the drain pump is not working, or there is a blockage where the water enters the drain pump.
In some cases it’s possible to clean the drain pump. This only applies to some models of Amana washers, and typically only front load washers. The details about how to do it are explained in the owner’s manual of your Amana washer.
Then follow the instructions explained in this article on the official Amana website that shows how to clean the drain pump filter. An online version of your owners manual can be found on the official Amana website. But, typically you can easily find the drain pump filter on the front of your Amana washer using the article above about how to clean the drain pump filter.
Reasons Why Amana Washer Wash Light Stays On
The wash light should light up when you start a wash cycle. But, if it continues to stay on it can indicate a few issues with your Amana washer. Here’s a summary of the reasons why an Amana washer light stays on, followed by steps for how to fix it.
Overall, either the water can not exit the tub because of an issue, the onboard computer needs to be restarted, or water can not fill the tub because of an issue. Start by restarting your Amana washer, then do the steps below.
The onboard computer on an Amana washer will detect the water level is not changing when it should be. Nothing will happen and the wash light will stay on.
Reason 1 – Issue with the onboard computer (restart your washer)
When the wash cycle is selected, it’s possible that two lights will be on at once. Such as, the wash light, and the spin light. This indicates an issue with the onboard computer, or the control panel component. A good initial step is to restart your Amana washer, this will fix a wide range of issues with the control panel.
To do that, unplug your Amana washer at the wall, wait for about a minute, and then plug it back in. Start a wash cycle again and see if the light issue goes away. If not then move on to the next steps.
Reason 2 – The light is indicating what part of the cycle it’s on
There are a range of different lights on an Amana washer that will light up to tell you what part of a cycle your Amana washer is on. For example, when it’s in the spin cycle, the ‘spin’ light will be flashing.
Therefore, if you can hear your Amana washer doing something and the wash light is on, this is normal operation.
But, if the wash light is on, and your Amana washer is not doing anything then it’s because of one of the two reasons below.
Reason 3 – The tub is not filling with water
Water flows into an Amana washer from a hose that is connected to the water supply lines in a home. If no water comes through this hose then the tub won’t fill. As a result, your Amana washer won’t do anything. This will typically occur during the wash part of the cycle, which is the first part of a cycle where the tub fills with water.
Water can not be entering the tub because:
- There is not water going into the water hose
- The connection from the water hose to the back of the washer is clogged
Test if the water in your home is flowing at all by testing some other faucets. If other faucets are working then check the hose connection at the rear of your washing machine. It’s very common for it to be clogged with sediment, or hard water deposits.
Reason 3 – The tub is not emptying the water in it
For an Amana washer to move on to the next step in the cycle it needs to drain all the water in the tub. Otherwise, it can’t do the spray rinse, or spin the clothes dry. There are three main reasons why the tub is not emptying with water:
- The drain pump has malfunctioned
- There is something stuck in the drain pump
- The drain hose is improperly installed
The first thing to check because it’s the easiest and fastest is that the drain hose is OK. It’s common for a kink, or clog to develop which is easy to fix. It also needs to be installed in a particular way into what is called the ‘stand pipe’.
Inspect the drain hose to make sure there aren’t any kinks. Also, feel along the drain hose for any blockages by squeezing it with your hand from the outside. The drain hose can also be removed.
A drain hose can flow into a basin in a laundry room. Or, into a special pipe at the wall called a standpipe. The main thing is that the end of the drain hose goes up, and then bends down. This creates the right water and air pressure for the drain hose to work properly.
A drain hose typically has a rigid attachment on the end to make sure it fits into the stand pipe correctly. Shown in the video above. If unsure, refer to the owners manual for your specific Amana washer on this page of the official Amana website.
If the drain hose is working fine, then there can be a clog in the Amana drain pump, or the drain pump has malfunctioned. Both of these are quite difficult to repair yourself.
Copyright article owner is ReadyToDiy.com for this article. This post was first published on November 5, 2022.
In general, if nothing is happening there is an issue with the water filling the tub or draining from the tub. But, if the wash light is on and you can hear your Amana washer doing something, it means it’s in the wash part of the wash cycle. Below is what to do if your washer is not doing anything.
Related Articles
Amana Washer Blinking Final Spin (How to Fix)
Amana Washer Odor Problem or Smells Bad
Amana Washer Lid Lock Not Working
Amana Washer All Lights Flashing
ReadyToDIY is the owner of this article. This post was published on November 5, 2022.