DishDrawer Repair

[DADoES]

 
Some people here probably will be excited (in an "I told you so" kind of way, LOL) to hear that after 12 years of use my DishDrawer has "gone under the knife" for some surgery/repair.

1) The upper drawer LCD backlight went out months ago, which didn't prevent the drawer from running so I ignored it ... until now.

2) The upper drawer's link support (hoses and wiring harness) was found months ago to be broken.  I "patched" it at the time with a couple zip-ties.

3) A couple weeks ago I found water on the floor after running a load.  Uh, oh.  To shorten the details, upon investigation I found that both drain hoses were cracked in two places ... a few inches from where they come off behind the drawers, and behind the outer cabinet at a bend before passing through the cabinetry partition.

Pondering for several days whether to repair or replace (with a new TallTub model and the improved racking, and maybe an onboard water softener) ... I decided to repair.  I get a sense of satisfaction, and the unit is still in excellent condition.

There have been some improvements on several components, including the LCD board, the link support, and the lid motors (quieter and sealed against moisture intrusion if a lid leak was to occur).  I needed an LCD board and the upper link support (update the lower also, of course).  My lid motors were still OK after 12 years but figured may as well change them, and one of the F&P parts suppliers offers an update package at slightly reduced cost which includes two link support kits and four lid motors.

Upper drawer is already done in this picture.  Front panels off.  Lower drawer turned on the side for access to change the drain hose.

 

[DADoES]

 
View of the motor/wiring cover which must be removed for access to the hoses.

 

[DADoES]

 
The yellow fill hose routes to the detergent dispenser on front of the drawer.  The black drain hose connects to the pump outlet.

 

[DADoES]

 
There's a flapper valve doodad on the connection end of the drain hose.  Replacement hoses don't include the flapper so it must be swapped over from old hose to new.

 

[DADoES]

 
Changing a drain hose is quite a large chore.  It must be fit into the various anchor points on bottom of the tub, through the three link support clips, rear panel clamp (two rear panel clamps for the upper hose), and out the cabinet.  The fill hose must be marked for position before releasing the link support clips so everything can be aligned the same way for length.  The wiring harness has wire ties to indicate the anchor points.  The hoses/harness must fold against the rear cabinet panel behind the drawers when they close.

This pic shows the upper drawer hoses & harness coming down along the rear panel, the lower drawer hoses & harness, the dual fill valve, power mains & flood sensor board (which also operates the lid motors).  The left-side lid motor for the lower drawer can be seen behind the rail.

 

[DADoES]

 
This is the old-style link support on the lower drawer.  A curved plastic rod supports the hoses & harness and leads it to fold against the rear wall when the drawer closes.  The middle clip on the lower drawer support is partially broken/detached from the rod but the rod is intact.  The upper drawer support had the rod snapped at the middle clip.  Leaking can occur when that happens if the end of the broken rod gets stuck between the lid and rim of the drawer as the drawer closes, preventing the lid from sealing.

 

[DADoES]

 
The new-style link support is a metal swing arm.  This shows the upper drawer.

 

[DADoES]

 
Done.  Maybe it'll go for another 12 years, or more. 

 

[yogitunes]

Excellent work.....thanks for all the detail instructions.....

you were always a big help when I had mine, and issues came up.....you are definitely our go to guy for dishdrawers...

 

[nmassman44]

Those look like the ones I had before the Miele. It's good to see that F&P redesigned the parts and they fit the older models. Great job!

 

[washer111]

Good to hear the machine was repairable. While I'm sure some will smile over this repair, here is the fact:

 

You could still get parts for a 12 year old product. 

 

The stories about the Korean and Chinese washers, dishwashers (etc) is that parts become NLA after just a couple of years, and then you have this. Surely this is a good enough reason to buy! 

 

The machine we have (DD60DCX6) has this upgraded "support arm" in place. It seems to work well enough. It appears as though your drain hose has remained clean after all these years too - which of course goes against all those bad reviews where people claim you have to pre-rinse "or else the drains will clog." 

 

Thanks for sharing your repair experiences. Its promising to hear at least *SOME* machines remain repairable over a decade after their purchase. 

 

[frigilux]

With 12 years of trouble-free service, there will be no "told-you-so's" here.

A small crack in the drain hose near where it connects to the dishwasher is what caused so much damage to my kitchen floor. The LG was a bit too large for the space it was crammed into. The floor under it was bare wood and the leak was slow. Didn't notice anything was wrong 'til the floor went spongy in front of the sink and dishwasher.

Thanks for sharing the process with explanation and photos. Long live your F&P! I admire your discipline. I would have been dishwasher shopping when the backlight went out, LOL.

 

[kb0nes]

Glenn,

Thanks for taking the time to document and share your repair. Your photos are excellent, well lit and in focus, we couldn't ask for more.

Its a very handsome machine, great to see it should give years more service!

 

[a440]

Great Job!  Thanks for all of the photo's of the repair.

I am sure it will run another 12 years without issues. 

It is still such a beautiful and modern looking dishwasher.

 

 

[mayken4now]

Glenn

I remember seeing your machine! Do you recall what the date was?

 

[DADoES]

 
Steve, that was 12/9/2005.