What F45 Means
WHICH MACHINES THIS APPLIES TO: F45 belongs to the DW90 platform and to the current machines. On the older DW20 and DW70 boards the same fault is FB.
DW90 PLATFORM - shown as F:45. The service manual reads "Spray arm diverter fault. Position switch always closed or open. The program continues. Only indicated in service menu." The diverter is the valve that sends the pumped water to the upper or the lower spray arm in turn; a position switch tells the control where it has got to. A switch that never changes state leaves the control blind to which arm is being fed. Asko's check list is "Spray arm diverter (functioning gearbox, switches and cables)."
CURRENT DBI, DFI, DSD AND DW60-SERIES MACHINES - shown as F45 on the display and named "Diverter fault". Here it is not hidden in a service menu: the code appears, and Asko's instruction to the owner is to contact service. Pressing any button clears the message from the display.
WHAT IS COMMON TO BOTH: the machine cannot confirm where it is sending the water. On the DW90 it carries on regardless; on the current machines it tells you.
CLASSIFICATION: fault. Nothing is unsafe, but the wash is reaching one level properly and the other one poorly or not at all.
Common Causes of F45
- Position switch on the diverter stuck closed or open
- Diverter gearbox worn, jammed or failed
- Cables or connectors to the position switch damaged
- Control unit not reading the switch
🔧 One Safe Check You Can Try
Rule out the things that look identical from outside the machine and cost nothing. Switch the dishwasher off at the outlet or the breaker and let it cool, then check that both spray arms turn freely by hand through a full circle, and hold each one up to the light to see whether the jets are open - scale and seeds block them from the inside and a blocked upper arm gives you exactly the uneven wash a diverter fault gives you. Make sure nothing in the upper basket, a long knife or a tall jug, is hanging down far enough to stop the arm. Clean the coarse and fine filters while you are there. If the arms are clear and free and one level still comes out dirty, the diverter is the remaining explanation, and its gearbox, switches and cables sit under the wash tub where a technician reaches them - on the current machines Asko's published instruction for this code is simply to contact service.
⚠ Why You Shouldn't Go Further Than That
- The diverter, its gearbox and its switches are under the wash tub, reachable only with the machine isolated from power and drawn out of the cabinet.
- On the current machines Asko publishes no owner action for this code at all beyond contacting service.
Opening a panel to inspect or repair something yourself doesn't automatically cancel your manufacturer's warranty — but it can risk accidental damage, and some manufacturers do have specific service conditions. Check your product's warranty terms, or ask us, before deciding.