Hobart KDC 57a dishwasher dumping water all over the floor Help!

[cent0r1el]

Our washer has been great for the past three years, no problems whatsoever.

About three weeks ago, my wife noticed a small amount of water beneath the washer. We put a bowl under it and it didnt really grow at all. Curious, but not high on the tofixlist.

Just recently this week, we started finding water everywhere on the floor, about a bath-towl's worth.

I took off the front panels and what did I find, about have way through the rinse cycle, the water levels climbs up above the lower basin and starts flinging out onto the floor.

The other day after I cleaned the areas around the hinge where it had been running over, I ran the whole thing again just to be scientific about diagnosis. Nothing happened for the entire cycle. The water got high, but did not tip over.

Just now tonight, while addressing a wiring issue, we stopped the cycle for about a minute. Then we started it, amd right on que halfway through rinse it starts ejecting water through the gap between the basin and the door. I thought maybe the water had just gotten a bit high, so we scoop out a half gallon and press start.. immediately starts ejecting water violently onto our town filled tray.

....Help! What is going on? Do I need to caulk down the gap that seems to have been left open by design?

Is our drain super clocked? The pipes all seem fine, as well as the drain switch, but I haven't checked out the main motor turbines yet.

Many thanks,
Stephen

 

[stevet]

Stalled Timer seems most likely

If the water only overflows during the rinse, then the timer may be stalling and keeps filling the machine. When you see it leaking and open the door, you may be jostling the timer reset linkage enough to have it drop back to the right spot in the timer to stop the water from continuing to fill. Then if you don't interrupt the action it then overfills. Or you could have a problem where the machine is not draining completely and eventually overfills as it progresses thru the cycle, but there is a pressure switch which should stop the fill valve from overfilling the machine.

It is located behind the front cross member on the left hand side and is black and circular. There is a hose that leads back to the sump to measure the water level by air pressure just like in an automatic washer. The tube that the hose connects to that is welded to the tank often fills up with debris and crud and prevents the switch from doing its job. You can see the hole in the sump by removing the filter assembly and looking on the left side near the bottom of the sump. I suggest cleaning it out with a Q-tip or a pipe cleaner and see if that helps.

Also, do not discount the fill valve. Based on the age of the machine, it may be allowing water to slowly leak thru and may be causing the problem and will need to be replaced. Also, make sure that the drain valve is opening and draining the tub completely. You can tell by stopping the machine when the valve closes after draining and see if any water is left in the machine. If there is more water besides maybe 1/4 inch in the sump them you may have a clogged drain or a malfunctioning drain valve. Also, at the age of the machine, the rubber drain impeller could be worn enough to not drain all the water out too.

But make sure the pressure switch opening is clean so it can let the switch do its job and stop the water and then you can explore the other possibilities.

 

[cent0r1el]

So many great ideas, Steve, thanks!

I will be cleaning the pressure switch opening immediately tonight and will see where that goes. Overall I do think we need to change out the rubber impeller like you said, but for now I want to avoid diging into the main motor area if possible until maybe the weekend.

The drain valve and pipe leading to it are all cleab.)

 

[cent0r1el]

Success so far. About eight blackened q-tip swabs later, I feel that the pressure switch channel is cleaned out enough. I tried running and stopped it in between to simulate the same sequence from the other day. NO leaks this time!

I think that overfilling has been the primary culprit in these circumstances. I will report back with more when I feel I have sufficient data.

Love this forum, and thank you Steve for the tips!

 

[DADoES]

 
The pressure switch is not intended to control the normal fill level.  Fills are timed.  The pressure switch only comes into play to stop the fill if an overfill condition occurs so something is causing overfilling if the pressure switch is involved in stopping the water flow.

One suspect, as Combo52 advised, is a worn/bad drain impeller that isn't fully draining the tub, which leaves enough water that the next timed fill causes an overfill.  Or a clog somewhere in the drain path that's obstructing the flow.  Or a worn flow-control washer in the inlet valve.