Maytag MDBH945AWW drips under float switch

Dishwasher Repair
1

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

2

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

3

[quote=libertyappl;33460]It does sound like your float is sticking, the model number posted doesn’t pull up. can you please verify?
Nat[/quote]

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/ModelFrames.aspx?ModelID=272924&ModelNum=MDBH945AWW&mfgModelNum=&ManufactureID=1&Selected=56372&Position=6&mfg=Maytag&Type=&Mark=1

4

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

5

[quote=libertyappl;33556]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[/quote]

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?

6

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.

  1. 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!

7

Glad you got it going
Nat

8

Just in case it helps anyone…

I have a Maytag #MDB8600AWB and was having the same slow drip from the float. My problem turned out to be a soap build up on the underneath of the float. I checked the things talked about hear and found nothing. Then I removed the float and found the hollow under neath was quite full of soap. I suspect the extra weight was causing it to barely over fill, giving me a couple of table spoons of water leaking out each cycle.

RJ

9

I’m having a similar problem with a Quiet Series 200.

At first, I was just getting a drip from the front right corner.

I leveled the unit and took off the toe kick. I saw the float switch was wet too. I removed the float, cleaned it out, and tried it again.

Now the float is definitely working normally, and it was the only part of the front end of the dishwasher that was still dry this time. As soon as the motor kicks on, water splashes out from the entire front end under the door all at once and then the machine runs normally. I can’t tell if the problem is worse or if the toe kick insulation was soaking up most of the water before.

It’s almost as if the motor is causing a wave or slosh that overflows the tub. I don’t know how to verify that, but I’m planning to take more of it apart to try to solve this.

10

I had a similar problem, but not exactly the same. Intermittent leaks at the front bottom of my Jenn air dishwasher, and so far appears to be the float valve assembly.

You can see it at Fill and Overfill parts for Maytag JDB3000AWS2 - AppliancePartsPros.com

It appears to be the connection between parts 11 and 12. There is a poor seal, I think. What’s weird is that part 11, the gasket, is underneath the tub, and the nut (part 12) is inside the dishwasher tub. Either:

  1. that’s correct, and the gasket is on the opposite side of the tub steel from the nut. If so, I struggle to have the nut tight enough to make a seal, but loose enough that it doesn’t squeeze the gasket out of shape below the tub.

OR

  1. The nut and gasket should be inside the tub, tightened to a good seal. This is not the way this dishwasher was built when new. I only figured this out trying to logic through it and with the great assistance of Brent from online chat here.

I’m going to change the assembly to be like option #2. I’ll keep you posted on how well this works. Dishwasher is now 3 years old so well past manufacturer’s warranty.

11

smckech1972 analysis lead me to my solution.

I have a Maytag QuietSeries 300, MDB8601AWW10689934l, with the tub being a single mold unit with the float located on the front right, leaking at the float assembly under the tub.

The float extends through the tub resting on the float switch.
An Ohms check of float switch was positive (good)
However, drips of water (often a small stream of water) was leaking at the float\switch.

Steps taken:

Removed float and cleaned gunk under the “cap”
Re-installed float
Ran rise cycle - okay no leaking
Ran wash cycle with encapsulated dishsoap product
Water on floor. Float leaking

Filled liquid “jet dry” reservoir with white vinegar and poured 1 cup in tub
Started dishwasher on Auto Clean High Temp
Drip, drip, drip
Opend door to observe soap suds in tub
Let cycle complete

Next I poured a cup of liquid CLR into the tub followed with 3 cups of hot tap water
Started dishwasher on Heavy Wash, Tough Scrub, High Temp cycle
After tub filled with water
Drip, drip
Opened door, lots of suds
Closed door, cycle resumed
Time goes on
Drips slowed
Opened door less suds observed
Time goes on
Drips slowed
Drip stopped

Next I poured a second cup of CLR into the tub followed with 3 cups of hot tap water
Started dishwasher on Heavy Wash, Tough Scrub, High Temp cycle
After tub filled with water
Drip, drip
Let cycle continue
Opened door, suds
Closed door, cycle resumed
Time goes on
Drips slowed

Opened door, less suds
Closed door, cycle resumed
Time goes on
Drips stopped

Not comfortable
Poured what was left of CLR
Started dishwasher on Heavy Wash, Tough Scrub, High Temp cycle
After tub filled with water
Drip, drip
Opened door, suds
Closed door, cycle resumed
Time goes on
Drips slowed
Let cycle complete

Poured 1 cup of white vinegar in tub with 3 cups of hot tap water
Started dishwasher on Heavy Wash, Tough Scrub, High Temp cycle
After tub filled with water
No Drip
Opened door, no suds
Let cycle complete

Started dishwasher on Heavy Wash, Tough Scrub, High Temp cycle
After tub filled with water
No Drip
Opened door, no suds
Let cycle complete

Really did not want to disassemble the dishwasher
Many cycles of cleaning, saved $300 on a new dishwasher

12

Just a followup - my fix solved my problem. About 1-2 years later I replaced with a kitchenaid as the JennAir just didn’t clean well (and never really had). Love the KitchenAid.