Dishwasher Help Please

shatto · 03-31-2012, 01:25 PM

For a few months now, our five year old dishwasher has been on the fritz. Not working right. Below is a compendium of symptoms and what I've done:

1. Burned motor smell for a week or so. Still runs and smell is now gone.
2. Top rack stuff dirty. 1/2 of inside of a cup will be clean, the other untouched.
3. Cleaned, re-cleaned and cleaned the mineral build-up from the three washing arms by running bailing wire in holes and down arm. All holes clean.
Opened the door during operation to verify arms actually turning and they do.
4. Cussed a lot.
5. Run it with the bottom empty. Top cups n stuff still dirty. Plugged feed to bottom arm and top dishes were spotless.

So... I presume the motor no longer has the oomph to get water where it's needed with any pressure at all. And I suppose a new pump motor is the solution.
It cost a little less than half the cost of a new washer.

What do you think.

**Jay2TheRescue** · 03-31-2012, 02:16 PM

1/2 the replacement cost is the measuring stick I usually go by for the fix/replace decision. A new pump seems in order, but because you had the burnt electric smell, I wonder if other parts are going bad as well. Hate to have you replace the pump, only to have another major repair come up in a few months. If it was mine, I'd replace, unless I was extremely happy with it before it broke. If you weren't completely thrilled with it before, just ditch it.

shatto · 03-31-2012, 05:38 PM

I petitioned the Chancellor of the Exchequer and pointed out to her, the cost of repair having a professional doing the work.
Maybe she'll let me get a replacement dishwasher.