12 replies to this topic

[TKD]

My dishwasher fills up with water, but the water won't spray the dishes.  The arm goes up about half way and water dribbles out the top.  The arm does not turn.  I left it for a couple of days, and tried it and it worked, for about 2 minutes and then went back to dribbling.  Any ideas?

[Pegi]

Need the model number, Sears makes nothing and these are  made by several different manufacturers................

[TKD]

Sorry! the model # is 587.14002990

I am not sure it fills up enough with water.  It is about 1/2 inch deep in the center, and there is about 3 inches of space all around the edges that is dry.

[Pegi]

This looks to be a Frigidaire D/W. Start your dishwasher and when you hear it start washing open the door and pour water into the dishwasher about up to the elements, then close the door to see if you can hear it spraying better, and open the door to see if the spray arms are rotating normally.  If so you are not getting enough water and probably need to replace the fill valve. 

[TKD]

I filled it up, but it didn't help.  It's still not spraying. 

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

If it's not spraying, then the motor isn't running. Now we need to find out why that is. There are precisely three reasons:

1. The motor isn't getting voltage == control or wiring problem.

2. The motor is getting voltage but it's burned out == replace the motor.

3. The motor is getting voltage but the impeller is jammed == clean the gookus outta the impeller housing.

[TKD]

It is actually spraying, but only very weakly.  I tried to clean everything out, and found some junk, but not much.  When I start it, it sprays pretty well at first, but as I let it run, the spray gets smaller and smaller until after about 30 seconds it is only coming out of the holes on the arm down on the bottom.

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

[user=765]TKD[/user] wrote:

When I start it, it sprays pretty well at first, but as I let it run, the spray gets smaller and smaller until after about 30 seconds it is only coming out of the holes on the arm down on the bottom.

This sounds suspiciously like an insufficient water fill problem. After the dishwasher fille, open the door and check the fill level-- should be just below the electric heating element.

[TKD]

I think you are right that not enough water is getting in, but I don't think it is the only problem.  When I add more water to get it to the right level, it doesn't affect the weakness of the spray.  The other 2 options you gave me were that the motor is burnt out or no voltage is getting to it.  Is it possible that some but not enough voltage is getting to it, or that the motor is going out, but not completely gone?  Would that explain the symptoms?

Also, this dishwasher was a piece of junk from the first wash.  More of a dish sanitizer than a dish washer.  Is it worth the time and money to try to fix it, or should I just give up and go get a better dishwasher?

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

If adding the correct amount of water didn't make a difference, then that's not the primnary problem. As for incorrect voltage to the motor, if that were the case, the motor wouldn't run at all. No, the problem is in the water distribution system: worn impeller, clogged filter, .... ?

[TKD]

Okay, I took off the filter and cleaned it, I took off the cover over the impeller and cleaned all around it.  That didn't help.  So I guess that leaves a worn impeller.  Is that easy to fix?  How do I go about doing it? Thanks

[Korwynn]

I recently fixed a dishwasher similiar to this model. A small piece of plastic had fallen down into the cutter wheel behind the impeller and caused it to jam down. The motor shaft is simply pushed into the impeller that has a tension clip inside. You may be able to get to the cutter wheel from the top but it's doubtful. More than likely the whole pump will need to be removed at which point the entire motor, seals, cutter wheel and impeller can be removed. I would recommend that you call a qualified service technician (if you are not one yourself) to complete the repair.

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

Piece of pie!  You can get the impeller here.