On my Samsung Dishwasher (DW80K5050) the top spray arm spins very slowly and the bottom spray arm will not spin at all. Could the check valve not fully sealing be causing the low water pressure?

Hi Jeanette,

Maybe I misunderstood your question, but the tablet is supposed to come out of the dispenser and fall into the bottom of the dishwasher. It needs to fall into the hot water in the bottom of the washer to dissolve. The dispenser releases the tablet at different points in the cycle depending on which wash cycle is selected. On a shorter cycle it will be released soon after starting. On longer cycles, there is usually a rinse first, so the tablet will be released a little later. There would only be a problem if the tablet wasn't being released, or wasn't dissolving completely.

There are a number of reasons for poor cleaning on the top rack. The most common are the upper spray-arm not spinning, incorrect stacking or overloading. If the upper spray-arm isn't spinning, there may be caused by a blockage in the spray-arm or the water delivery system, but, as the dishwasher is new and it's not happening every time, it's possible that the dishwasher isn't levelled correctly. The spray-arms aren't motorised, they use water pressure to spin, but they wont spin if they aren't balanced, i.e. the dishwasher isn't level.

You can check whether the spray arm/s are spinning by pointing them front-to-back, or left-to-right (so you can remember the position) and allow the dishwasher to run for a few minutes. Then open the door and check the position of the spray arms. They should continue to rotate slowly for a short while after opening the door, but if they're in the same place and static, they're not spinning. I'd suggest repeating this a couple of times to eliminate the possibility of them having stopped in the exact same place you left them.

If the spray arms are spinning, test the dishwasher with only a small load in the top rack. If the top rack comes out clean with a small load, you may be overloading it or stacking it incorrectly some of the time. There should be a correct stacking guide in your user manual.

Hope this helps. If you need further assistance, check whether the arms are spinning then post back.

Regards,
BElectric

Hi, I have an older dishwasher also and recently mywife also complained about it not cleaning right... so me being the man I amtried in vain to clean the things... Bought new spray arms online and installedthem in minutes...now the thing works like new... However I have also foundthat if the heating element goes bad then that also can mess things up bad...So I would buy new spray arms, and also check out the heating element to makesure it is working... Here is a tip that will help you with the onlinebuying...
Dishwasher SprayArms not Spinning

How to Buy ApplianceParts Online

A bad heating element causes many problems in dishwashers...

Dishwasher Problems The HeatingElement not Working

DishwasherMaintenance DishwasherResidue and Film on Dishes

heatman101

Asker's Testimonial "explanation very clear. will give it a go and see howsimple it was. thanks Ronnie " - ronnieshomes

Hi,

I have an older dishwasher also and recently my wife also complained about it not cleaning right... so me being the man I am tried in vain to clean the things... Bought new spray arms online and installed them in minutes...now the thing works like new... However I have also found that if the heating element goes bad then that also can mess things up bad... So I would buy new spray arms, and also check out the heating element to make sure it is working... Here is a tip that will help you with the online buying...

Dishwasher Spray Arms not Spinning

How to Buy Appliance Parts Online

A bad heating element causes many problems in dishwashers...

Dishwasher Problems The Heating Element not Working

Dishwasher Maintenance

heatman101

Hi,
Here is a tip that I wrote about dishwashers and the spray arms not spinning..

Dishwasher Spray Arms not Spinning
http://www.fixya.com/support/r4817172-dishwasher_spray_arms_not_spinning

heatman101

These spray arm will only get water several times in the wash and rinse cycle. They do not turn at the same time the lower (bottom large spray arm under the bottom rack).
There is a chamber that diverts water either to the bottom sprayer or to the top sprayers, not to both at the same time.
If your top spray arms never get water, then there must be an issue with that chamber motor to divert the water. A new sump assembly that has all the new parts.
Good luck.

sounds like no water going into the machine. you may need a water inlet valve.

When you say the top arm does not spin, remember that the LG model x811 family has the Vario feature that alternates between routing the pumped water to the bottom arm and then the top arms alternately. So anytime the dishwasher is washing and rinsing, either the lower or upper arms will be spinning.

If the problem is not above, then the motor that drives the check valve may have failed (or the check valve is obstructed inside.)

Hope that helps. Please post back here with what you find, OK?

The LG LDF6920 dishwasher has an innovative "Vario" motor/check valve. It switches between full power spray on the upper arms and the lower arm. So, if you are looking inside the dishwasher to see which arm is spinning, you just have not opened it when the lower arm is turning.
if the root problem is that your dishes are not getting clean with this water conserving DW, go out and buy a name brand detergent powder - like Electrosol or Cascade. And use less powder then you have been using.
Good Luck!

I may have the answer. I had what sounded to be the same problem. I found the dishes were dirty after they were cleaned, but I found there may have been a big pot lid blocking the upper arm. I decided to run the machine again, and after a bit opened the dishwasher after to make sure it was not a problem with the arm. Sure enough, the arm wasn't moving. However, I found out on the Frigidaire webpage that some models have an alternating spray cycle, where only one arm spins at any given time. After reading this I checked again, and it had moved by that time. I checked a few times more to confirm this. So it ended up it was an arm blockage after all. Hope this helped...good luck.
www.frigidaire.com/support/FAQ-Dishwasher.asp#6

  This dishwasher does not feed water to top and bottom arms at same time.  It starts with bottom and then after awhile it switches to top and then cycles.  If water comes out arms but arms won't turn,  check all holes in arms.  It's the water spraying out these that causes arms to turn.   If arms spin freely by hand,  it's a plugged arm or holes in arm or insufficient water in tank. 
  Being that it only sprays 4 inches suggests a water level problem or possible mineral build up restricting flow.