Dishwasher doesn't wash well.

How do I remove the strainer grate from the dishwasher?

I have just encountered the same problem as chrisbk23. The lower rack washes okay but the upper arm doesn't seem to be moving at all. I know this because I'll spin the arm around, close the door and let it run for a few minutes and reopen to check to find the upper arm hasn't rotated at all. Just to make sure, I repeated this four to five times and the same thing each time.

http://www.applianceblog.com/mainforums/showthread.php?t=124

The answer was at the above site. Basically it show you how to clean out the course food trap and maybe change the check valve. I did not have to change the check valve myself. I found that the plastic end caps from the rack was stuck in trap along with plum seed and other hard object thus there was limited flow through the check valve.

Try following the dismantelling instructions (with pictures). It helped me maybe it can help you. By tghe way you will need T25 and T20 torques screw drivers to take the sections apart.

By the way thanks for inspiring me to look further.

Friend

the problem is hard water i bet. there is a new product out that actually filters the water going into your dishwasher. this i think is awesome becasue who knows whats in the water cleaning the dishes you eat and drink with. my dishes use to be white and spotty and after the first load with the filter they came out spotless. you can get it at www.dishwasherfilter.com. you will be glad you did. oh it goes under the sink and is small and affordable.

I bought my Equator about 7 years ago, and I had the same problem. After some experimentation I've had excellent results ever since. Here are my helpful hints.

1. First thing I had to do was buy new dishes, because my old ones were too tall to allow the top spray arm to spin.
2. Skip a space between slots. Don't believe the manufacturer's photos. If you put a plate or bowl in every slot, they simply will not get clean.
3. Rinse food (especially rice & lettuce) from dishes before loading.
4. Remove and clean the strainer grate on the inside bottom of the unit once or twice a month.
   
5. Wash only with COLD water. The length of the first wash cycle is determined by how long it takes the water to reach max. temperature. If it starts off hot, you get a very short wash cycle.
   
6. Keep the rinse agent reservoir filled (and don't tighten the cap too much). The harder your water, the more important rinse agent is. I've tried major brands & store brands, and I got the best results with Jet Dry Turbo. I've read that plain white vinegar works too. Try it.
7. Two words--Cascade Powder. I tried 3 major brands, store brands, liquid gels, tabs & gel tabs. Cascade powder not only worked the best, after about 3 washes it also removed the milky film left on my dishes from all the other detergents!
   
8. When loading things on the fold-down shelf, be sure to leave space below for the water to spray up into them or they won't get clean. Put smaller items below, and larger ones on top.
9. Before running, always check for free spinning of both spray arms.
10. If you have cats, place a chair or stool in front of the dishwasher when you run it, and leave the lights on. They'll be fascinated.
    

I have the same/similar problem with the upper arms not rotating. After calling a repairman and having him tell me just how lousy LG is (ok, good for future reference) and charging me $100, he told me that the main motor assy. had to be replaced. He wanted $500 to do it! Ouch!! The dishwasher is 2 years old and I was not about to spend that much cash on it. I dove in to it (not literally) and saw that there is a small valve that rotates allowing water to go to only the bottom arm, top arms or both. That valve wasn't rotating when needed and was stuck allowing water to only go to the bottom arm. I set the valve to allow water to all arms, reassembled the unit and it works perfectly. BTW when I calld the repair shop with that information, all they could do was tell me how foolish it is to buy an expensive dishwasher. Hope this helps someone.

Check water intake in the bottom of washer to see of it is paritally clogged -- tea bags, plastic utensils, bags, etc.

A common cause of poor washing is improper loading-- dishes block or impede the spray arms or prevent the soap dispenser from opening. On the other hand, if your dishwasher has chronic problems with washing, the problem may not be your dishwasher. Your home's water pressure may be too low, the water may be too hard, you may not be using the right amount of detergent, or the water temperature may not be hot enough.

Water pressure. In order to fill to appropriate levels, water pressure should be from 20 to 120 pounds per square inch. If you suspect that your water pressure may be low, turn off all water, then put a half-gallon jug under the kitchen (hot) water faucet. Turn on the hot water full-blast. If the jug doesn't fill within 14 seconds, your water pressure may be too low for proper dishwasher operation. Call your city water utility to discuss options, or avoid drawing water elsewhere in the house or yard during dishwasher cycles.

Too little or too much detergent. The right amount of detergent to use depends upon how dirty your dishes are and how hard the water is. To find out how hard your water is, call your local water utility and ask. Hardness is measured in grains--the more grains of hardness, the more detergent you'll need. If your water has 12 grains or more of hardness, fill both dishwasher soap cups completely with detergent. If that doesn't work, consider installing a water softener.
Here are detergent recommendations:

WATER HARDNESS / TABLESPOONS OF DETERGENT:
0 to 3 grains: 1 tbps
4 to 6 grains: 2 tbps
7 to 9 grains: 3 tbps
10 to 12 grains: 4 tbps

Water temperature. To check water temperature, hold a meat thermometer under the hot water faucet for two minutes; if it doesn't register a minimum of 140 degrees F, turn up the temperature dial on your hot water heater. Note: Some newer dishwashers heat the water automatically --it isn't necessary to turn up your hot water heater if you have one of these.
SAFETY FIRST: If you have small children in the house, it's safer to leave your water heater set below 120 degrees F; scalding is a major cause of serious children's accidents.

If your dishwasher has worked fine in the past but, suddenly, your dishes aren't clean after the dishwasher completes all cycles:
1) Check your water heater's temperature dial to be sure it hasn't been changed recently.
2) Be sure dishes haven't prevented the detergent dispenser from opening properly during the wash cycles or kept the spray arms from turning, the lower arm from rising, or the spray from reaching the upper rack's dishes.
3) During the wash cycle, listen to the spray arm spinning inside. If it seems to be spinning poorly, clean out the spray holes in the spray arm(s) with a stiff piece of wire --wait for the machine to cool, then remove the spray arm(s) by unscrewing the hub cap and lifting the arm(s) off.

sounds like you need to buy a simple dishwasher cleaner from your supamarket..
it's in the same place you get your tablets.

The dishes come out dirtier than they started -- and the dirt is baked on.

I have an LG dishwasher and recently experienced a weak motor and an LE error. After I replaced the wire harness ($50 part, my labor) the LE error went away and the dishwasher would run an entire cycle. The problem was that a normal 2.5 hr cycle was taking 6+ hours to complete! The main motor was weak and not able to rotate consistently, it would rotate a few times then stop and repeat that over and over. As I took all the sump parts off and ran the dishwasher I noticed it would function correctly. The motor would hit its stride and run nonstop, therefore the timer would countdown correctly and a 15 minute rinse cycle took just 15 minutes. Once I started putting some of the cover parts back on the motor would start and stop again. Part of this weak motor problem was that it didn't get enough water forced up to the higher wash arms. It's not an issue with the house water pressure as the dishwasher produces its own pressure with the motor (water conservation model LDS5811ST).

try cleaning the filter

SOMETIMES THE CHOPPER BLADE GET'S CLOGGED OR EVEN BRAKE BUT THIS JOB REQUIES A TECH

I had this problem and I have HARD! water (well with a lot of iron) and the simple fix I use is every load I put 1-2 teaspoons of plain citric acid in the bottom of the washer. and this clears up the glass and leaves no baked on food on the rest. I pick this product up at a local grocery store and costs us about .10 per load.

A possible cause of this problem is that the cutter/chopper filter is plugged. This reduces (or ever eliminates) the volume of water being pumped through and there is therefor not enough water/pressure to spin the upper arm(s).
Need to remove and clean this filter. On my Kenmore, it is located under everything else inside bottom of the machine.
Remove dish baskets
Remove bottom arm - rotate the centre post until the arm is free to be lifted out.
Remove conduit that feeds the upper arm(s). Remove 2 screws, one at back and one at top. Rotate the whole conduit assembly 45 deg right and lift it off of the centre post.
Remove bottom assemble. There are 4 screws to remove (Star bit) and then lift it out.
Remove cutter cap - Remove 1 screw at left front (Under assembly just removed). Lift cap off. Remove cutter filter. It is on a spring loaded pin. Pull the cutter blade foreword and lift the filter disc straight up. Clean thoroughly,
Reassemble.

I am having the same problem with the top arm not turning and dishes not getting clean! Plumber checked it-said there was nothing wrong with it. I have found that if I add water to each wash & rinse cycle the arm rotates and dishes come out perfect! What is the point of having a dishwasher if you have to wait and pour more water in it? Tells me that is not getting enough water to the dishwasher! Could there be something that needs cleaning out in the incoming water or is this another water saving method that does not work?

Try checking the float level at the bottom of the tub near the front. Mine was stuck.

Even if you load this product correctly, and you clean all the filters it will wash badly, nearly every time. - Here is what I did to boost performance of mine- this invalidates any warranty and I can't vouch for safety etc....
Remove filters - note there is a small pressure release hole at the base of where the bottom rotor arm comes out - I blocked this by unscrewing the arm to take it out, unclipping the arm, dropping a piece of sweetcon in the hole, then reassambling. I'd imagine any handy fibrous vegetable matter will do, there's bound to be some in the dishwasher...
The upper rotor also has problems - the water connection rotor to the back has 2 flap valves to accomodate height change. (why didn't they mount 2 bungs at the back?) and these leak. To stop this you'll need to remove the top rack and then prize out the flap valves from the rotor arm assembly (4 clips at the edges to press in with a screw driver) (I removed the rotor arm entirely and the clips broke so be cautious, but nothing a wire tie won't cure) If you use the top height setting tape over the inside of the top flap, if you use the bottom tape over the bottom flap, I used a good duct tape and reassemble.
The device should now wash dishes, in addition to storing dirty pots and consuming water and energy.

Stainless dishwashers come with two filters under the unit. Make sure both of them are emptied. Also, you need to remove the washer arms and clean them every 6 months or so.

Love my Stainless!

bill

run your hot water at the sink till you cant hold your finger on it most new dish washers use little water so if you dont get the water hot at the sink before you turn it on you can mostly fill it with cold water before the hot gets up there dont care about make model brand what ever hot water cleans dishes hotter the better make shure you use jet dry too and dont use thoose packs with both detergent and rinse agent weve had reports of them hanging in the disp