Dishwasher not filling completely, intermittent problem

Dishwasher Repair
,
1

I have a Kenmore Elite Ultra Wash Dishwasher. It is about 4 years old. It worked fine for about 3.5 years. Then the soap dispenser would start having soap left in it and the dishes would not clean, especially the top rack. I paid a local appliance store to come and repair and after 1 hour, they could find nothing and only suggested me spending $300 to replace the pump/motor. I said “no.”

I finally hopped on line and read various forums. After tearing the machine apart inside (chopper, check valve are fine), I put it back together one piece at a time and checked the pump pressure (by opening the door quickly) after every piece assembled. The pressure looked good until I installed the riser that feeds the upper rack and the upper rack itself. It did not seem like sufficient water was making it up there. I placed two cutting boards on the bottom rack to block the bottom spray completely and found out zero water was reaching the top rack. However, the tubing was clear all the way to the top.

I noticed the pump/motor sounded like it was surging and the level in the bottom looked kind of low. I thought maybe the pump was being starved and the pump was cavitating. I added about 3 quarts of hot water, until it hit the high level float. Then the pump quit surging (cavitating) and I had a waterfall coming off the top rack. Not enough water. Okay.

I disassembled the inlet valve and cleaned it out. There was some black particulate coming out of my hot water pipe so I ran about 20 gallons of water until it ran steadily clear. Found some of this black stuff in the valve. There was a lot of pressure coming from the hot water, so it was not low water pressure.

After reassembling the inlet valve and running, it still had the same problem. I thought maybe the internal workings were plugged with the black stuff so I ordered a new inlet valve. Then, the next day, before the new valve arrived, the darn thing worked normal! I thought maybe some particulate finally broke loose. It worked several times in a row. But, I also noticed the water fill was running longer … 2:50 (min:sec) compared to about 1:45 previously. Longer fill time means more water.

Today, the problem is back, and I’m back to 1:45 fill time. What the heck?! A bad timer? My tech sheet that came with the machine says “some models” have flow meters that can be the cause of this (I guess if the meter senses a higher flow rate, even if it is inaccurate, it will turn the water off earlier?). But going to the Sears/Kenmore site, it does not appear my model has a flow meter.

(New edit to post on the next day … last night, I reset the system to factory defaults (in case it was “confused”) using keystrokes “Heated Dry >> Normal >> Heated Dry >> Normal” and let it go through its cycle … it still did not work properly. I woke up this morning and it is back to running properly … I ran it three times today, all successfully. Did I say “intermittent”? What will tomorrow bring?

What next? I am hoping to stay away from appliance repairmen … already one bad experience and waste of money that could have been a lot more expensive. Your help will be appreciated. Any thoughts, please?
walterw

2

Sorry, I come in search of answers, I have no solutions. I have a similar problem. The fill only lasts for about 90 seconds, not nearly enough to fill the tub. I could make it work by being ready with a bucket of hot water every time it drains for fresh water… Did you come up with a solution? I cleaned the screen on the inlet valve, to no avail. Thanks, David

3

Hi David,
Yes, I did fix it and hopefully it will help you. I’m not 100% sure how I fixed it, but I will give you my best guess.

I think the “control system” was confused. When I was reviewing the Tech Sheet/Electrical Schematics, there was a section in the diagnostics portion that indicated, when running through a diagnostic test, the fill should take 1 min 40 sec (actually 55 sec fill + 5 sec pump purge + 40 sec fill). And elsewhere in the same Tech Sheet, I saw where it fills for 2 min 50 sec in regular wash mode (non-diagnostic). Well, these were the same two times I was experiencing on an intermittent basis. It seemed to me that in regular wash mode, it was filling as if it was in diagnostic mode.

Several times I reset the unit back to the factory default settings ([FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000]using keystrokes “Heated Dry >> Normal >> Heated Dry >> Normal” and let it go through its complete diagnostic cycle … maybe 15 minutes). I did this several times over several days. Usually it did not help on the immediate cycle after the diagnosis, but maybe the next cycle. And then after one good cycle, it may run 2 - 3 more times properly before reverting back. After doing this several times, it finally kept working normally.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000]Also in the tech sheet, it also indicated that by pressing the Start button to initiate a cycle, it will use the last program completed. So, it seemed to me that somehow the “control system” became mixed up, but since that was the cycle it last used, it kept running incorrectly, using the shorter diagnostic fill time. Once I got it working normally, it stayed working normally. But, like I said, I had to go back several times and reset the unit to factory default settings.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000]I did buy a new valve, but I never installed it. I knew the valve could not control the timing of itself (the control system does that) … and the fill time was too repeatable. I sent it back for a refund.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000]Let me know if you have any questions. I hope this helps. Hopefully I didn’t confuse you with my wordiness. Good luck.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000]Walter[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

4

Thanks for taking the time to fill me in. Hopefully it will help someone else. I think yours is much newer! Mine is at least 10 years old and has a mechanical timer. Several posts implied that getting a new inlet valve will solve it, but I’m quite skeptical. Never the less, I ordered the part anyway and we’ll see if it helps. Thanks again, David

5

:slight_smile: THANKS THAT IS GREAT INFORMATION…[quote=walterw;199297][FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000]I have a Kenmore Elite Ultra Wash Dishwasher. It is about 4 years old. It worked fine for about 3.5 years. Then the soap dispenser would start having soap left in it and the dishes would not clean, especially the top rack. I paid a local appliance store to come and repair and after 1 hour, they could find nothing and only suggested me spending $300 to replace the pump/motor. I said “no.”[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000]I finally hopped on line and read various forums. After tearing the machine apart inside (chopper, check valve are fine), I put it back together one piece at a time and checked the pump pressure (by opening the door quickly) after every piece assembled. The pressure looked good until I installed the riser that feeds the upper rack and the upper rack itself. It did not seem like sufficient water was making it up there. I placed two cutting boards on the bottom rack to block the bottom spray completely and found out zero water was reaching the top rack. However, the tubing was clear all the way to the top.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000]I noticed the pump/motor sounded like it was surging and the level in the bottom looked kind of low. I thought maybe the pump was being starved and the pump was cavitating. I added about 3 quarts of hot water, until it hit the high level float. Then the pump quit surging (cavitating) and I had a waterfall coming off the top rack. Not enough water. Okay.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000]I disassembled the inlet valve and cleaned it out. There was some black particulate coming out of my hot water pipe so I ran about 20 gallons of water until it ran steadily clear. Found some of this black stuff in the valve. There was a lot of pressure coming from the hot water, so it was not low water pressure.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000]After reassembling the inlet valve and running, it still had the same problem. I thought maybe the internal workings were plugged with the black stuff so I ordered a new inlet valve. Then, the next day, before the new valve arrived, the darn thing worked normal! I thought maybe some particulate finally broke loose. It worked several times in a row. But, I also noticed the water fill was running longer … 2:50 (min:sec) compared to about 1:45 previously. Longer fill time means more water.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000]Today, the problem is back, and I’m back to 1:45 fill time. What the heck?! A bad timer? My tech sheet that came with the machine says “some models” have flow meters that can be the cause of this (I guess if the meter senses a higher flow rate, even if it is inaccurate, it will turn the water off earlier?). But going to the Sears/Kenmore site, it does not appear my model has a flow meter.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000](New edit to post on the next day … last night, I reset the system to factory defaults (in case it was “confused”) using keystrokes “Heated Dry >> Normal >> Heated Dry >> Normal” and let it go through its cycle … it still did not work properly. I woke up this morning and it is back to running properly … I ran it three times today, all successfully. Did I say “intermittent”? What will tomorrow bring?[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000]What next? I am hoping to stay away from appliance repairmen … already one bad experience and waste of money that could have been a lot more expensive. Your help will be appreciated. Any thoughts, please?[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000]walterw[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/quote]

6

I put the new inlet valve in. Lo and behold: the amount of water coming out is greater. Stand in amazement: the cavitating/whooshing sound is gone, there is enough water in the tub for constant cycling and I get plenty wet now when I engage the switch with a screwdriver while holding the door open :wink: Jets of water: what a concept!