Brad, I have a Frigidaire FDB2410HIC2A dishwasher. I suspected that the upper arms weren't turning. I can hear water being sprayed from the lower arm up onto some pans I have in there. Opening the door real fast I don't see the upper two arms moving and they are in the same position.

I tried adding a half gallon of water as I read that the washer not getting enough water could cause this same issue, but that didn't help.

The middle arm is getting water because I see it coming out of the holes when I open the door, but it seems as though the pressure isn't high enough to turn it.

The piping that is bringing the water up to the top of the washer is behind the stainless walls.

I've cleaned the drain area as well, but I don't see the chopper area that most people talk of cleaning out that fixes this problem sometimes.
Any ideas?

F.W.I.W. I had a similar problem. Upper rotor wouldn't spin. Problem was its feed tube wasn't reaching the back wall water spray port (upper rack had distorted). A reop fixed it.
Good luck.

Start the dishwasher and let it fill. Once you hear the wash motor start up, open the door and point all three arms at the door opening and re-close the door(hit start if needed on your model). Let it run for about 30 seconds, open the door and see if the arms have moved. Report back

Ok, it seems the middle arm may be turning at least a little. It stops almost immediately after I open the door. The top arm is not moving.

I'm going to impersonate the Appliance Whisperer.

The top arm is filled with...

...now hang with me as I'm going to use a very technical term...

... schmutz.

Said schmutz is blocking some or all of the orifices (jets) where water sprays out.

I can't tell you how to remove the arm without seeing it, but it probably is a simple pressed joint.

So, oh Appliance Sensi, how'd I do?


My last dishwasher had this very problem.

Top arm holes are clear of obstructions.

quote:

Originally posted by Skull Leader:
Top arm holes are clear of obstructions.

Okay.

So I suck as an appliance whisperer. I'll go back to working on jumbo jets.

Your problem is insufficient water pressure to the top arm. it can be a result of poor water fill, poor pump pre-load (a restriction in the returning water flow due to a plugged intake filter or screen)or poor pump performance.

This dishwasher does not have a food chopper, the filter cup traps food debris and must be periodically emptied and cleaned. If you have done so already, i would carefully look for a piece of paper or even clear plastic in the area under the filter screen or cup. I've seen that happen several times on this design.

If the water level is within 1/2" of the heating element, you have an adequate fill. You can try adding a gallon (instead of the half gallon you tried) and see if the arm spins.

Finally, you can try using a lime remover product like CLR. I see a bunch of these with hard water deposits. Which also leads me to: How hard or soft is your water/ where I live ALL poor cleanability complaints are hard water related until proven otherwise. I always do a water hardness test first before I even begin to look at mechanical causes.

My water is pretty hard. I'll try to run a couple of cycles using a cup of Lime Away and see what happens.

When I checked the water level yesterday it was right up to the element. Today when I filled it it was about 1/4" below.

So, I ran a couple of empty loads through with a cup of Lime Away in each. I'm still not getting movement of the top arm, but water is getting to it.

I think I might look into getting a water softener. What are your thoughts on the citric acid softeners?

Salt based water softeners are the only way to go.

Citric acid is just that, an acid. it will dissolve lime but it does not remove it from the water.