KitchenAid KDS-17A No Water After Prewash Cycle

[xpsd300]

The wash soap dispenser on my KDS-17A no longer empties. The bimetal clip works properly, but the soap remains dry. The prewash is OK.

I took off the bottom panels and noticed that after the initial prewash fill, no water is coming into the dishwasher. Also, near the end of the wash cycle, all the lights shut off for 5 minutes before the machine turns back on (perhaps due to the interaction between the thermostat and timer?)

Does this sound like a defective fill valve? Does anyone have the service manual that they would be willing to share?

Thanks!

 

[toploader55]

Hmmmmm.

That's a good one.

Paging Dr. Stevet...Paging Dr. Stevet...

 

[combo52]

NON FILLING KDS 17A

It could be a fill valve or other electrical problems, when it skips the next fill try cancelling and restarting the cycle and see if it again fills for the pre-wash. If it now fills again you have a timer or program switch problem, if it will not fill again for the first pre-wash you have a bad inlet valve or bad over-fill pressure switch.

 

[xpsd300]

Fill times

When are the scheduled fills for "full cycle"?

Does a fill start when the light changes from pre-wash to wash?

 

[stevet]

On the Money...

Again, John!
Xp.. John gives some good advice here so check what he says. Also, does the machine miss the fill only on the fill for the main wash only when you select Normal wash? Does it then go on to fill for the other parts of the cycle? Or does it do it on any cycle other than rinse and hold? In which case, the timer or program switch could be bad.

As far as the delay you mentioned after the missed fill, it could very well be the thermal overload for the heating element which is cutting off the machine in which case, you should be smelling a red hot element overheating! It would take a few minutes to reset and then continue on thru the cycle.
If it functions okay except for that one fill period, start looking for some replacement parts.

And the fill for the main wash should begin within a few seconds of the main wash light coming on on the front panel. I dont have the cycle chart in front of me but they occur close to each other.
Not all that great a deal as I know there have got to be a few guys on here who would have some of those spare parts hanging around. You may have to beg but in the end, it would be worth it!

 

[xpsd300]

Bad overfill switch?

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

I ran a full cycle last night. It filled and drained twice during the pre-wash, but no fill after starting the main wash.

I cancelled and restarted the cycle, and the dishwasher DID NOT fill again for the pre-wash.

The inlet valve seems to check OK with an Ohm meter, but I'm not certain. Where is the overfill pressure switch and how can it be checked?

As for filling at other times throughout the cycle, it only fills during the pre-wash phase. Not at wash, rinse, etc. I haven't yet tried soak cycle or sani cycle to see if the fills for those are also affected.

 

[vacman1961]

Definitely sounds like a bad fill valve, after the initial fill the coil on the valve gets hot and opens up not allowing it to enegize. Change the valve and you should be good or another 20 years.

 

[stevet]

Valves galore!

I have lots of fill valves that will fit your machine and they are the dual coil style that was OEM on the Superba machines.

Also, the fill pressure switch(not a float)is actually screwed in to the front cross member on the left side by 2 screws and is connected to the sump with a rubber hose. Do not try to make any adjustments to it as you will probably never get it perfect and there is probably nothing wrong with it. More often than not, if there is a problem with the switch, it is caused by the small diameter connection to the hose clogging up with the debris which could accumulate in the sump area as well as scale build up in the small tube which was welded to the tank and the hose connected to it. Some machines had a rubber grommet which contained a small tube that then connected to the tubing to the switch. You can try using aa small diameter probe like a Q-tip stick without the cotton on it to clean out the hole in the connector,

If you want to test the valve, connect a test light to the wires that supply it and see if it comes on whenever the machine calls for water. The coils can actually open up as suggested above when voltage goes thru them and all you need is for one of them to fail on the dual valve and no water will enter after the coil opens up. This is even stated as a possible cause of no fill in the service manual.
See how you make out in that regard and let us know

 

[xpsd300]

The overflow switch seems to be OK. There was very little debris when cleaning it out with a long probe.

I ran a few more tests over the weekend and, regardless of the cycle, the dishwasher will only fill TWO times -- twice during pre-wash for "full cycle", one during pre-wash and once during main wash for "light soil", etc. So it seems like the coils are getting overheated.

This evening, I'll try connecting a test light to the fill valve and will post my results.

Thanks!

 

[combo52]

NON FILLING KDS 17A

I wish I had this much time to play with broken appliances LOL. Get a new fill valve, the new single coil valves are more durable, the dual coil ones are more original if it is to become a show machine. New SCV pt # 4170000.

 

[xpsd300]

Bad fill valve!

The test light confirmed that the fill valve was bad. It's definitely getting power when fills are scheduled. Thanks, Steve!

As a side benefit of this diagnostic work, I also discovered that I'm missing the cover on the upper spray unit.

Any chance of getting a replacement cover, or thoughts on how I could modify it to make it spin again?