GE GLD4200L0WW

[whirlcool]

Our neighbor has a 4 year old GE Dishwasher Model #GLD4200L0WW. I believe they bought it at a builders center.
What the machine is doing is during the wash cycle it makes a Grrr-Grrrr-Grrr sound for about 2 minutes, then the sound goes away. It's pretty loud, you can hear it across the house. the machine is washing dishes properly, the owner pre rinses all their pots and pans and dishes. From my inspection (removed wash wand and checked around the bottom) does not indicate anything stuck in the wash system.
Any idea what could be wrong with the thing? The link shows what this model looks like.

 

[whirlcool]

And another shot

Here is what the interior looks like....

 

[laundromat]

water heat

I'm no expert but maybe there's a loose wire that controls the water heating during the wash cycle or the detergent dispenser solinoid making that noise.Great model though!!! I got one at HD for $99 (Scratch and dent) and it was absolutely the very best dishwasher I ever owned. I hate pre rinsing anything.I scrape and load.I use the Finish (originaly known as Electrosul)tablets and Jet Dry turbo rinse aid and the hottest wash and rinse water available.The results? Sparkling dishes,flatware and cookware.Extreamly quiet operation too!

 

[estesguy]

Slow water inlet

Could be a slow water fill maybe. Possibly, the machine is starting to wash before the tub is fully filled, causing a suctioning noise in the pump assembly. Maybe the inlet valve screen has accumulate debris over the last 4 years resulting in a slow water fill. Just a guess.

 

[coldspot66]

The conduit tube below the top rack that docks with the nozzle at the back of the tub has some "play" in it. Sending water through it causes it to "vibrate" against the top rack. A plastic wire tie fastened around the tube and tightened to the top rack usually solves the problem. Just make sure the end of the tube docks with the nozzle when the top rack is pushed in all the way.

 

[whirlcool]

Just when you are trying to help somebody..

I relayed these tips to my neighbor, who said he'd try them out "The next time I remember to do it before the next load, we only run the dishwasher once or twice a week".

So that tells you how much of a hurry he is in to get this issue fixed.

 

[volsboy1]

Coldspot is right the top sprayer arm tube vibrates and makes a grinding sound.We have the same dishwasher at our farm and I thought the bearings were shot.I took a nylon twist tie well they are sometimes used as temp handcuffs and tightened up the tube to the top rack and never heard the sound again

 

[johnb300m]

indeed, it's the vibration of the top spray tube. I remedied ours by sliding off the puny clear dock tube gasket and slipping a more robust #67 O-ring into the groove of the docking cone in the back of the tub. Pretty much solved it.

Yes, the zip ties work also.

 

[whirlcool]

And You Are Right!

I just heard from our neighbor's they put in one zip tie on the tube where it meets the other tube in the back. That fixed it! No more noise!

The tube didn't seem loose at all, and the sound was like a grinding noise that seemed to come from the bottom of the machine. They couldn't believe this is what fixed the noise.

They are very thankful to all of you who responded. They said you just saved them a bunch of money for either a repair bill of a new dishwasher!

Is this a problem common with this model? Or GE dishwashers in general?

 

[johnb300m]

this is a decently common problem with the GE tall tub machines.
It happened to our GSD6600 (bought in 2003) where after about 4 years, the little clear o-ring on the docking tube wore down, not docking with the feed tube tightly anymore, causing vibration.
A new docking tube, zip tie or new o-ring fixes it.
GE seems to be taking the corporate route and just telling people to buy a new cone that comes with a new o-ring, rather than updating the ring....