Frigidaire dishwasher bottom arm works great upper arm does not turn because the water does not go all the way to the top of the tube that runs up the side and to the top of the dishwasher and then shoots down to the upper wash arm . I have added more water and that does not help . If I stop the washer and restart it in a few seconds the water will start then flowing strong to the upper rack threw the tube . When this happens the lower arm them gets no water to it . I did take the motor out and found some glass in the motor wheel , removed the glass and reinstalled the motor but that did not help the problem. The motor runs and seems to be running fine could the motor not be running as fast as it should and be the problem ? Only thing I can think is maybe a motor problem , the motor does seem to be running ok .
- Rob asked 10 years ago
- last edited 10 years ago
Hi. Your dishwasher is designed to only use one spray arm at a time. Both upper and lower spray arms do not operate at the same time on your model. Initially the bottom spray arm will be washing when a cycle is started. As the cycle goes on and the timer pauses a check ball inside the wash pump will shift up a ramp and only allow water to be pumped to the upper spray arm. At any time if the door is open or cycle paused for too long during the upper spray arm wash the check ball will roll back down the ramp to its original location and only allow water to be pumped to the lower spray arm.
I hope this was helpful. Please replay to this post if you have any further questions.
Technician Brian V.
- Brian, Ace Appliance answered 10 years ago
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hello rob i see you posted this question 3 days ago and i did reply to it yesterday but it appears that you did not go back to your original post to see it so here is detailed info on how to solve your issue – i also provided part #s and you can order them if needed from appliancevideo.com and they will be delivered rigt to your door for your conveneince hello rob – it basically comes down to 2 issues one is not enough water into unit OR the motor is not working properly – an easy way to determine if it is a water volume issue is by simply adding about a quart of water to unit after it has filled and if it operates the upper spray arm then you do not have enough water -if this is the case it is usually a calcification build up in your supply valve and connection under the kitchen sink where the dishwasher supply line hooks up -if you are comfortable with working on plumbing (be sure to check for leaks after reassembly !!) you can disconnect at supply valve and see if there is a calcification build up in valve & if so turn water off at hot water heater. If supply valve is a compression type valve you can remove it and clear calcification or replace it ( even though hot water has been turned of at hot water heater ( be prepared to handle water coming out of pipe after removing valve with towels and a wet vac ) reattach valve after clearing &turn valve to OFF position and turn water back on at hot water heater . Then before turning supply valve back on do same thing at solenoid valve connection where line attaches to dishwasher, then before reconnecting solenoid valve connection put line in an empty 2 liter bottle and turn supply valve on to flush line and check water flow, which should be very strong . Reconnect solenoid valve connection and check operation – if still not enough water going in you may need to replace solenoid valve( part # 154637401 ) by removing 2 screws and fill hose to tub (very simple) .OR IF YOU ARE SURE YOU HAVE ENOUGH WATER TO UNIT AND STILL NOT WORKING UPPER SPRAY ARM then unfortunately you have a bad motor – fairly simple to replace but dishwasher will have to be removed for this repair BE SURE TO TURN OFF POWER disconnect electrical supply +drain hose connection and water supply line then remove dishwasher from cabinet. Lay on its back (careful not to damage anything -a blanket to lay it on would be a good idea ) and simply remove 2 screws from motor retainer plate and slide down motor retainer plate from motor recess and unplug motor connection plug.Then to remove motor just pull straight out of unit then reverse steps to re install new motor ( part # 154859101) and is fairly expensive – but i usually do find water issue most likely cause . Hope this gives some direction at what to do and please be sure to check for leaks very carefully after everything is put back together and good luck
- Sam, Ace Appliance answered 10 years ago
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