I have a GE front load washer that Sense detected early on and has been very reliable about tagging and reporting.
This has an inverter fro the three phase DC motor and many believe that sense doesn’t detect inverter devices. It did this one.
My washer won’t run a load now, it starts but only gets a few minutes in until it stops. It hasn’t been tagging or notifying on these bad loads. I went to the timeline and compared what it looked like when a load started when it was working and compared it to the signature of when it was not working correctly. They were different.
So I have been working on it the last few days with the help of an appliance repairman. We have tried to start it over and over. So sense has now detected 4 new devices. All 4 are other components of the washer, pumps and valves. After all this testing and comparison, we have come to the conclusion that the inverter is bad.
Sense has actually helped us come to this conclusion because we can compare the signatures of good versus bad starts and different settings.
I won’t know for sure it’s the inverter until we put one in but I feel pretty confident.
As far as Sense and inverters go, I know it detected the washer. Was it the inverter that was detected? I’m not sure. I do know these 4 new detections are all part of the washer and I think the inverter may have blocked Sense from seeing them before. Will sense still see these when the washer gets fixed? Probably not but If Sense did help diagnose a failed or faulty inverter then it kept me from spending at least a couple thousand on a new set.
Wish me luck
I had to come back and edit this. While I’m waiting for parts for my GE front load, I installed a Frigidaire front load temporarily. I went to run the first load and immediately got a notification “washing machine turned on”. This is a different brand and model but is close enough electrically for sense to see it. I was afraid the washer detection would be completely lost but looks like there is a really good chance I’ll get to keep it.