Chosen Solution
Hi, On my whirlpool ADG 8516, one of both spray arms is not rotating. I did some online research and made sure the pump is ok, the arm is not clogged, etc… Also, i was surprised one arm was ok, while the other was not. So i disassembled the bottom arm (the not working one), and saw there was no water coming out of the tube it’s attached to. I took a picture and saw it was shut off by some sort of valve.
I then disassembled the grey tubing and came to this point:
I pushed a bit the round blue plastic piece with the holes around, put everything together again and checked the result. The result was the bottom arm rotating in contrary to the top arm. :-/ So problem not solved but ‘different’. I assume the issue is a broken motor which moves around the blue valve. My question is: Why is that valve there, what is its purpose? When should it rotate? After a couple of washing cycles the top arm rotates again, but the bottom one is again no longer working. Is it a costly repair? Alternatively, can I get rid of the blue thing, or drill an extra hole in it, so water can get back in the bottom arm? Thanks
Cause 1 Circulation Pump The circulation pump uses a motor and impeller to force water up through the wash arms. If the circulation pump is defective, the dishes won’t be cleaned properly. If the motor isn’t making any noise or is just making a humming sound after the dishwasher has filled, the motor may be burned out. First, ensure that power is getting to the motor. Second, to ensure that the impeller can turn, check the pump housing for debris. If power is getting to the motor and the pump is clear of debris, the motor might need to be replaced. Be aware that the circulation pump may be challenging to replace, although many do-it-yourselfers have been successful with the replacement. Cause 2 Pump and Motor Assembly The motor drives an impeller to force water up through the wash arms. If the motor is defective, the pump impeller is broken, or some part of the pump is clogged, dishes won’t be cleaned properly. Make sure that power is getting to the circulation pump and motor. If power is getting to the pump and motor assembly but it still won’t run, replace the pump and motor assembly. Cause 3 Wash Impeller The wash impeller is a small plastic blade that forces water up through the wash arms. If the impeller is broken or is missing some of its fins, it might not generate enough pressure to force the water up through the wash arms. On most models, you can replace the wash impeller independently of the pump and motor assembly. Search for your model number to determine if your impeller is replaceable. If the impeller cannot be replaced separately, you will have to replace the entire pump and motor assembly.
Andreas, don’t start drilling holes just yet. Does this model have a setting for wash “zones”? Some will have a setting for upper rack to be washed only. Some will go from one spray arm to another. Some models will have a sprayer that is connected to the back wall. It doesn’t rotate but has holes to spray plates from back to front. You might not have a problem at all. It might be the setting If the lower spray arm turns when the top one doesn’t I’m inclined to believe it’s supposed to do that. The diverter is what moves that blue disk. It diverts water to different spray arms. The control board controls it depending on what cycle you’ve selected. If the spray arm works sometimes then it’s not broken. The owners manual will have the information on the cycle operation. I couldn’t find one in English.
Hi @ladytech , Thanks for your response but my machine does not have those settings. I only have these:
Any other reason why a program would make the disk shut the water running to the arms? FYI, yesterday after making this post I got frustrated and managed to move the blue disk a bit left with a sharp object when having the bottom arm removed. This enabled both arms working again. So the issues right now is I assume the blue disk moving “sometimes”, and not returning to the correct position when needed. Thanks
I ended up removing the blue disk/valve/diverter. The machine seems to work fine again. However it feels like appendicitis surgery, something was removed without knowing what its use is. I assume it rotates all the time during the wash cycle to target the water pumped trough the system on one arm at a time to maximize water pressure. I compared the holes in the disc to the location where the tubes to the spray arms are attached, and only one arm is connected to the pump at one time.
