Kenmore DW - Round Two?

[bobmct]

Thanks all for the suggestions. I did follow them and assured that there is a good 122 VAC arriving at the connection box. The connection to the DW wires are clean and secure (now). But, still no power to the machine.

Before I pull the unit out and/or disassemble the entire door looking for interlock switches, I find it strange that thereiare NO led's that will illuminate.

This model has a long row of touch pads along the top edge of the door to select cycles and options. When selected the little led turns red. Once the door is closed there are two touch pads on the front face: a start and a cancel.

Again, it appears that the entire unit is without power so if the feed is verified then is there a major switch of some sorts early in the circuitry such as an internal breaker, thermisor, etc?

I can't even locate a pdf of this unit online but there was a schematic behind the access panel whihk appears to have timer cycles, etc.

So I tough I would ask if anyone had/has experience with the series (665.15954 - made by Whirlpool) that may have run across this situation before. With the economy I really don't wish to call a repairman for obvious reasons (sorry all repairmen) 'cause the unit is about 10 years old.

Thanks

[bobmct]

Just FYI - following some links I did locate a discussion about locating the thyristor/thermistor (whatever) located near the control board mounted in the uppor door. I did remove the item (described as the silver thing mounted on the white plastic mount with the two connector tabs on it). I don't see any evidence of overheating, smell, etc. Using a VM meter this shows an open circuit. Is this correct? Shouldn't it be normally closed? Any other way to test this? Or is this the suspect failure?

Just very eager to know!!! Thanks

[RBM]

It would probably make more sense to determine that you have power to the machine, before trying to diagnose internal component issues.

[Jeff Thies]

You are going to have to disassemble to fix it it anyways, so go ahead (assuming you won't call a repairman later). It's been a while since I've been to a Sears Repair Center, but they used to have microfiche of all their products. Generally appliance do have a schematic on them, take another look at it. Sometimes you can find repair manuals at your local repair parts center.

I'm not an appliance repairman, so my suggestions are far from gospel.

What I would do, if I had nothing, is to trace the power back from the plug.

As with all repairs, it's best to actually trace and test than to randomly replace.

Jeff

[RBM]

Missed round two and went directly to round tow. Did you test voltage at the DW junction box connecting your tester to line and neutral?, or from line to ground? It's important to be sure you have both a hot leg and a neutral, as either can be open. Once this is determined, go to step 2 and determine what safety interlocks, such as a door switch, may be open, preventing power from getting to the control board

[Charlie]

I snooped around a bit out of curiosity. If you google kenmore parts and plug your model number in you can look through the pages and see what parts are available.

Two items that may be applicable to your symptoms. Best bet is a fuse kit. there are three shown in the kit. The other item is the electronic control panel. I would sure chase down the fuses. That would be the most likely. In your later post you found a device that was open . Go order the fuse kit ( around (20-30 bucks )

Charlie

[RBM]

or better yet, locate any fuses that are on the machine, check to see if any are open, and if so, buy new ones

[Charlie]

You said you found an open device. There is also a thermal fuse. A good one will show a short. Check the link.

[Jeff Thies]

I'm with RBM on this.

Repair by randomly replacing parts is a bad plan. Is your mystery device on the power input side? It's not a thermistor or thyristor, whatever it really is. It may be a thermal fuse if it is on the power in side and if the power stops there, bingo!

I've helped a lot of people fix things I knew little about. And I've found that all the previous suggestions about what to replace were almost always invariably wrong. You may very well have an open switch or an open thermal cutout, but you need to know first. Don't just throw money at it.

Tracing back power is the way to start. Listen to RBM. Troubleshooting is not guesswork.

Jeff

[hrhofmann]

Put a jumper around the device and see if that solves your problem, they are normally closed contacts, and open if too much current flows thru them, they don't necessarily discolor. They can also open up due to old age, and at 10 years that is probably what happened. So jumper around it, after turning power off, and then turn power back on and enjoy your dishwahsher again. Then go to Sears and buy a replacement sensor.

[Molly Brown]

You don=92t need to pull out the unit to get to the door switch and check if it=92s getting power. If it is my next guess would be your main control board as the culprit and if so then you might as well buy a new dishwasher.

[The Daring Dufas]

I liked the part about testing with a VM meter. The (whatever) could be a fuse as someone has probably pointed out. 8-)

TDD

[hrhofmann]

The OP did describe the part in a later posting!!!!

[bobmct]

Thanks to all that responded. Some of them provided links to various forums where this issue was discussed in detail.

This morning I picked up a replacement harness containing a new thermal fuse and voila! It now works.

Thanks again - happy camper...

[Jeff Thies]

And, you would have been wrong. Which is why you shouldn't listen to anyone who offers guesses. They are almost always wrong.

Jeff