Anecdotal, but I was about to order a heating element for mine and decided to pull the unit out and test the resistance with a multimeter. It tested good, so I thought oh well, maybe time to upgrade the dishwasher with a new one. I also messed around with the little round switch thing in line with the heating wires. I think it's some sort of thermostat or overheating protection. Just by fiddling around with the wires and stuff, it magically started working again.
this post was submitted on 29 Jan 2025
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I've fixed a dishwasher by taking all the stuff apart and putting it back together again. No idea what I did. Obviously loosened something up along the way.
There should be some basic protection for the element in case there is no water, because there's a possibility that there would be no water , and there's also a possibility that your dishwasher would catch fire if the element is turned on with no water.
So when you're looking at the heater element, check that there isn't a thermal fuse nearby and check that it hasn't blown.
Possibly your new element will have it incorporated but maybe not.
Replacing the heat element didn't solve my problem. Thanks to your comment, I did some digging and found that my dishwasher should have a sort of safety shutoff switch which would've likely been triggered by a call for heat while the box was empty. I took the dishwasher back out, flipped it on its side, and looked for it. I followed the wires to a switch with a little black button and pressed it. I heard a click.
I haven't tested it yet, but I think that's all I had to do lol. Thanks!
Edit: FIXED!
Awesome! You are lucky, some of those devices don't have a reset - they are just like a fuse and once they are blown they need replacing.
Good to hear it's all working again, and at least now you know for next time!
Those southern repair guys on YouTube are a gold mine. If you can find somebody doing the same dishwasher you have, you’re all set!
But some less obvious things you can fuck up (well, I have, at least):
- when you’re pushing the dishwasher back into the cabinet, make sure the water line and electrical don’t get kinked on something
- if your water supply is a steel braided hose, it’s probably time to just replace it. Those hoses are only rated for 10ish years
- test your fix before pushing it back into the cabinet and screwing everything back together. I lost count of how many times I was “done” and the had to disassemble something again because it didn’t actually work
I lost count of how many times I was “done” and the had to disassemble something again because it didn’t actually work
This is my curse.
A story told too often.
Test the power before working on it? I almost zapped myself once because the dishwasher power came from the room on the other side of the kitchen wall
I flipped the breaker and unplugged it. I've gotten unexpected shocks from inaccurately labeled breakers in the past lol.
Leave the toe kick off for a few days and paper towels under the valve connection and sump so you can check them after running a few loads. The last thing you need is a slow leak where you're not likely to check again for a few years.
That's what I'm talking about! Tutorials on YouTube seem to be done in model houses where nothing is actually connected to anything, so it's like they forget to mention this sort of thing.
I'll tell my dad he has some good ideas, he gave me that one years ago.