# What do you do after dishwasher diagnostics



## cpgoose (Nov 9, 2013)

Hi folks...any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Our dishwasher (Whirlpool model DU1055xtps4) is doing a poor job at cleaning the top rack (glasses, plastic cups, etc). The bottom rack seems to be cleaning at about a 95% level. The top rack is being left with a white film on some glasses, and just a non-clean look.

After looking around a bit on the internet, I tried a few things, but nothing has solved it. I've changed the detergent from those Finish Tablets to Cascade Powder. I bought and used the Jet Dry Rinse Aid. I made sure the water temp was 120 degrees. I opened up the bottom and found and removed seeds, pieces of food, and even a baby straw. Even after doing all of that, still no luck. The only thing I haven't tried yet was running two cups of vinegar through the system like the manual recommends.

I also found the technical sheet (part #8572216) under the front door. It showed me how to run the diagnostics mode, which I did. What I don't understand is how to determine what the diagnostics mode is telling me - either during or after the diagnostics. Is it supposed to use the lights and leave me with some kind of code at the end?

Here is a picture of the tech sheet that explains how to run diagnostics mode. Any help would be great!

http://cpgoose.webs.com/techsheet.JPG


----------



## Bob Sanders (Nov 10, 2013)

The white is caused by lack of adequate rinse water. Did you check the upper spray arm for crud in the jets? If you have seeds and other stuff in the bottom then it will most likely be in the spray arm as well.


----------



## chitownken (Nov 22, 2012)

Check both spray arms for splits on the sides or severe wear around the opening where the water enters from the pump. Verify that the heating element in the bottom still works. Have you verified that the dishwasher fills to the proper lever with water?


----------



## cpgoose (Nov 9, 2013)

Bob Sanders said:


> The white is caused by lack of adequate rinse water. Did you check the upper spray arm for crud in the jets? If you have seeds and other stuff in the bottom then it will most likely be in the spray arm as well.


 By "the upper spray arm", I'm assuming you're talking about the one just below the upper rack. I did remove that spray arm and ran water through it in the sink, and it didn't seem to have any problems.



chitownken said:


> Check both spray arms for splits on the sides or severe wear around the opening where the water enters from the pump. Verify that the heating element in the bottom still works. Have you verified that the dishwasher fills to the proper lever with water?


I ran water through the upper spray arm and it seemed ok. I visually checked the lower spray arm, but didn't run water through it. How do you verify that the heating element works, and how do you verify that the dishwasher fills to the proper level with water?


----------



## chitownken (Nov 22, 2012)

To check the heating element, you can ohm it out with a meter, or just open the door in the middle of the drying cycle and see if it's hot. It's pretty easy to tell, but don't actually touch it as you can get burned.

As for the water level, that's kind of hard to explain. On my Frigidaire, if you open the door during a wash cycle and wait for most of the dripping to stop, it's about 3/4 inch above the heating element. If it reaches all the way across the bottom to where the door meets the tub bottom, it's probably ok. If you seem to have low water, check the inlet screen where your water line connects to the fill valve. theyt can collect crud over time and eventually restrict the water flow to the point that it does not fill properly in the allotted time.


----------



## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

I would check the chopper.

Connected to the pump is a round screen that rotates as the water is pulled through it. It basically chops up any food in the water. If it encounters a big enough 'chunk', it could shear the plastic shaft. When that happens, you basically leave all the big pieces of food in the dish washer and the screen only lets a limited amount of water through.

It's usually easy to access from inside.


----------



## Desertdrifter (Dec 10, 2009)

Since bottom half is getting clean this may not apply, out in California they toughened rules on detergents and cascade and the rest had to reformulate. Started getting lousy results, people bought new units. Use the expensive finish tablets now. 
Next thing, make sure nothing is blocking upper arm from spinning. Tall items in lower rack or anything poking down from upper rack cause issues. 

Make sure upper arm is being fed water as well.


----------



## sgip2000 (Sep 24, 2012)

Order a box of "TSP" from Amazon and add 1/4 Teaspoon to detergent.


----------



## gouldjustin (Sep 23, 2014)

I think first of all (I didn't see it in your "tried already" list), you should use a simple dishwasher cleaner like this -http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B004S0DZ0A/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If that doesn't help, then remove, clean, & reinstall/replace as many parts as possible on the dishwasher, inlet/outlet lines, etc.

If that doesn't help then maybe it's time for a new dishwasher...


----------



## cpgoose (Nov 9, 2013)

gouldjustin said:


> I think first of all (I didn't see it in your "tried already" list), you should use a simple dishwasher cleaner like this -http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B004S0DZ0A/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
> 
> If that doesn't help, then remove, clean, & reinstall/replace as many parts as possible on the dishwasher, inlet/outlet lines, etc.
> 
> If that doesn't help then maybe it's time for a new dishwasher...


Thanks for the extra tips. We tried a bottle of Dishwasher Magic, but it didn't help. We also bought Jet Dry rinse aid since we were using any rinse aid, but that didn't help either.

The guy at the parts store said it sounds like the pump or motor is dying and not spraying adequately. Ok, so here's what I did 

I took the glass piece out of my front screen door, opened the door to my dishwasher, and affixed the glass over the dishwasher with some plastic garbage bags and (man's best friend) duct tape!

We ran the dishwasher with the glass over it, and were able to peer into a world that we've never seen before! :thumbup:

Sometimes the spray arms were spraying decently, and other times it sprayed very poorly. So if the motor/pump is the problem, it totally explains everything. Of course the store wanted $200, which is just ridiculous to me. I found a new one on eBay for $85. Still waiting for it to arrive and hopefully solve all this.


----------



## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

If you are finding gunk in the water...then my vote is the chopper.










If it's not working, water circulation sucks


----------



## Bob Sanders (Nov 10, 2013)

I got rid of my Whirlpool specifically because of that piece of crap chopper. Always plugged never chopped properly.

Bad engineering right out of the starting gate.


----------



## cpgoose (Nov 9, 2013)

Hi folks...just wanted to give you an update to the saga that is our dishwasher. I received the new pump/motor and installed it. What's nice is that it also came with the new 4-armed chopper. Ran a wash and the dishes definitely came out cleaner, but not 100%. On a scale from 1 to 10, they used to be about a 6 in terms of coming out clean. Now with the new pump/motor they're about a 3. There are still some dishes/glasses that are still slightly not clean and/or have white drips on them. 

I threw in a 1/2 cup of vinegar and re-ran the wash without soap and everything came out incredibly clean! I'm running out of ideas . I even put the "window" back up so I could see how the new motor was working, and bot spray arms were definitely spryaing harder than before.

Could it still be the water intake valve? If I were to put up the window and watch the whole wash cycle, I'm wondering if the washer still isn't perforning the rinse cycle at the end properly? Could the circuit board/panel not be working properly and not making the rinse cycle work properly?...or does it not work that way?


----------



## Bob Sanders (Nov 10, 2013)

cpgoose said:


> I threw in a 1/2 cup of vinegar and re-ran the wash without soap and everything came out incredibly clean!


That (to me anyway) would indicate bad or cheap soap along with a bad and cheap dishwasher.

Easy enough to test that theory. Go buy a box of the best soap you can get your hands on and give it a try. We use the Cascade Complete gel packs now. Great soap.


----------



## Desertdrifter (Dec 10, 2009)

+1 for best sosp. 

Like I said earlier, the companies out here in California had to change their formulas to get rid of phosphates and the product went to crap. We now use the best Finish brand and the rinse aid too. Also, don't let your dishes set in any water in the sink or leave glasses half full. Water is hard here and it just promotes a film being left on.


----------



## cpgoose (Nov 9, 2013)

Thanks for the sugggestions on the soap - I'll definitely check what the store has. We have been using Finish Powerball Tabs, which were working pretty well until this all started happening. I had read about other people using Cascade power so I tried that, but no luck. I wonder if the gelpacs will do the trick.


----------



## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

If it was the water intake, you wouldn't be getting water in there....so you can ignore it as an issue.

I would run another cycle with vinegar and nothing else. I'd put in about a quart. The washer has a float to determine the level so it will add a bit more water to make the level you want. I would try the pots/pans selection. It tends to run longer.

As for those white spots.....sounds like you need additive....Jet Dry. Those white spots are just the solids in normal water. Ours comes in a blue bottle. Our washer has a dispenser for it in the door. We fill it up about once a month. Do you have hard water?


----------



## NitrNate (May 27, 2010)

agree on jet dry, we have soft water and still use it. it definitely makes a difference with the rinse cycle.


----------

