Too Much Water In Dishwasher

[bogus1one]

I've got a GE dishwasher model number GSD1350X70 that's having "issues."

I noticed that during the drain cycle, the water pouring out into the disposal was at a very low pressure and the dishwasher would begin filling up before it had completly drained. So, I thought fine, something wrong with the drain mechanism. Took it apart and noticed that the flapper in the check valve assembly was all mangled. Got a new check valve assembly and now it's draining like a champ.

However, I still have the same problem!

So it appears I have more than one problem. Only now, on some of the cycles it will drain before filling up again and on others it won't. It'll keep on draining while letting fresh water in at the same time.

I thought that maybe the fill valve solenoid was bad, but putting an ohm meter to it shows some resistance (maybe a little less than 1K, I forget) and it does seem to turn the water flow on and off.

I then went through the exercise of measuring the water level in the tub at the end of each fill cycle. It varied from about 2 cm on the low side to 6+cm on the high side! Seems like quite a range to me. And, when it has 6 cm of water in the tub, it can't drain it fast enough before the fill cycle begins again.

My next guess at what the problem could be is that the timer is bad but I would like to get some input before I invest $50 to $100 on a new one of those.

Any wisdom is appreciated. Dan

[Edwin Pawlowski]

That may be normal, as part of a rinse to get all the soapy water out. I know my old DW did that.

[bogus1one]

Perhaps I wasn't clear in my original post.

The DW will fill with fresh water and then go through a cleaning cycle. It will then attempt begin to drain all the dirty water. However, because there is too much water in the tub, it begins to fill up again for the next rinse cycle while it's still draining from the previous cycle. So what happens is the new water is coming in while the old and new water is being pumped out. As a result, all the new water gets flushed out of the thing and then it will sit through a cycle with no water in it.

Am I correct in thinking that the valve to open the fresh water line is controlled by the timer? That is, the timer tells the valve to open and then a short while later it tells it to close?

And a second question, how does the dishwasher know when to stop draining? In other words, how does it know the tub is empty?

Thanks. Dan

[tbasc]

We had a similar problem with a GE and found it had TWO flapper valves.

TB

[bogus1one]

I'm fairly certain that's not the case with mine.

Thanks. Dan

[trader4]

RE, how does it get the right fill, there was a discussion about that in here few months ago. Dishwashers have float switches. On my GE, it's near the front and covered by a plastic dome. Now, the interesting part is this. I assumed they used the float to measure when to cut off the water. Someone here that was from an appliance parts place and seemed to know what he was talking about, said that is not how it's done. He said they just time the flow, as you described and the float is used to guard against overflow. Not 100% sure I buy that, as it would seem very easy and accurate to use a float. Like, with timing, how do they account for different pressure and consequent flow rates?

Also, in your list of symptoms, something doesn't sound right. You said that it starts to fill again while it's still draining out. Are you sure it does that, as opposed to there just being water left? I would think that the controller would have to turn off the pumpout before starting to refill, even if it were not empty.

The big question in all this is how old it is. If it's 10+ years old, it may not be worth putting any real money into it.

[Jeff]

I would guess the float valve is not always sealing completely. Usually dishwashers turn on the water for a fixed amount of time. The float stops the fill. Then nothing happens for awhile until the fill cycle times out then the wash cycle begins. Same for drain cycle, pump turns on for longer than necessary to drain. I believe there is only one pump. A solenoid is used to send outlet of pump to either the drain hose or the spray jets. If it were not working fully this might also cause your problem. Even if water came back in it would only be amount in the hose doesn't seem like this would be as much as you are seeing.

A side note, I was home when my dish washer (Maytag) was installed and kept the installation instructions. They tell you how special button codes to enter to test the various functions of the washer, never had to use but nice to have, see if something like this can be downloaded for yours.

[bogus1one]

Not sure, but I think what the guy says is right. Water going into the tub is timed so if you have greater water flow, you'll have more water in there.

I'm absolutely certain that it starts to fill while it's still draining. I can see the water still coming out at the same time I hear the fresh water going into the tub.

Which all seems to fit with the fresh water being a strictly timed thing. That is, at a certain time into the whole dishwashing cycle, fresh water **will** be pumped in.

Yeah, it's 10+ yrs old but spending $100 or so is far less than getting a new one. Besides, it's a good learning experience for me.

[bogus1one]

My understanding is that the fresh water is on for only a set amount of time as you say. But everything I've read suggests that the float is only there to stop the thing from flooding. In a properly operating dishwasher, the float should never kick in to stop the thing from filling. However, I am perfectly willing to be corrected in this if this is incorrect.

Hmmmm...If I understand you correctly, you're suggesting that it's possibly spraying at the same time it's draining when it should only be draining. This sounds like a plausible theory but I fairly certain I don't hear the water being sprayed around while it's draining. I'll have to check this tonight after work. And I know that I hear the solenoid click when the drain cycle starts but maybe it's not got a good seal?

Interesting. I'll have to see about that.

Thanks. Dan