[smckech1972]

Hi,

I have a Maytag Quiet Series 200, MDBH945AWW. I got it from a friend of a friend, but it appears in great condition, except...

I hooked it up last night. Made sure it was level and started a cycle with no dishes. My water connections in and out are dry. It started to fill as expected. Now I had it pulled out so I could watch it to catch any leaks.

At the point where the jets start to flow, I noticed a very small drip forming at the base of the float switch. I"m not sure how this is even possible since the tube the float goes through is molded into the tub and I didn't see any cracks.

I next hit the start/cancel button which drained it. I again started a cycle. Just before the jets started, I opened the door. It did not leak. So I am thinking it must be something that is getting water when the jets are actually working.

Also, it was pretty sudsy. Almost looks like the person that had it before me may of put in regular dish soap in the jetdry holder. So I rinsed it out as best I could and threw some normal dishwasher soap in to reduce the amount of suds. Still, when it starts spraying through the jets, the drip would start at the float switch.

The float does move easily. I noticed that when the jets start, the float goes down (obviously because the pump took up some of the water to spray). But I wonder if it may have something to do with where it's putting too much water in the tub? Could suds actually cause this? I don't think it could be the door because it wouldn't be possible to get water to that switch since it's up and back from the door. The door seal did seem wet, but couldn't tell from messing with it so much (filling and draining).

When I open the door after the jets have been going, the water appears to be almost to the point where it would come out on the floor but doesn't.

I heard that this model can have issues with seals on the door and soap holder. There isn't any food or mineral buildup at or around anything. One person said their Maytag had a warped tub?

Any ideas would be great. Also if anyone has a "service" manual to disassemble, that would be awsome.

Thanks everyone

[libertyappl]

It does sound like your float is sticking, the model number posted doesn't pull up. can you please verify?
Nat

[smckech1972]

Originally Posted by libertyappl

It does sound like your float is sticking, the model number posted doesn't pull up. can you please verify?
Nat

That's another issue. That is the actual model number, double checked right off the side of the door. It appears this one is actually sold at Home Depot. It is a quiet series 200 legacy series. They also are sold at best buy, etc but with slightly different model numbers. My guess is so they don't have to do price protection. It is also sold under jenn air and avana names.

The float is 100% free. It is very very easy to move it up. There is no build up on it. One other test I did is after it started running, I noticed the float switch was bobbing. So, with my finger, I held it up to keep the circuit open and prevent the water valve from adding more into the tub. I noticed a lot of pressure was being fired at it. Enought to keep pushing it down when the water level would normally hold it up.

Here it is at home depot
Maytag 24 In. Built-In Tall Tub Dishwasher - MDBH945AWW at The Home Depot

Here is a place selling parts.
http://www.**********.com/ModelFrame...g&Type=&Mark=1

[libertyappl]

Ok, got it to pull up check your float switch(part # AP3140469) that's probably not working properly and allowing the unit to over flow.
Nat

[smckech1972]

Originally Posted by libertyappl

Ok, got it to pull up check your float switch(part # AP3140469) that's probably not working properly and allowing the unit to over flow.
Nat

I don't believe it is that. Another check I did is checked continuity of the switch with meter and both open and closed position. Both checked out. Also this is a drip, not any type of flow. If it was overfilling, it would spill out as a stream, not a drip..drip..drip.

I did read on another forum where someone said the tub actually warped.

Like I said, it only leaks there when the jets are actually running. I even (per a suggestion to someone else) made a donut of paper towel around the switch when the leak started to see if it actually was coming from somewhere else and the paper towel was dry.

It's frustrating because there just isn't that much to a dishwasher.

Generally speaking, when the dishwasher fills up to it's level (where the float is now high enough to open the circuit to the water valve), the pumps will start thus lowering the level of water slightly because of pumping up to the top jets, etc. Does the water valve then open again adding water back in?

[smckech1972]

Turns out there were two issues, three if you count powder soap residue.

Now, what I was experiencing was a leak from the float switch when the washer was running (actually spraying water from the jets). It was a slow drip.

1. I found a post on another site where a guy had a similar problem. The issue was the pump housing bolts became loose and ruptured the gasket. Water was then coming out of the side of the pump (this is in the tub, not external) and shooting right at the float.

On my model, there isn't a gasket, but the bolts were slightly loose. I removed the lower spray arm, and tore down all the way until the shaft was exposed and cleaned each later of buildup/hard water deposits and then reassembled.

2. While it was apart, I inspected the manifold and spray arms. I noticed a mark underneath the spray arm. It appears it was rubbing against the bracket that supports the heating element. I mesured the distance at both brackets and found that the left one was about 1/8th of an inch higher. Now when you spin the arm, it didn't catch, but the arm is also a bit wobbely. So I slowly spun it around with some slight pressure on one end and sure enough it caught. My guess is when the dishwasher is operating, the arm will shift due to water pressure.

With a needlenose plyer, I bent the bracket to model the other. I spun the lower spray arm around again as I did before and this time no rubbing.

When I finally put everything back together and fired it up, I immediately laid on the floor and watched the float switch. Before this fix, you could see it the arm of the switch bobbing a lot and when I put my finger on it, it was clear the water was hitting it.

After I did these two steps, the switch does NOT leak and the switch is very smooth. You can see it rise to full and it stays there. No more bobbing.

Thanks for everyone who gave suggestions. If you ever have a problem, I hope my post will help.

Good Luck!

[libertyappl]

Glad you got it going
Nat