The dishwasher in our house is at least 15 years old. These days when we start it there isn't the immediate spray of water. I watched it with the door open and it takes a dozen or so restarts to get the spray going. If we leave it on the water dribbles from the nozzles. After a few minutes there's a burning smell. So now we've taken to priming it with a dozen or so starts. When water sprays with force we add soap and let 'er rip.

Any ideas what I should check? Worn pump? Leak in the supply line? OVP relay?

Thanks,
Sixto
87 300SDL
~90 GE Potscrubber 1100

I would guess pump, especially with the burning smell. I wouldn't run it anymore.

__________________
dtf
1994 E320 Wagon (Died @ 308,669 miles)
1995 E300 Diesel (228,000)
1999 E300 Turbodiesel ( died @ 255,000)
2006 Toyota Tundra SR5 AC 4X4 (115,000 miles) rusted frame - sold to chop shop
2011 Audi A4 Avant (165,000 miles) Seized engine - donated to Salvation Army
BMW 330 xi 6 speed manual (175,034 miles)
2014 E350 4Matic Wagon 128,000 miles
2018 Dodge Ram 21,000 miles

Unless you can service it yourself, just get a new one. They are cheap enough now so as to be nearly disposable.

One thing I always consider when determining whether to replace or repair is, how long will it be before something else fails? Then if I have spent money on an expensive part and stil have to replace the dishwasher two moths later because an irreplaceable part failed, I have wasted my original investment.
.02

I agree there is an end of life for appliances. On the other hand I have found an excellent appliance repair place nearby. My dishwasher started making noises - it turned out to be the thing that ground up food on the way to the pump. I got a rebuilt pump and a lot of instructions on how to replace for $35. It is still running 2 years later - on a 15 year old dishwasher. It did take 4 hours to pull, remove, replace, and re-install the dishwasher - my first time.

So think about your time and the age of the appliance. A new one may be $200-300 and quieter - then it will last another 15 years.

Good luck! We old diesel folks just have to try and repair something before getting rid of it.

Chuck

Roger that. I get trapped in these dilemas frquently because deep inside, I want to tear it apart to see how it works. Pride forces me to put it back together....

While I hesitate to recommend any repairs to a 15 year old machine, there are only two possibilities:

1) The intake valve is plugged with corrosion and doesn't allow the machine to fill with water. The result is nothing from the nozzles and a pump that is overheating.........hence the burning smell.

2) The pump, itself, has reached the end. However, I tend to discount this possiblity if you are able to fill it with water and get it to properly work. There is no "priming" of such a pump. The pump sits at the lowest point in the system.

If the problem is #1, the valve is $40.00 typically.

If the problem is #2, it's usually not worth it to get a replacement pump.