[pmat]

I used a downloaded manual found on this site to run the diagnostic routine. I started by pressing the Power Scrub Plus and Quick Wash program buttons. The washer went through a cycle and at the end of the test the Power Scrub Plus and the Quick Wash program lights continued flashing and the clean light came on steady. Does that indicate a fault or are those two lights supposed to keep blinking?

The dishwasher seems to work ok, but the prior owner (my neighbor) complained that it took too long to complete the wash and made a rhythmic swooshing sound. They got a new one and let me have this one to fool around with. It was fairly quiet through the diagnostics and completed the test in around 1/2 hour.

[Gene]

Hello,

Did you hook it up? If you did then try to run a load with a detergent.

Gene.

[pmat]

I did run a small load with detergent on the regular wash program, it washed ok but seemed to take a long time. I did not time it so I'm not sure if it really ran all that long. Dishes seemed clean to me. It does make a kind of rhythmic shhh.... shhh sound that the original owner tells me has been getting louder for some time. I have a Sears dishwasher and this one is not louder but it's supposed to be very quiet. That is why I ran the diagnostics and am still wondering about the fault codes:are faults indicated by blinking or simply lit lights? At the end of the test cycle the two lights that blinked throughout the entire test kept blinking after the test was over and only the clean light came on steady.

[pmat]

Hi Gene,

Update: I ran another load this evening and timed it. It ran for 1 hour and 26 minutes which is more or less what the owners manual says for regular wash. When it stopped there was no tone and the clean light never lit up. the dishes and pots were clean. The somewhat louder sound only started in the last 20 minutes, more like a hushed air wshhh wshhh sound...

Thanks,

-Paul

[Gene]

Hi Paul,

Such results of the test could be due to a heater and/or NTC fault which can lead to longer cycle time.

Measure the current drawn by the dishwasher while heating starts. If the reading is about 11 amps then there is nothing wrong.

Remove the toe panel and try to pinpoint that noise.

Gene.

[pmat]

Hi Gene,

I ran another diagnostic test, it showed 11.2 amps when the heat up process began. It stayed pretty steady around 11.2 amps until the rhythmic shhhh sound started then fluctuated with the sound 10.85 amps to 11.2 in the quiet spaces between the shhhh sound. Later in the cycle the shhhh sound became steady and the amps stayed at around 10.75 amps.

At the end of the test cycle both the power scrub plus and the quick wash lights remained flashing with the clean light on steady.

I listened for the sound which seems to be coming from the front left as you face the dishwasher, but it's really hard to tell with that kind of shhhhh sound. Not metalic in anyway like a bearing more like the sound of air or water.

-Paul

[Gene]

Hi Paul,

Looks like there is nothing wrong with the heating part of the dishwasher. On the left side of the dishwasher are the water inlet parts. It's very hard to say what causing this sound.

I'll use the dishwasher as is. It could work in such condition pretty long.

Gene.

[pmat]

Just one other thing that I noticed:

After the test cycle, I opened the door and noticed a lot of foam in the bottom of the washer. I thought it was odd because I did not put in any detergent for the test.

Could the sound be caused by excessive foaming action for some reason. Under filling? or too much rinse aide being used?

When I tested the washer with dishes, it sounded fine until around the time of the rinse aide cycle.

[Gene]

It is possible that suds creating caused that noise. Spilled or overfilled rinse aid will cause a lot of suds.

Gene.

[pmat]

Could the cause of excessive foaming also have to do with the circulation pump / pump impeller?

I will run several rinse cycles without using any detergent to see if the foaming subsides...-Paul