No water to upper spray arm

[chasw]

My Frigidare Gallery, model # FDB949GFB1(900Series) purchased in January 1998 no longer gets water to the upper arm.
A hose pushed into the Nozzle and Upper Spray, located at the inside top of D/W bubbles air into the lower water trap. A rag pushed into the lower spray arm is dislodged but no water reaches the upper arm. A dry rag stuffed into the Nozzle and Upper Spray at the top of the dishwasher remains in place and is dry when removed.
I have no repair manual and therefore no idea what is wrong.
All suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Charles Wheeler

[redbeardnmt]

Charles,

I tried to look up your model and found the worst parts break down I've ever seen. The best I can tell you is to make sure the screens are clean an look for any splits or holes in the supply tube going to the upper spray arm. The parts break down didn't show three spray arms but it refered to the two it did show as lower and center. Are there three spray arms?

Rick

[chasw]

Rick
Thanks for the information; I guess I will need to remove dishwasher from under the cabinet to check it further. This was purchased in January 1998 and is only problem so guess I have been lucky!
There are only two spray arms, The middle spray arm is fed water from an outlet in the top called the Nozzle and Upper Spray which sprays top rack from above and directs a stream of water into a Funnel attached to the spray arm under this top rack. Water from this Nozzle and Upper Spray is what's missing.
Charles Wheeler

[chasw]

Rick
Took four hours to remove d/w from under counter. I had added flooring to kitchen and d/w sat in a 1 inch pit. Had to remove a strip of flooring in order to slide out and raise d/w.
Found no visible problems. A lagre transparent tube feeds from the bottom of pump to top on machine for the Nozzle and Upper Spray. It looked completely dry with a little water at the bottom adjacent to the pump. Obviously the water is not being pushed by the pump. The bottom spray arm works and has enough pressure to eject a cloth from the tube.
Is the pump two phase? There is an Upper Rack and Bottom Rack only wash cycles as well as for both racks.
Please give me your educated guess as to what might be wrong.
Charles Wheeler

[redbeardnmt]

My best guess is, either there's something in the pump blocking the delivery tube or the impeller in the pump is worn out. Jake might know more about this than I do. Let's get his oppinion.

Rick

[Jake]

Hi,

Yes, your pump/motor assembly is bad, it will need to be replaced, buts its expensive, so I would advise you to consider the age of your dishwasher before getting this part:
http://www.repairclinic.com/dbimages/00000561/00170034.jpgWash motor & pump kit (http://www.repairclinic.com/referral.asp?R=1265&N=1012460)

Jake

[chasw]

Rick and Jake,
I thank you both for your help and patience.
I have spent the last two days shopping for a new dishwasher first over the Internet and then a visit to Sears and Best Buy as I also believed the pump was defective. What a bunch of garbage now being sold! Some of today's Frigidaires are identical in all appearances to my purchase of 1/98 only cheaper (the identical model now has a knob for selecting cycles instead of electronic bottons).
So I came home, flipped the d/w on it's side, unbolted and removed the pump through the inside and found nothing loose or broken.
However, and I need your assistance again as I cannot locate any manuals.
After removing the cover over the impeller (held by 3 hex screws) I found a white round ball (looks like a mothball) blocking the outlet pipe that feeds the upper spray arm. This ball sits on an incline to the right of the tube that the lower spray arm sits on. If this ball were to sit at the top of incline it would block water to the lower spray arm. I can find no place for ball to sit so both spray arms work at same time nor any way it's activated to select top or bottom spray only.
Can I simply remove this ball using both spray arms all the time?
Charles Wheeler

[Jake]

Thats the check ball, it has to be there, its part of the pump.
Here is a parts diagram of your pump assembly:
http://www3.sears.com/imaging/ImagePageJava.shtml?productTypeID=0130000&brandID=1428&modelDesc=24%22%20BUILT-IN%20DISHWASHER&modelNumber=FDB949GFB0&documentID=10060810&documentTypeID=PLDM&documentClassCode=PM&titleType=MOTOR%20AND%20PUMP&titleID=00004

Here is the official repair manual for your model you can order:
Frigidaire Electronic Control Dishwasher Repair Manual
http://www.applianceblog.com/frigelectronicdishwasher834137.jpg (http://www.repairclinic.com/referral.asp?R=1265&N=834137)


If you still want to fix your dishwasher, only ordering that kit I have linked to will solve the problem, I know its expensive, but thats the only solution.

Here is a good dishwasher I recommend if you want to purchase a new one:
http://service.bfast.com/bfast/serve?bfmid=30991737&siteid=41640068&bfpid=DU1148XTPQ&bfmtype=4&http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=6720382&type=product&id=1083715894297http://images.bestbuy.com/BestBuy_US/images/products/6720/6720382_rc.jpg
Whirlpool 24" Built-In Super Capacity Dishwasher - White-on-White (http://service.bfast.com/bfast/click?bfmid=30991737&siteid=41640068&bfpid=DU1148XTPQ&bfmtype=4&http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=6720382&type=product&id=1083715894297)

Jake