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Frigidaire Dishwasher - Checkball/Water Diverter Not Functioning
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Joined: 11/22/2010(UTC) Posts: 7
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re: it'sallBroke
yes -- I removed the ball and instead of being a D-minus cleaning job, it now does a B+ to and A-minus.
If I remember the photos of the controller board correctly, there is a socketed chip, which I'm guessing holds the wash cycle patterns. In theory, Frigidaire could release a replacement ROM for the controller board that gives a slightly longer pause to make sure that the switchover happens. In practice, it's never gonna happen.
The only hope for a real fix is that someone with the skills and the inclination runs into the same problem finds themselves with excess free time and decides that it's an interesting enough puzzle to fix just for fun.
In the meantime, I'll accept the "no ball" solution until it stops working and then get myself a proper KitchenAid dishwasher.
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Joined: 11/22/2010(UTC) Posts: 7
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Joe --
after checking 1-6 on my machine and seeing that the spray arms only alternate when running the diagnostic test (or when doing the 'crack the door for 1/2 a second trick) , I'm with "it'sAllBroke" on this one.
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Joined: 7/14/2010(UTC) Posts: 5,222
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Originally Posted by: quitthebiz Joe --
after checking 1-6 on my machine and seeing that the spray arms only alternate when running the diagnostic test (or when doing the 'crack the door for 1/2 a second trick) , I'm with "it'sAllBroke" on this one. I agree with both of you, It's been my experience, that most manufacturers will upgrade a component,once they determine there's been too many complaints and repairs. Or establish a "field fix" policy/procedure. It's been a while since I had to interact with a manufacturer, so maybe things have changed ? If there was that much improvement in the dishwasher performance, you may want to go from there, until something else major occurs and replace the unit at that time ? Good Luck, :) :) :)
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Joined: 1/20/2011(UTC) Posts: 1
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Hi guys. New here and actually just experienced this exact problem with my Frigidaire. I saw the ball as a huge issue and removed it because it looked like a very poor design. Why the idiots did not seek to use a proper diversion valve is beyond me.
If I may be a bit forward here, I own an engineering/mfg firm and the thought came to mind that if there is a BUNCH of washers using this housing or sump, if we designed a good working diversion system as a drop in, would be be of interest to you guys as an update drop in? I could not estimate a cost because I do not have a specific design in mind as of yet but I would probably seek to use something that would divert without extra electronics though I will admit my first notion is to use a proper valve there.
I guess just fishing a bit. I am testing now and realizing that the reduction in nozzle pressure is significant and if i can get it to switch like it should, these machine wash dishes pretty well.
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Joined: 7/14/2010(UTC) Posts: 5,222
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Originally Posted by: fastline Hi guys. New here and actually just experienced this exact problem with my Frigidaire. I saw the ball as a huge issue and removed it because it looked like a very poor design. Why the idiots did not seek to use a proper diversion valve is beyond me.
If I may be a bit forward here, I own an engineering/Manufacturer firm and the thought came to mind that if there is a BUNCH of washers using this housing or sump, if we designed a good working diversion system as a drop in, would be be of interest to you guys as an update drop in? I could not estimate a cost because I do not have a specific design in mind as of yet but I would probably seek to use something that would divert without extra electronics though I will admit my first notion is to use a proper valve there.
I guess just fishing a bit. I am testing now and realizing that the reduction in nozzle pressure is significant and if i can get it to switch like it should, these machine wash dishes pretty well. Fastline, I don't see how you could install a diverter valve, without some sort of electrical connection, and/or a conversion on the control board. I'm sure you have more access to, people who know, than I do. They could be more help than I would. :cool: :cool: :cool:
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Joined: 6/7/2016(UTC) Posts: 1
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I also deal with same problem when the diverter of my Walk In Tub get damage and then i called local plumber and he mend the diverter.
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Joined: 7/14/2010(UTC) Posts: 5,222
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Originally Posted by: rowdysmith I also deal with same problem when the diverter of my Walk In Tub get damage and then i called local plumber and he mend the diverter. Rowdy, Pretty sure the diverter valve in a tub and a diverter valve in a dishwasher are two different things. Sometimes, and although it defeats the purpose, removing the diverter ball does improve the performance of the dishwasher. some of the recommendations and suggestions are pretty good, but manufacturers are a little reluctant to make expensive changes in an "isolated" situations.
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Joined: 5/22/2017(UTC) Posts: 1
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Originally Posted by: ItsAllBroke Here's what's wrong with your frigidaire dishwasher- the check ball/diverter to top spray arms is an example of poor engineering.
if you replace EVERY single part inside your dishwasher, motor, control board, etc, that nylon ball check valve might operate properly 10% of the time. The real problem is not with the pump or the ball itself or the switches, or ANY of that. The problem is with the microcontroller (the computer) running the program for the wash cycle. its not pausing the motor long enough for gravity to make the ball fall into the other position and block the lower arm ports and divert the water upstairs. thats how it works. a brief STOP of the motor causes gravity to make the ball drop back and the spray of water forces it to close off the ports to the bottom spray arm. then--- a longer pause causes the ball to fall all the way back to the place where it closes off the top spray arm. but after watching this thing run about 300 times, its obvious the program is just incorrect. and there is no feedback from the dishwasher motor assembly to the computer to tell it whether or not the close of this check valve successfully took place. so it runs thinking it is cleaning top rack, but it sure isnt.
the solution is to get frigidaire (electrolux, whatever) to admit this flaw and offer a replacement control board with corrected pause timing, but as far I know they have not. the same control board that has the bad program is still the only one they offer for this unit.
so take the lower spray arm out, clean it while you are at it, remove the 3 screws that hold in the venturi cover over the check ball. take out the check ball. throw it away in the trash. some kid might choke on it. put it back together. now your dishwasher has one cycle called "ON", ... and both arms (all 3 in some models) will spin and clean dishes.
if your pump is clean and strong enough it should do just fine. ItsAllBroke, I used the "simulate the pause" trick that causes the check ball to move... pushing the door open lever while holding the door shut to interrupt power for about 1 second then releasing. The upper spray arm started. You will know by the change in sound. The sound will be much louder when the upper arm is spraying compared to the lower arm. I knew then that this likely was the problem. You were right on! Took the ball out...dishwasher runs and sprays water bottom and top...maybe better than when it was new. Wife says the cleanest dishes ever!
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Joined: 2/21/2019(UTC) Posts: 0 Location: tulsa, ok
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Wow, I think this discussion solved my problem, Thanks
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Frigidaire Dishwasher - Checkball/Water Diverter Not Functioning
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