It appears that the middle washer arm has stopped spinning. Top and bottom seem to work. Is this something that would be fixed by a replacement of the arm, or is it likely that the problem is elsewhere?
Dr. Frank for Model Number GE Triton
Answer Hello Dr. Frank. The first thing to check would be the water level inside the unit. If it is low, it will prevent the unit from spraying properly out of all the spray arms. If low, you will need to replace the water valve. If the water level reaches the bottom of the heater, you may need to replace the middle spray arm on the unit.
The spray arms on my GE Triton dishwasher no longer spin. Is this due to lime build up on the insides of them or is it a low pressure problem with the pump? Would replacing the spray arms help?
Rae for Model Number GSD969900J10WW
Answer Hello Rae,
This is probably due to the flapper seal failure. I looked at several models and it appears that the sump assembly that contains the flapper is no longer available. In this case, the only way to restore normal operation is to replace the complete pump and motor assembly. The spray arms will not help at all. You see, the flapper directs the water flow to either drain or recirculate. When the flapper seal fails, it cannot put all of the pressure in either direction, so it will not circulate correctly and it will also not drain completely.
This is actually caused by rinsing the dishes and over soaping. Think of it this way: The dishwasher creates a chemical reaction by raising the detergent temperature to 140°F. When the chemical reaction takes place, the easiest thing for the chemical reaction to attack is food particles. If the unit was over soaped, there is too much chemical reaction taking place plus if the dishes were rinsed, there are no food particles to occupy the chemical reaction. This makes the chemical reaction attack the next easiest thing to attack, which just happens to be the rubber seals in the dishwasher, the cheaper glassware, (etching), and the patterns on the plates.
So you see, the dishwasher is a chemistry experiment, with clean dishes being the desired result. If misused, the desired result cannot be obtained.
Just recently replaced all apray arms due to apparent clogging in the holes, (wife had a habit of washing glass bottles with paper labels still on them...) and now the holes apppear to be clogging again. Dishwasher empties into the disposal, occasionally when disposal is full, water backs up into washing machine.
Question 1: replacing the check valve in line should fix the backflow problem,but is there any way to flush out the spray arms?
Question 2: is it possible this machine has some "chopper" or other assy that also could be fouled and need cleaned with what I am describing?
H for Model Number GLD5600N00BB
Answer Hi H. Remove the lower spray arm. Remove the fine filter assy, and the course filter just below it. Clean all and clean inside pump/ motor assy. Getting the existing debris out and using dishwasher magic monthly will help dissolve build up and improve performance levels. Make sure the drain hose is looped as far up under the sink and clamped. Creating a P-trap and then taught to the sink drain. Make sure no sink water can back fill the unit. There is a flapper -check-valve on the output side of the pump, part # WD01X10175. If this is ripped or missing it will allow back fill. Use a pick tool to clean all wash arms and flush out under the sink. Using dishwasher magic monthly will keep performance levels up. Part # TJ104. Thank You.