Kitchenaid KDI-18 dishwasher not washing/filling up

[kimmith21]

Hello all!
I have a KDI-18 (installed in 1980). Recently, it began not properly washing. We replaced the wash arm support as we thought that might be the problem because the spray arms were not spinning/spraying. That did not fix the problem.

Here's what's going on when running a normal cycle... water flows in but does not rise to the appropriate level as it should. We thought maybe there wasn't enough water coming in, so we opened the door and added additional water from a bucket. But withing a few seconds it drained out leaving just about an inch left in the bottom of the machine. So now I'm not sure if its a water inlet problem or a drain valve problem. In either case, the wash arms never spin and spray water.

The other odd thing - when it hits the drying phase, it drys for maybe a minute and then water starts coming in. And the basin of the machine fills (like it should during the wash phase). Then it continues to dry again. When the cycle is complete, I have a machine full of water.

Any thoughts? Faulty inlet valve? Or is something going on with the drain? I love this machine and already had a repair man out, but he had no interest in troubleshooting it.
Thanks in advance!!

 

[qsd-dan]

If it's filling during the drying cycle, draining during the wash cycle, and possibly not filling up long enough.... that sounds like a timer problem. Could possibly be the switch bank but I'm betting it's the timer.

The timer has been obsoleted for many years now but I found a new one on ebay if you want to take a chance on it.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/354669620020

 

[kimmith21]

If it's filling during the drying cycle, draining during the wash cycle, and possibly not filling up long enough.... that sounds like a timer problem. Could possibly be the switch bank but I'm betting it's the timer.

The timer has been obsoleted for many years now but I found a new one on ebay if you want to take a chance on it.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/354669620020

Thanks for the response!
We thought the same thing so we did take a chance on a (used) timer from ebay. After we switched timers, it still wasn't operating correctly. Before I try with another timer, I wanted to check with the experts here

 

[combo52]

KitchenAid KDI 18 dishwasher problems

Something is certainly wrong and you may have more than one thing wrong on the surface. It does sound like a timer problem, but it could be others.

First thing to do is to find out why it’s not circulating water properly when the main motor is running, you said you poured water in and it immediately drained. I think that’s just a coincidence try that again whenever the main motor is running that machine should be circulating water at a great rate like a hurricane in a box they’re often described as.

The dishwasher should also drain properly at the end of each wash and rinse. Make sure the machine is mechanically capable of doing these functions.

I have no idea where you live, but you should be able to find a repair person with a little gray hair that can figure this thing out. This was a very popular dishwasher and easy to diagnose.

Good luck keep us posted

John L