Rhode Island Rescue part 1 - The Frigidaire DW CIUK dishwasher

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turquoisedude

turquoisedude

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It's been a while since I've done one of my New England appliance rescue runs.... And I just could not resist two turquoise appliances that were being offered up here!   It was an easy drive and that new Honda sure can gobble stuff up... LOL  I'll post about the range in another thread. 

Naturally, I did some investigating of the dishwasher.  It is in fantastic condition!  The racks are pristine, no 'rack rot', the cutlery basket is intact, and the Super Surge wash arm and tower seem perfect.  Amazingly, the plastisol tub is clean, solid, and undamaged.  I really don't think this dishwasher has a lot of mileage on it!

 

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Testing time...

I added some electricity, just to see what would happen...

 

As Frank, the person who I got the dishwasher from said,  the motor seemed to start right up.  I could not tell if it was in wash or drain mode but I let the machine run for a spell but nothing else happened.  

I did a little messing around with the timer advance knob (that shaft with the slot-head screw opening that is right smack in the middle of the power cable terminals).  I could hear the timer cams turning and switches clicking.  So I tried powering the dishwasher on again.  This time, I pressed the "Rinse and Hold" button and glory be! I heard the rapid-advance timer start whirring and then the motor came on again.  However that's all that happened.  The motor ran until I cut the power.  I tried messing with the timer shaft again.  This time, I could definitely hear a timer motor running but I could not see it advancing.  While the timer motor was running, the heater in the tub was also on.  I figured I may have been in the 'dry' part of the cycle, however the blower fan motor was not turning.  Also, I felt a slight shock when I closed the door latch to start the machine...

I gave the timer shaft one last try - I turned it again and when powered back on, the motor started.  And curiously,  I got another slight shock. 

 

Given the recent bad luck I've had with rapid-advance dishwasher timers - IE: my 'holy grail' GE SU70T, I thought it might be wise to step back and see if I can dig up some service information on these models.  

If anyone might know of where I could get the manual, I'd be most grateful.

 

But, my initial theory is that there is some timer issue for sure, possibly also a wiring issue - bad connection or a damaged wire leading to the push-button and or door switches is my theory for now.  I'll do more exploration next week, but I'm not touching that timer until I read up on the way this dishwasher is supposed to behave!

 

EDIT:  Would the 1965 J-Line dishwasher be the same as this 1966 model??  I noticed there is a manual in the library for this one.... 

 

 

[this post was last edited: 8/28/2022-16:08]

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65 and 66 Frigidaire top of the line dishwashers

Hi Paul we have this exact same dishwasher in the museum, yours is in a little better shape but they weren’t very inspiring dishwashers.

They had Kingston timers which could be troublesome like all Kingston timers,.

You should never test an appliance like that without a grounded cord we don’t wanna lose you.

Do you have the service manual for this dishwasher?

John L
 
Definitely a trend with these dishwashers

I have had two of these, both in pristine cosmetic condition. Both had the exact same issue. I gave one of them away, but I still have the other in a pile of stuff that I haven't gotten rid of yet.
 
When I was a teen, my parents bought this exact, turquoise, top-of-the-line dishwasher. Frigidaire had stopped making their spin tube models. There was nothing all that wrong with the spin tube dishwashers, but a whole lot of stupid by the owners not bothering to read or follow the instructions. Owners would often turn dome-shaped objects upside down on the bottom rack. The newer models had no soil separator (food particle filters) so we had to start pre-rinsing items by hand before loading, or end up with a lot of redeposited food. But hey, it was great looking!
 
Robert, the upper teacup rack does swing out of the way, so I guess it's possible.  I'm going to also guess that the spray from the tower might not reach far enough into taller glasses though.   That was my experience with a newer Custom Deluxe dishwasher I used to have and which used the same wash arm and tower system.  
 
Testing 1,2,3....

Did you really think I was going to wait until I found a manual for this dishwasher before I started messing around with it?

 

Hell no.... 

 

I figured that if proceed with caution and take lots of pictures all will be fine.   Famous last words... LOL 

 

I cracked the front panel to inspect the wiring, particularly to the push-button switch bank.  No signs of obvious damage there, fortunately.  

 

I proceeded to attempt to power the timer motors independently to see what, if anything, happened.  Both timer motors seemed to be getting power (they both hummed) but neither moved the timer itself.  So I tried extracting the timer motors.  First was the main timer motor.  When tested on its own, it hummed but the gear did not move at all.    Tried the same approach with the rapid-advance timer motor and I observed the same thing - motor hummed but the gear did not budge.  I was able to manually advance the gears on both timers, but when powered on they just do not want to move.  

 

I'm guessing that I'm going to need to replace the pair of them.  All I can see from the timer motor case is that they are both Kingston Model 60 - the rapid advance has a numer 6056 stamped on it, the main timer has 6054 stamped on it.  I'm guessing these are serial numbers.  

 

I'm guessing it may still be possible to find replacement motors, but I'm not sure of the specs (ie- how many rpms they are supposed to run at) and will I still be able to find one with the 11-tooth gear that meshes with the timer mechanism.  

 

Any hints, leads, sources would be greatly appreciated! 

 

Edit: further testing also revealed that the blower fan for the dry cycle is not working.  Funny how the motors on the timers and this failed, despite light use!

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Kingston Timer Motors

Hi Paul, there is a number stamped into the gear side of the motors that is the speed and rotation, the two motors are different.

 

These are the same motors that always go bad on MT and FD washers from the 60s into the70s, thankfully WP did not mess with these timers.

 

Replacement motors are out there, I even think someone rebuilds these.

 

The DW should work without the timer motors for testing purposes, the main motor and pump was another weak area on these early FD wash arm DWs.

 

John L.
 
John, the last 2 places I knew of that did timer rebuilds as recently as 2 years ago are no longer interested in doing so.... 

I cannot see anything stamped on the gear side of either timer motor. Am I missing something?  I thought perhaps those stencilled number might mean something. 
 
I've found some information about the Kingston Model 60 timer motors - it seems they were used in several Frigidaire appliances including washers and dryers.  The original design used a nylon or plastic gear which had 'dogs' that would break off after a number of years.  If what I am reading is correct, there is a way to crack the timer open, replace the gear that broke with a brass one and all will be resolved.   Except I have stupid, shaky hands that I can't trust for anything anymore..... ffffffff....fiddlesticks.... 
 
Sorry to hear that Paul.

I can't work on such things these days without magnifier and 500 watts of light shining directly on it so I know your dilemma. 

You'll get it working though.  I know you will.  
 
Paul, I think I can see the number on the left side of the motor your picture #4.

 

I have always been able to find good new or used timer motors, sometimes by buying a similar complete timer and taking the motors off it.

 

You could probably just take the motors off a Maytag A906 timer.
 
John,  I found numbers on the gear side of the timers.  They both have the same notation:  30/11 L 60 C

 

I'm guessing '30' is the rpm rating, '11' is the number of teeth on the gear (which I counted),  no clue about the 'L', and I guess '60 C' is for use on standard North American 60 Hertz (cycle) AC power.   

 

I've found some information about this type of timer and it seems there was an internal gear that is likely to break easily.  There is a fellow in Pennsylvania who sells a replacement gear in brass, not plastic and has a procedure on how to replace it.  I'm scared like hell to open a timer... The GE SU70 timer incident did not end well and there are no longer any places that I know of who will do timer repairs.

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Hi Paul, that’s the number I was talking about, it’s interesting that they’re both the same numbers usually the rapid advance motor turns much faster.

 

I’ll have to look at one of the Timer Motors I have like that over at the shop. And see what numbers are on those motors, I don't think the 30 means 30 RPMs, they do not turn that fast.

 

You could just take them off an old A906 that you’re junking. 

 

John L.
 
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Oh WOW!

Congrats on your find! They are both absolutely gorgeous machines. I do believe I'm about to turn turquoise myself with envy LOL. Good luck with both! By the way, could you please post a video to youtube of the dishwasher running? My Great Aunt has a (no longer functional, sadly) 1968 Custom DeLuxe dishmobile with the super surge wash system. Ever since I first saw hers, I've always wanted to hear one running.
Thanks,
Thatwasherguy.
 

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