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Maytag MDB4100 Dishwasher  Rate Topic 
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 Posted: Fri Nov 6th, 2009 12:06 am
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LonnieGL
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I have two MDB4100 dishwashers in my kitchen and they've been flawless for over 10 yrs, until now.  About a month ago I noticed one dishwasher was not circulating water during the wash cycle.  It would fill normally, quietly run the motor during the wash cycle without circulating much water, then drain normally. 

After some research on this site and others I diagnosed a clogged filter.  I took the machine apart down to the filter and found a clogged mess.  Took it out, cleaned it like new, put it back together and everything worked perfectly.  I figured I would do my second dishwasher as well while I had the tools out but was surprised to find a perfectly immaculate filter in that machine.  Seemed odd since they're both used about the same amount

Anyway today I noticed that my formerly clogged dishwasher is not cleaning again and I suspect the filter has clogged again.  What ever part that is responsible for the "self cleaning" of this filter appears to have failed.  Any suggestions before I take it apart and clean the filter again?

For the record I should mention that these machines haven't been perfectly flawless.  They were part of the Maytag recall 2 years ago and I had the door liners replaced by Maytag service due to potential leaking jet dry dispensers.  I should also mention that we always used jet-dry which was leaking and caused a gooey wet mess inside the door over the wiring on both machines.  Good thing I had it fixed and the new parts were clearly improved. Lucky they didn't burn up.

Any suggestion about my "failure to self clean" problem would be greatly appreciated

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 Posted: Fri Nov 6th, 2009 02:27 am
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No self-cleaning feature per se for the filter on this model. But there are other things that can cause poor washability problems besides the filter:

- spray arm hole plugged with partially plugged with gookus; remove and clean.
-upper or lower spray arm binding; check twirlymagig action.
- water fill level too low; should come up to the heating element.
- ca-ca in the power module; tear down and cleanup.



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 Posted: Fri Nov 6th, 2009 02:39 am
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LonnieGL
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Water level is fne. It's weird though. You can here some water circulate when was cycle first starts but then it stops moving in a few seconds as if the pump gets starved for water. I'm quite sure the filter is all clogged up again at the water level. The filter in my other identical machine looks like new so it's getting cleaned somehow. I'll break it down this weekend.

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 Posted: Sat Nov 7th, 2009 02:10 pm
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LonnieGL
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OK so I opened it up and again the filter was totally clogged.  Cleaned it and it works fine. 

The machine has gone 10 years without needing a filter cleaning and now twice in 2 months?  Something is not right.  At some point in the drain cycle water must be pumped backwards through the filter to clean it and this is not happening.

What could be clogged to cause this?

I looked on craigslist and found a neighbor selling a used MBD7100 for $30.  She said it works fine.  This seems to be the electronic version of my dishwasher.  I was tempted to buy it and swap it out but it doesn't appear to have had the recalled jet-dry problem fixed.  I'm afraid that the door may be gunked up with that stuff.  Don't want to risk a fire.

Last edited on Sat Nov 7th, 2009 02:16 pm by LonnieGL

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 Posted: Sat Nov 7th, 2009 02:20 pm
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Samurai Appliance Repair Man
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LonnieGL wrote:
At some point in the drain cycle water must be pumped backwards through the filter to clean it and this is not happening.


Unlikely. Is the dishwasher draining completely between cycles?

Also, are you certain that the water level fills to where it is touching the bottom of the heating element?



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 Posted: Sat Nov 7th, 2009 02:22 pm
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LonnieGL
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Drains quickly and completely and yes, fills right to the bottom of the element

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 Posted: Sat Nov 7th, 2009 02:37 pm
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RegUS_PatOff
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LonnieGL wrote: ... The machine has gone 10 years without needing a filter cleaning and now twice in 2 months?  Something is not right... 

Is there a difference on how (who) operates the dishwasher ?

… and remember, no matter what the salesman says,
it’s a dishwasher, not a garbage disposal.  :groucho:



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 Posted: Sat Nov 7th, 2009 03:37 pm
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LonnieGL
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nope. no difference.  In fact we have two of them in our kitchen and we alternate.  They both see identical use.  When I opened the filter in the other one it was immaculate.

The filter keeps the mess from circulating during the wash cycle.  it should pump out during drain and this machine has a blade that spins and chops, so it does kinda work like a disposer.  Anyway, we've been doing a better job pre-rinsing to try and keep the filter cleaner longer. 

I would hate to replace these machines because they have been incredible.  It's the only dishwasher I ever had you can put in a burnt-on roasting pan and it gets it almost perfectly clean

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