Diverter Motor

Diverter Motor

Stefan from CA

Dishwasher washes lower dishes poorly F9E6 error code.

Screw driver (but only if you are lucky).

When she was good she was very, very good, but when she was bad, she was horrid. This saying applies to Sears Elite Dishwashers & similar Whirlpool dishwashers with a motor-driven Lower Spray Arm (LSA). We have had a Sears 66512793k310 for about 8 years. Washing quality for the lower rack deteriorated while upper rack washing remained excellent. Eventually, our dishwasher developed a serious leak & I determined that the leak was coming from the Diverter Motor. In the dishwashers with a powered LSA, the Diverter Motor unit contains two motors--one to drive the LSA & one to change the position of the diverter disc. Diverter motor leaks have two sources. The white plastic Diverter shaft is hollow and open at the top to reveal a metal LSA drive shaft. Water entering the hollow shaft is stopped by an internal seal. If this seal goes bad (which ours did) the unit leaks a lot of water. The Diverter shaft passes through a grommet which can also be a source of leaks This thing (W10195677 or equivalent) is an inexpensive part ($5-10) and should be changed whenever a diverter motor is replaced. This part is not listed in the Sears 66512793k310 repair manual so I replaced the diverter motor without changing the grommet. I was lucky because the main leak was coming from the Diverter motor hollow shaft & NOT the grommet. Following the Diverter motor replacement, the dishwasher was happy for about a year when the washing on the lower rack again deteriorated. The diagnostic run showed the dreaded F9E6 error code which can be either the LSA motor or the magnetic sensor which allows the control board to sense movement of the LSA. By changing the position of the LSA, I was able to determine that the LSA did move during the cycle, so I changed the sensor, but the error code persisted. The LSA motor has a dual winding & although both windings were within the allowable resistance range, they were not identical. A new Diverter motor showed identical resistances in the windings. I changed the grommet as well as the Diverter Motor & the unit is now working great again. It takes little more than a screwdriver to change either the Diverter Motor or the Sensor. However, to change either, you must access the underside of the dishwasher. Our unit has waste and water lines long enough to allow me to pull out the dishwasher and tip it over without detaching the lines. Otherwise, the lines must be detached and reattached each time you pull the machine out for a repair.

Diverter Motor

Chris from VA

Leak from diverter motor.

Pliers screwdriver socket wrench.

Followed instructions found online, now works with no leaks.

Diverter Motor

Donald from NC

My washer was leaking from diverter motor shaft seal.

Nut driver with socket, torx and screwdriver heads

My washer started to leak. After assessing where the water was dripping from, I had to pull the machine out, tilt it sideways and verify the leak was coming from the diverter motor shaft seal. Once I confirmed the source of the leak, I ordered the following replacement parts to complete my repair: WPW10538166 Grommet WPW10380258 Washer Arm WPW10457989 Sump Assembly WPW10476221 Diffuser W10843811 Diverter Motor WPW10705575 Soil Sensor I pulled old parts, after taking pictures of wiring connections. New parts were assembled on the Sump Assembly base, except the Washer Pump Motor. That needed to be installed after the Sump Assembly was installed in the washer base. Once all wires and hoses were connected, I reinstalled the washer and connected main power and water supply, then ran a cycle to check for leaks. Total repair was completed in under 2 hours.