GE Dishwasher not Drying Dishes - How to Replace Bad Flood Switch

Had GE model GDT550HSD1SS dishwasher that wasn't heating to dry the dishes. The dishes would come out soaking wet. First suspected heating element but found to be okay after removing dishwasher from cabinet to access the heating element terminals and ohming across (measured between 16 and 17 ohms which says element is okay). There are several videos on youtube that show how to access the heating element on a newer GE dishwasher.

Next replaced flood switch PN WD21X10519 that contained a thermistor used to sense dry cycle temperature. Replacement of the flood switch fixed the problem and the heating element now dries the dishes. This video shows how to replace the flood switch. I suspect that the flood switch is used in many GE models so the procedure to replace should be very similar.

[charlict]

Good advice. I replaced the flood switch and fixed the problem. Anyway next time I'd like to try the following: The new FS when you shake it, there is an element moving inside. In the old one that moving element was stuck with old food. I deeply washed the FS by also lightly hitting the FS to allow the stuck food to come out, after a lot of through washing the element inside become loose again (like the new one). I think this is a magnet that moves up and down with the water level and with time, the dry food makes it get stuck. I did not test it. But if one of you happen to have the same problem my advice would be to remove it, shake, if it doesn't make any noise, wash it thoroughly while shaking and smashing to a soft surface until the element becomes loose again and test it. If it still doesn't work replace the flood switch.

[Should-I-Buy-It]

Thank you for your video! It worked for me and saved me a ton on a service call.

[brigidhunt]

Spent $$$ with repairman replacing board control kit 2xs and heating element. Better drying but still not right. Was ready to accept defeat when I saw this video. Ordered part, replaced and problem solved!! Old part was full of gross gunk! Cleaned it out and going to see if it works, JIC. Thank you for your tip and video!!

[enricochandler]

This solved my exact problem. Dishwasher hasn’t dried dishes in a while. I thought it needed a major repair. This simple fix solved the issue. Thanks.

[deedugdale]

$29 dollars for the part on Amazon, $6 for the magnetic tipped nut driver, 10 minutes of my time and my dishwasher is fixed! Thank you so much!! Yes ladies you can do it!😁

[dbbyleo]

Another tip you should know if you're watching this video is this. If the Rinse Aid dispenser is completely empty, that can cause the unit NOT to send power to the heating element. I saw another video where the guy mentions this about GE dishwashers. He even said "somehow" the unit behaves this way. Didn't make much sense to me when he said it so I didn't bother with it (also I didn't have any Rinse Aid to test with). So I replaced the float switch like in this video, but that didn't fix it. I tested the limit switch - that was fine. I tested my new float switch to make sure the thermistor was good - and that was fine. I traced all the wires back to the control board thinking there's a break in the connection somewhere, including pulling out the control board - everything looked ok there. When I exhausted all those things, I finally thought, I can just put water into the Rinse Aid dispenser and test. And BAM!!! That was it. Crazy!

[starbrow]

This saved me a lot of trouble. I thought it was the heating element as well, but before I replaced it I saw this video. Dishwasher is fixed now! Thanks!!

[bitbistro]

Thank you very much for this video. I took your advice and bought the flood switch and it works. I thought for thirty bucks there wasn't much to lose. My wife thinks I'm a genius now. Thanks.

[thedalafamily]

Thank you sir! Your video saved me a lot of money. Much appreciated!

[joepearson]

Thanks for the video. Found the part on Amazon for $15. The install was easy and the dishwasher is now drying again. Affordable fix to add some life to an 8 year old GE.

[kennystamp]

Thank you for this video. One would assume it was the “heating element” causing it not to heat !! I’m glad I found this video. 30$ and 15 minutes later and it’s working again! Woo !!

[kevrohrig]

MANY THANKS TO THIS VIDEO! This is such an under-the-radar problem, and solution! I too suspected all the normal possibilities, then ran across this and other videos talking about a "thermistor" hidden in the float switch. GE should call it "switch, flood with thermistors".. but they don't! 😡 Even though I had first bought a circuit board with relays as per one video, I did not install it but waited for my "flood switch" to arrive after seeing this video. It was the easiest dishwasher repair I've ever done! I unplugged the power from under my sink but otherwise did not move the dishwasher nor turn off the water. Simply vacuumed out the sump, replaced the "switch" and am up and running!! I Sawed up the old assembly and sure enough there's a white float with a metal ring near the top that no doubt activates a magnet switch in the resin-filled post, but there were four wires going up the post so with its 7 pins I suspect there's a thermistor at the top to sense steam when it's Sanitizing, and a second thermistor near the bottom to be able to sense when it's Boosting the water temperature correctly. Whatever, it is not just a float switch!! Dirty birds.

[lucaswitte]

Thank you. Replaced the heating element and was confused when it still did not dry dishes. This video saved the day.

[bryank.]

After testing the heater element (15.8 ohms) and thermal limit (has continuity) I decided to check the thermostat and noted 360 ohms, which would indicate the water was already hot. New float switch measured 8.6k ohms. The new switch restored full heat and I thank you and those posting for the help. Made it a very simple and cheap fix.

[lstocks]

Have a 5-year old GE high-end dishwasher that had stopped drying. Watched this video, bought the part for $25 on Amazon, and replaced in about 10 minutes. Works great now--my wife thinks I'm a hero! Thanks very much!!

[leahn.]

Thank you so much for this video. We had already had a repair person out who was unable to find this issue. I decided I didn’t want to go with all of the things that they thought might work when they weren’t sure and spend all that money so we were going to replace the Dishwasher. My husband found this video and we gave this a try and now our dishwasher works again. I am so thankful.

[robertbrenner]

Replaced the part in 10 minutes. Steam hit my face when I opened the door. Thanks for the video!

[larrygaribay]

This solved my drying problem with my dishwasher and saved me money. After checking the resistance of the heating element (16.9 ohms) I found this video and although I wasn't sure why it would fix the drying, based on all the other comments I thought I'd give it a try. I used my wet-dry shop vac to remove all the water from the tub and to clean the area around the flood switch. I had to use a small pick to remove the soap build up around one of the screws so I could remove it and a magnet to pull it up so it wouldn't drop down while I was removing the switch. The replacement part was about $30. I used lithium grease to help seal the o-ring and then re-assembled. It's a little tight replacing the wiring connector, but very doable. Just to be safe you should turn off the breaker or unplug the power.
Thanks for this video and the great instructions.

[faithlovetruth]

We were having the same issue with our G&E dishwasher (model GDF520PSJ0SS). Since it was not the same model as the one shown on this video, I was worried that it might not be the same part number. I went to the GE website to find the part number for our model (it was the same part - WD21X10519). I chose to order with my AmazonPrime because I didn't want to wait any longer then 2-days and I got FREE shipping (luckily on the day I ordered it, it was the selling at about the same price as on the GE website $28.25). It took my husband about 15 minutes from start to finish to replace it and now our dishwasher is working properly again. He used our shop-vac to suck out the water and was very careful handling the screws. Thank you so much for posting this video! 

[iriberrifamily]

Brilliant! The parts store and even a repairman that was there insisted this part could not be the reason it wasn’t drying. Swapped it out anyway as show and problem solved! Thank you!

To fellow GE owners - the rear bolt is quite shallow - I had to press firmly to engage the driver but that was literally the ONLY challenge of doing this (along with sopping up the water). It’s a breeze and fixed our dishwasher in like 5 minutes.