Hello to everyone and thanks, I’ve already learned a bunch.
We have the above model. The dishes were not getting clean. When I ran it, the pump would run but very little water came out of the lower spray arm and certainly didn’t reach the upper arm. I checked everything I could and finally had a service person come in who said I needed a new pump.
I can order it and do the job but wanted to see if anyone had other ideas. Mainly the pump runs but doesn’t appear strong enough. This seems odd as my simple thought is it should run or not run. If it’s ‘weak’, could it be something else.
Do not know what the tech did to trouble shoot this so it is hard to say what is required.
The most common cause of poor wash results is dirty filters or some thing caught in the impeller/chopper. Clean/check the pump mechanism.
Also sometimes the unit does not get enough water so it cavitates (sucks air) and cannot build up pressure. Most units fill to just under or just over the heating element. I am not sure which this is.
You can check it by adding a couple quarts of hot water once it fills, just be careful not to overfill it. If it now runs OK, then that is your problem.
The most common cause of low fills is a partially clogged filter screen on the input side of the water valve.
Remove the valve from the machine and clean it.
Do not permanently remove the filter screen from the valve as it is there to keep crud out of the valve which could hold it open and cause a flood.
I would remove the torq screws from the pump top and remove the half round chopper cover. You might find the input grate to this is clogged up. If the chopper is clogged, replace it and the check valve in the pump housing AP3152971 and AP3039186 Before replacing, make sure (by turning the chopper) it is engaged to the pump impeller.
If everything ok, you might have a bad pump impeller, or a pump motor running backwards although rather rare for Kitchen aid. Pump # AP4434021
Thanks to both of you for your insight. denman, the documents were great and saved me much time.
Both of you were spot on with the diagnosis. The chopper screen was completely coated with stuff. After I cleaned it, it ran much better and the wife is now happy again!
Furthermore, after working at the bottom of the dishwasher, I have an even greater appreciation for the work you guys do. Not pretty stuff down there!
Per the tech aid, the chopper is clogged either due to a bad coupling to the motor impeller, or a bad check valve, a black,thin rubber piece in the pump housing next to the chopper.
It could have had a plugged screen on the chopper assembly.
[quote=marshallfla;183229]Hello to everyone and thanks, I’ve already learned a bunch.
We have the above model. The dishes were not getting clean. When I ran it, the pump would run but very little water came out of the lower spray arm and certainly didn’t reach the upper arm. I checked everything I could and finally had a service person come in who said I needed a new pump.
I can order it and do the job but wanted to see if anyone had other ideas. Mainly the pump runs but doesn’t appear strong enough. This seems odd as my simple thought is it should run or not run. If it’s ‘weak’, could it be something else.
