Flood Switch WD21X10519

We tried cleaning out the filter and it clogged with a huge amount of gunk. We removed the gunk, scrubbed the filter, and tried running the dishwasher, but still no water. That took over an hour (not counting the time the dishwasher spent running). Then we tried your diagnosis center and it pointed to the flood switch or the water valve. I extracted the flood switch (another 30-60 minutes) to check it, and it also contained gunk and (significantly) did not rattle, which made me suspect the flood switch was the problem, so I ordered one. Once the replacement arrived, I checked it and the flood switch rattled, confirming that it should work properly. I spent 30-45 minutes installing it, plus the filter assembly and racks I had to remove to access it. Ran the dishwasher and everything came out sparkling clean. I don't know where the gunk came from, but if you aren't getting water and the filter is full of gunk, check the flood switch.

Ran the diagnostic code test and no alarms turned on. Ran the heater test and it didn't turn on. I figured it was either the flood switch or the heating element itself. Removed and cleaned the flood switch and still nothing. Replaced the old flood switch and now it works like a charm. It took a minute to run tests and figure out a plan of action, but after ordering and receiving the part it was a quick operation to replace the old flood switch. Kill the power. Remove lower basket. Remove lower arm. Remove the coarse filter and the fine filter. Dry up water in bottom of dishwasher. Use 1/4" nut driver to remove two screws holding flood switch in place. Unplug old switch. Plug in new one. And put everything back. Saved a few bucks for sure. If I can do it, you can do it!

I pulled the dish washer out and, make sure you turn off the power, disconnect the water and drain line. un screw the mounting screws.
The first thing i checked was the drain filter which was clogged. I took shop vac and sucked all the excess water out and removed the flood switch. seemed ok but you can't tell if its ok, so just replace it. I then removed the door from the unit. I needed to replace the dispenser. After the door was off I tilted the machine forward, to check the heater. I pulled the quick connects off and checked the resistance across the heater, should be 16 ohms mine was 16.3 so heater not bad. looking at the bottom of the machine, follow the left hand wire and it will attach to a thermal overload. (a small round disc which is not listed in the parts manuals ), I checked for continuity across the switch it was open.
On this model GE the switch is resettable, a small reset button in the middle of the overload. I reset it and continuity was restored. only three things might cause this to kick. one the flood switch, the vent fan or the turbidity sensor. I replaced all three and the machine is working great.
If you have replaced your heater and still doesn't heat, try resetting that switch. and give GE a big thank you for not telling any one about the switch.
A big thank you to PartSelect for having all the correct replacement parts.

1. Remove lower dishwasher rack.
2. Remove flat course filter screen in bottom of dishwasher by unscrewing the 2 hand screws at the rear of the screen. Remove the round fine filter (at the front of the course screen) by rotating counter-clockwise by hand.
3. Remove both the fine and course screens exposing the 4 inch tall, skinny, round float valve. DO NOT rotate the float switch--remove the float switch by pulling it straight up.
4. Remove the electrical plug on the bottom of the float switch.
5. Install new float switch taking care to remove the old O-ring and ensuring the new O-ring is properly located at the bottom of the new float switch.
6. Follow instructions in reverse to complete the reinstallation.

Turn off water supply, turn of power to dishwasher, remove mounting screws, slide dishwasher out of opening, place a pan under water supply valve, remove water line, remove screws holding the valve in place, disconnect electrical connector. Reverse process to install new valve.

Removed the screen cover and then removed two bolts with nut driver and removed white plastic retaining piece. Pulled flood switch out of housing (raise approximately 2 inches) then unfasten electrical plug. New part connects to electrical plug (pnly can fit one way so no problem with orientation). Pushed floid switch bsck into lace and attached white plastic retainer with two bolts and then set screen cover back. Very simple and easy.

The service lady looked up possible trouble items and narrowed it down to the flood switch. Being the most likely cause, I ordered a new one. I removed both trays, the lower sprayer, and both screens. The flood switch has an electric plug on the bottom of it that just pulls off. Just as with other appliance repairs, I actually got the old flood switch to work again before trying the new one. I should have tried to free up the float before ordering the new one. But in case this happens again, I’ll just put the new one in.

Turned off pier at breaker. Removed dishwasher from under counter after disconnecting water line from dishwasher and drain tube from under sink. You might get a little residual water but not much. Removed old flood switch took about 2 minutes. Replaced with new flood switch. Then tilted dishwasher back to get to plastic nuts that hold down heating element. Set unit back down and removed old heating element then replace it with new one. Replace plastic nuts that hold element. Exact parts makes job easy. Them put water hose back on an put washer back in place hooked drain hose back up. Turned water and power back on. Tested unit worked perfectly. Hardest part of job was putting the dishwasher back into counter and getting the Instalation back on top.
Parts replacement time was about 10 minutes.
Disconnecting and reconnecting and replacing dishwasher 40 minutes. But I wouldn’t pay anyone to do this because it’s really not difficult.

I replaced the flood switch following instructions shown in readily available YouTube videos. In short, you remove the coarse and fine filters, then take out the bracket holding in the flood switch and finally the switch itself. After replacing the switch, the dishwasher works normally again.

So after noticing some horrid food waste build up in my 9 year old dishwasher, I determined it wasn't heating the water during the wash cycle. I came on here to check how to replace the heating element and was surprised when the flood switch was instead strongly recommended as the first repair step.

I ordered the part, and prepped the dishwasher for the repair (Pro-tip: Clothes pin attached to the bottom of the flood switch wiring harness ensures it doesn't slip down below the opening during the part swap!). The part swap and reassembly only took 5-10 mins or so after prep and dishwasher is now heating water and running great again. Many thanks to partselect.com for the detailed installation guides/videos and the parts recommendations!