WhirlPool Dishwasher ADP 8540 was flashing 4 times now 6.

[paulgilbo]

Thanks in advance for the Help!

Problem first started as dishwasher stop during cycle and flashed 4 times

Error Code:
F4. 4 Flashes. Draining failure. Drain pump, control board OWI or water indicator defect

Thanks to this forums help I tipped the dishwasher pull it apart, pump, sensor, took out the pressure switch diaphragm etc... put it all back together ran the daig ok. Dishwasher work twice then the 3rd time tripped the circuit breaker in the house. Water seem to be spilling into the bottom tray. I then took it apart again this time tested the pump on an external source no problems, even tested the temp sensor for fun.. all ok. Pressure switch diaphragm appeared ok. Put it back together and consistently get 6 flashes in diag mode

Error Code:
F6. 6 Flashes. Water valve (WV1) is switched on but flow meter (FM) senses no impulses (less than 10 impulses in 10 secs) and the water indicator (WI) is at a low level
Water Valve Closed. Water inlet hose blocked.
Water inlet valve (WV1) defective. Flow meter (FM) defective (leads to FM failure)

So logic tells me it's the Water Indicator (WI) as it is mentioned in both error codes?

Any ideas what part the water indicator is ? is it the pressure switch diaphragm that needs replacing?

 

[zipper]

If the water supply is good, the inline filters are clear, & the fill hose isn't kinked then this error can be caused by bad contacts on the flow-meter (or a defective flow-meter). The flow-meter is a small pcb on the bottom of the water magazine. To get at it take off the LH side panel & look at the bottom of the fill magazine. Take off the plug & clean the contacts & give it a very slight nip to tighten the connections up. Replace & try a cycle. Did you track down the source of the leakage on the baseplate?

 

[paulgilbo]

Thanks Zipper. I will give that a go. Appears to be leaking from the LHside. now just struggling with pull the LH Panel off

 

[paulgilbo]

Update:
Got the side panel off. The leak was caused by me not fitting the hose clamp on the drainage pump correctly. I fixed this, but the 6 flashes still remains. I pulled out the FM sensor, clean the connections (Both ends) and tighten/closed on both ends. Check the cable with a MM. Ran diag and cycle a few times still flashes 6 times.
With a MM I test the FM sensor when water is flowing. It appears a constant 6.6mv and resistance cycles from .7 - 1.1 Ohms continuously. After about 30sec water shutoff and flashes 6 time....

Would that be the correct operation of the FM Sensor above? Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[paulgilbo]

Update:

Now Fixed (Here hoping it stays that way)

Possible water in the Electrics. Pulled the PCB, Wiring harness and anything I could easily get out. Dried it all with a hairdryer. Checked all parts with a MM and found there was still a short in the WI connector. This is the 3 wire from WI PCB to Pressure sensor. Left it out in the sun. Re-check ok. Put it all back together. Ran Diags ok. Ran full cycle ok.

Thanks for your help Zipper. That FM Sensor has still got me stumped on how it works..

 

[Leccy758]

The FM I assume is the flow meter.

If it is the type that has an impeller in a chamber it works quite simply (on Whirlpool, Prima, Diplomat its usually in the brake tank, on Bosch, Beko they have seperate ones as a rule)

You have a reed switch (which does fail in various ways) and a magnet on the impeller, as the water enters the impeller rotates and the magnet activates the reed switch once every rotation. The pcb measures the frequency of the pulses.

 

[zipper]

Being in the northern hemisphere I slept through your last posts...Zzzz. Great you can just put parts out in the sun to dry out where you live...if we did that here they would only get wetter The flowmeter (or reed-switch) is a very simple device. They are used in many applications (not only dishwashers). Your laptop & flip top mobile also have one, it senses the lid being closed & triggers power-down/off. The reed-switch on a dishwasher works together with a pressure switch. It senses a series of impulses through water flow & this is equated into water volume. If the pcb doesn't record the correct number of impulses it throws up an F6 or F7 error. This is how reed-switches work http://www.explainthatstuff.com/howreedswitcheswork.html If you wanted to change the flowmeter on your model you'd probably be told to buy the whole water tank assembly. But there is a cheap work around if you like fiddly jobs...buy something like this & replace it yourself http://www.maplin.co.uk/miniature-r...m2115x565951x3ad3b1721956189562eea9313464ad41

 

[Leccy758]

We have successfully replaced the reed switches on the small PCB's on these, its a bit awkward due to size and making sure it is the correct way round.

It does make you feel good though when it is done especially at a fraction of the cost of a replacement board or tank.

 

[Scotabroad]

I have searched this forum but can't find something that exactly fits.... This thread is the closest....

I had a 7 flash error in my Ikea Whirlpool DWF B00 and followed Sleepyheads advice very successfully. But after a few days, the problem has returned but with 6 flashes instead of 7. As a non technician, can anyone give me simple jargon free advice (like sleepyhead) as to what I need to do now?

Thanks in advance.