First, I would not put much faith into diagnoses from the so-called repair techs who advised to junk the machine.

Second, I suggest providing the best description you can of what the machine is or isn't doing, so experts here can post about possible sources of the trouble.   Armed with that information, you could track down the necessary part(s) and then find someone to install them.

I presume the machine has been delivering satisfactory results or you wouldn't be interested in keeping it.  If you're located on the peninsula, the water quality there should be fine for a machine like yours, even with today's detergents that lack phosphates.

LOL -- experts haven't weighed in yet!  With all due respect to those who have posted thus far . . .

Paging SteveT!

Well, it's safe to say you have the dishwasher equivalent of a Chambers cook top or range, but that statement requires a disclaimer of sorts.  Chambers did put its name on dishwashers for a while, but they didn't make them, and they were not known for their performance or longevity.

I'm curious about how just a single glass of water can cause leaking up front.  Presuming the machine isn't filling with water on its own, a glass of water poured into the machine would run down into the bottom of the sump area in the center of the tub, and it wouldn't be anywhere near enough to get sprayed around.   Something about this doesn't add up.  You should be able to dump a gallon or two of water into the machine without overfilling the tub.  You might try that with hot tap water and see if you get wash action.

If you're hearing motor sounds, then the motor is doing something, or trying to.  What's not happening is water entering the tub when it should be.  It could be a fill valve and/or its related solenoid that has failed, or the timer has stopped sending the command for that to happen.  The fill valve would be fairly easy to replace if it's not a hard to find part, but if the timer has issues, it could be a challenge to find a replacement.  It could also be something really simple, like a loose wire that finally broke off either of those components.

Those who are familiar with the KDS-18 may know of a way to check if the timer is at fault.  Since there's no timer knob on Superba models, you can't manually advance it into a later fill period to see if water would start flowing then, which would likely implicate the timer mechanism for the no fill behavior in the beginning.  Maybe there's a way to do this from behind the panel, but the experts will have to advise.

It's normal for the machine to operate for a short period after the "Cancel" option is selected, so that part seems to be OK.  It just sounds weird to you right now because there's no water in the tub to pump out.  It might only be a coincidence that a toddler had messed with the buttons before the trouble started. 

I was where you are (as many here were too) and was really intimidated by the whole idea of working on one of these.  But really there are just a few basic principles to how these work and once you're comfortable with those you won't be so reluctant to dig in and see what's going on.  They fill, they circulate the water and they drain.  The timer shuts all these processes on and off at the correct times.

I've attached a couple of graphics that might help you.  One is how to remove the bottom panel (if you haven't already done that) and the other is how to remove the fill valve.  If you decide you want to dig in further you can download the entire Service Manual for this machine at:

www.automatice.org/cgi-bin/index....

Give it a shot.  Just make sure you turn off the water and power.  You might just surprise yourself.

If you know anyone who is even minimally handy, they could probably perform the remove/replace of the fill valve for you with the guidance provided above.   A screwdriver and a pair of pliers should do it.  Cut the power to the dishwasher first.

I don't know if the lower front access panel is as tricky to put back in place as on later models, but usually they will pop into position after a few tries.  A screwdriver is all you'd need for this.

The household water supply valve that serves the dishwasher is usually located under the sink.  Unless your house is really old, that valve may not be the source of the problem but if it is, it's again an easy job for someone handy to replace it .  A wrench and some teflon tape should be all that's required.  Be sure to shut off the hot water supply at the top of the water heater first, or shut off the water to the entire house if you know where that valve is.

this DW, and advised against repair, it is time for a another DW.

As someone that has worked for almost 40 years as a KA DW repair tech I can tell you that this KDS-18 is likey to need quite a few repairs to get it back to good running condition.

KA DWs were very good machines, BUT they are more complex than most other brands and they were never the most reliable DWs, they did tend to be long lived because they were expensive and we made lots of money repairing them because people really liked them.

BUT fast forward to today, most parts are NLA, there are few guys that know how to fix them any longer, AND labor and service call costs have gone up by a factor of over 500% since this DW was installed in the late 70s.

The best thing to do is get a new Maytag DW or possibility a good slightly used DW.

John L.

"If three professional repair people have already looked at this DW . . ."

John, I'm betting the literal meaning of that statement captures exactly what likely transpired:  They just looked at it.  Nothing more.  They pronounced it junk and didn't bother trying to diagnose anything -- because they didn't know how.

How many machines have been saved through posts on this site when they were pronounced Not Worth Fixing by one or more clueless young "professionals," but ended up needing only a simple fix that in some cases cost less than $10 and didn't even require a so-called professional to do the work?

Gotta love those handyman fathers!  I learned everything I know from mine and now he calls me for advice!

Water valve problems are generally an easy fix.  If the motor is working, the racks are good, the door seals, and the timer is working, you're pretty close to perfect when it comes to dishwashers.

Is the float valve sticking or missing?

Is the screen on the water valve plugged with gunk?

Is the fill valve solenoid defective?

Is there a wire off or loose to the valve?

These are some of the things that would need to be checked.

Hi, You likely have a stuck open drain valve that is allowing the water to go down the drain as fast as it comes into the machine OR a bad inlet valve,

To test yourself without any tools or disassembly start the DW on a normal cycle, listen carefully to see if you hear water running into machine and maybe down the drain. open the DW in about 3 minutes and see if there is any water in the bottom ? If no is the water line under the sink hot ?, Is the drain hose under the sink warm ? if yes you might have a drain valve  that is stuck open, Try pouring 2 gallons of hot water in the bottom of the DW and close the door restart where you left off, if the DW continues circulate. water properly the DV is probably OK.

Note the DW will drain fairly early in the cycle, if you hear the DV click open then after 2 minutes poor another 2 gallons of water in thew DW.

If your DW passes these tests replace the inlet valve, DO NOT try cleaning the old valve, this often leads to leaks and even stuck open valves and floods, the picture of the dirty valve in reply #26 above is a bad example because even with the amount of stuff in the inlet screen that valve will still fill properly, that screen is far from being blocked enough to restrict proper operation, If the valve in the picture was not filling properly it is because the valve diaframe is bad and these valves are not considered serviceable.

Hope this helps, John L.