dishwasher drain solenoid melting. causes?

[mark_s_nospam]

hi all. does anyone know if there are 'common' causes for a dishwasher drain solenoid melting? ge model gsd2000g00ww. the plastic casing melts and once cooled down the metal plunger inside can't move, therefore doesn't drain.

it's about 2 1/2 years old. first failed 2 months ago, failed again this weekend. easy to replace but now i'm wondering if there's something upstream of the part causing it to fail. found several websites saying it's a common problem but nothing i found mentioned a solution other than replacing the part. any thoughts appreciated. thanks.

[Speedy Jim]

Should only overheat if the plunger doesn't seat fully.

I suspect this is a solenoid design flaw. Get a good appliance parts house to suggest a good alternative (even generic) replacement.

Jim

[Art Todesco]

Many solenoids in dishwashers are intermittent duty only. On my KitchenAid, the timer only allows the drain to work for 1 minute. If it is longer, i.e. the timer hangs up, the solenoid will burn/melt. In my 1st KA, many years ago, this happened. Yet it didn't seem to happen again. I was warned by the KA people, at that time a very customer service oriented company, that once it happens, it may happen again. I actually designed a little board that electronically interrupted power to the solenoid after about 70 seconds. It never burned out again.

[Speedy Jim]

LOL! A man after my own heart!

You're right about the intermittent duty on the drain; I missed that. Jim

[mark_s_nospam]

[frank1492]

If you listen carefully, most solenoids make a distinct hum or buzz when activated, at least mine do. In one of my washers, the solenoid stays on for a least two minutes during each water intake cycle and I've never had to replace it. Frank

[Art Todesco]

Actually, before I built the "timer board" I put an audible "buzzer" across the solenoid. I think it was a 110 to 6 volt transformer and a Sonalert. It was real annoying, however, it gave feedback that the timer was not stuck.