Washing machine problem or electrical problem?

I have a whirlpool washing machine, fairly new but not sure of the age. My father bought a house that had washer/drier in it. He knew I needed a washer and gave it to me about 4 months ago. It has always worked great. My house is 25 years old.

Yesterday, I washed 4 loads of clothes, but on the 5th load, it filled up, but cut off in the middle of the cycle. It would not start again at any place on the dial. This morning when my wife came home from work (night-shift nurse), she said she smelled something burning. I couldn't smell anything.
I scooped the water out of the washer, planning to try to fix it. When I unplugged it to move it, I head a click noise, so I plugged it back in and it worked. I ran a cycle with no clothes in it, and it stopped mid-cycle again. I unplugged it, and when I plugged it back it I saw a slight spark come from the electrical socket. When I turned the washer on, it ran for a second and cut back off. I unplugged it.
What do I do now? Thank you

It sounds like you may be having problems with the motor. It may be overheating or it could be as simple as a bad wire (judging from the burnt smell and the spark when you plugged it in).

The whole cabinet on whirlpool washers come off so you can get a good look at the motor. Unscrew the screws on the console. They'll be on each end, either on the front or back depending on age. Rotated the console forward and up to lift it. Pop out the clips on each side of the top (under the console) with a screw driver. Disconnect the lid switch harness. Now you can tilt the cabinet forward and remove it.

Take a look at the wire harness on the motor to see if there are any bad wires.
Take the water pump off the front of the motor to see if anything is caught inside.
See if the motor turns freely.

do you still have power at the outlet? if you do then the problem is your machine- sounds like the motor might be overheating and shutting down, then after it cools down it will work for awhile. eventualy it won't work at all. see what other advice you get but you will probably need a repair man. might want to try another outlet on a different circuit but i don't think thats the problem

definitely a washer issue it sounds like the relay is getting over heated but no a big deal to fix. the spark you saw is because the hot and the neutral are reversed on your plug or the outlet not a big deal it won't burn down your house or anything that is why you see on most plugs now that one prong is wider then the other so that doesn't happen.

There is a possibility of a bad receptacle. But I suspect it is a washer problem. Try plugging it in the other receptacle half. Most likely it is the motor getting hot and then tripping out on it's internal over load. When it cools, it will start again. It could be a bad motor or something binding the motor at that point in the cycle.