Fixing a dishwasher all wrong

John Rumm · 2023-03-16T12:06:31+00:00

Just to show how romping off down a line of enquiry can lead you astray...SWMBO said, the dishwasher stopped mid wash, and now won't turn on.So I looked, and yup no signs of life, no power light, nothing.So a scheme was forming in my mind - could be a short on the heater - it ran until it got to the heating part of the cycle - just after it dropped its detergent into the cavity. Then blam, it would blow the fuse...So checked circuit breaker, fine. Checked the plug fuse, fine.ok so must be something internal. So dragged it out from under the counter, and had the lid and sides off. Checked continuity between the plug pins and the mains input terminals, fine. Found a relay that looked like it was controlling something close to the input. Checked continuity from the plug to that. Open. Pushed the power switch (mechanical, latching) on the front of the machine - aha, connectivity to one set of relay terminals. ok so far so good. So now I thought, perhaps the control signal to the coil on the relay is not getting there?So I disconnected the relay from its connections, and hot wired its coil to the mains via the switch. Plugged the machine back in and hit the switch. Relay switches on. However - the machine also springs into life and the pump runs! So firstly the relay works. Secondly so does the machine. So it seems that relay does not power as much as I was expecting - perhaps it just runs the motors for the spray arms?So wired it all back together, tested, all working! Perhaps it was just a poor connection, and the fiddling fixed it. Don't you just hate problems that fix themselves?Put it back together, moved it back under the counter, and low and behold, it does not work again!Play dishwasher hokey kokey, panel off. This time with mains connected I measure the voltage at the input terminals. About 27V huh? Check Live to earth voltage 240V. Neutral to earth, 200 ish volt.Finally the penny drops... there is something wrong with the mains supply... however it worked...

Mar 16, 2023 Last reply: 3 years ago 29 Replies

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Max Demian 3 years ago

That's why two's complement is better for signed integers - there's only one zero so there can't be any ambiguity when doing comparisons.

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Tim Streater 3 years ago

Fred's talking about floating point.

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Adam Funk 3 years ago

By "multimaster" you mean oscillating forward-cutting thingy?

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Andy Burns 3 years ago

Yes, the "boot" shaped carbide blades are pretty good for grout removal, probably available in SF/TS

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Andy Burns 3 years ago

Yes from TS, but 6x the price :-(

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The Natural Philosopher 3 years ago

In fact bakelite degrades - not melts - with heat. Its been a time since thermoplastic faceplates were used - the ones today are also thermosetting IME. But I dont buy cheap crap electrical fittings ..

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John Rumm 3 years ago

Yup:

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(other brands are now available - but it was a Fein only product until their patents expired)

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John Rumm 3 years ago

and, in use:

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Adam Funk 3 years ago

I thought so. I've had one for a few years but I'm never sure what to call it. I've heard "multitool" but that can also mean a Leatherman-type thing or a Dremel-type thing.

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Adam Funk 3 years ago

I've bought a couple of batches of various normal wood-cutting blades from AliExpress and AFAICT they've been as good (or not) as the ones from "real shops".

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