My dishwasher is not washing dishes on the top rack...

I would check for a water flow blockage in the pipes.

top rack is for small plates & cups not pots & pans as they may obstruct the rotating of the sprayer & foul the water from getting to all the items

If the dishwasher won't clean dishes, check the lower wash arm assembly. If the lower wash arm isn't getting water, all of the dishes in the lower rack will come out dirty. Check to be sure the lower wash arm assembly spins freely. Also check to be sure the little holes in the lower wash arm aren't clogged or blocked.

1 Scrape and rinse dishes before putting them in your appliance. Small food particles, grease, sauces and bones clog up the system, keeping the dishwasher from properly rinsing your dishes. You don't need to prewash the dishes but be sure to rinse off any solids.
2 Use a toothbrush to clean around the dishwasher door.
Clean around the seal and hinges of the dishwasher. This area often is forgotten and holds a good deal of bacteria and food splash. A tooth- or bottlebrush is the best way to get into the crevices.
3 Clean chunks of food out of the screen and drain at the bottom of your dishwasher, recommended The Family Handyman. If the drain is plugged, the dirty water can't be washed away and ends up back on your dishes. Nut, bean and seafood shells, bits of plastic and small dishes can lodge against the drain, keeping it from doing its job.
4 Unclog the holes in the sprayer arms. If the holes are blocked by food or soap, water cannot freely spray inside the dishwasher to thoroughly clean the dishes. Leftover food on the dishes can make the dishwasher smell.
5 Keep space around your dishes. Overloading a dishwasher keeps it from running efficiently, allowing gunk to build up around the drain and the spray arms.
6 Run your dishwasher as hot as possible to break down food and grease. The recommended temperature is 120 F.
7 Run the dishwasher with vinegar added to neutralize odor. Empty the dishwasher, place a dishwasher-safe cup filled with white vinegar on the top rack, and run a cycle at the hottest setting. If you prefer, use unsweetened lemonade powder or baking soda in place of vinegar.

Hi,

I have an older dishwasher also and recently my wife also complained about it not cleaning right... so me being the man I am tried in vain to clean the things... Bought new spray arms online and installed them in minutes...now the thing works like new... However I have also found that if the heating element goes bad then that also can mess things up bad... So I would buy new spray arms, and also check out the heating element to make sure it is working... Here is a tip that will help you with the online buying...

Dishwasher Spray Arms not Spinning

How to Buy Appliance Parts Online

A bad heating element causes many problems in dishwashers...

Dishwasher Problems The Heating Element not Working

Dishwasher Maintenance

Dishwasher Residue and Film on Dishes

heatman101

Possible that the motor impeller has good particles in it, causing poor water pressure, which would be most evident on the top rack. You would have to remove the spray arm, then the filter, then the torx screws to get at impeller....unfortunately, that model of dishwasher isn't the greatest in the first place for washing, since it only has the one spray arm.

Make certain you do not use dish soap when rinsing the dishes. Make sure you only use DISHWASHER soap when running the DW.
In fact,there is no need to rinse dishes. Remove visible scraps and put them in the DW. If it is a quality DW it will clean your dishes. Do not crowd the dishes in the DW. Most JennAir DW's are quality. Make sure the top rack can get washing action from the bottom spray arm. No pots or other water stopping utensils on the bottom rack.

Yes there is the Water Div valve, it diverts the water between the wash arms.

There is a screen on the drain area of the bottom of the dishwasher that needs to be cleaned. It has a plastic mesh screen on it - you can't miss it. Second get an old toothbrush and clean out the little jets on the washing arms that spin around. You will notice these holes are clogged up with calcium deposits etc. Those things done you will have a new dishwasher again. You need to do this every 6 months or so. Also use a rinse conditioner for a while to assure the jets are clean. Good Luck

there is a new product out that filters the water going into your dishwasher. it works great and my dishes look fantastic. they use to look dirty with a white film on them. after the first load when i hooked up the dishwasher filter my dishes looked brand new. it is affordable and works everytime. you can get it at www.dishwasherfilter.com.