Dishwasher problem

[Texas Proud]

OK guys and gals.... a great base of knowledge is here... I have read many threads with some suggestions...

I have a Frigidaire dishwasher.... and for some reason it will get to 60 minutes or so and just stop... I will let it sit for a long time... and nothing...

I looked at the website and got this....

4. My dishwasher stops during the cycle or the timer is not moving.

• Door latch.
  Open and close the door to make sure the door latch is securely fastened.
• Fuses or circuit breakers.
  Check your house fuses or circuit breakers to make sure you have power to the dishwasher.
• Hi-Temp Wash, Hi-Temp Rinse, or Sanitize options.
  Some models have options that may require a water heating delay, such as Hi-Temp Wash, Hi-Temp Rinse, or Sanitize. Additional time may be required to heat the water to the proper temperature. The dishwasher will continue to circulate water during this heating delay but the timer will not advance until the proper temperature is reached.

Well, the door is latched.... and the fuse is not blown as you can see the time still on the front... so I think... has to be the Hi-Temp or Sanitize... but it does not seem to start up again... and the heater element seems to work because when I open the door there is a lot of steam coming out...


Any other suggestions? I am on my third attempt to get it finished tonight and tried without the hi temp, but then got a PF which means power failure.... so, just started the fourth cycle

 

[FIREd]

Well, I don't know if it helps but I had a similar problem with my washer (for clothes that is). It just stopped in the middle of the washing cycle. In our case one of the relays on the motherboard had fried. I don't know much about electronics and I have no idea how a dishwasher works, but just in case...

 

[Puzzley]

I suspect internal failure of some control part. Most of these are electronic now, and you probably need a service call. If you're electonically handy, you might be able to fix it, but diagnosis is the key. Someone familiar with the exact model, or has access to service manuals,will probably be needed for diagnosis.

 

[mbooth]

I suspect internal failure of some control part. Most of these are electronic now, and you probably need a service call. If you're electonically handy, you might be able to fix it, but diagnosis is the key. Someone familiar with the exact model, or has access to service manuals,will probably be needed for diagnosis.

OTOH maybe it just needs a good swift kick in the right place (think Fonzie and the Juke-box)

...or maybe T-Al's 'futzing' methodology

 

[Texas Proud]

OTOH maybe it just needs a good swift kick in the right place (think Fonzie and the Juke-box)

...or maybe T-Al's 'futzing' methodology

Boy, I wish that could help....

Yes... I guess it could be a fried board.... we get a lot of spikes and very short blackouts at my house.... by blackouts, I mean that all electricity is switched off and back on in a second to maybe 5 seconds... this is HECK on the clocks without backup...

I started it up twice more and got "PF" which means power failure... but we did not have a 'blip'.... and then I did a quick rinse cycle which worked just fine...

And I just bought this thing about a year and a half ago....

 

[Moemg]

I had the same thing happen to my Maytag dishwasher a few months ago . It was caused by the power outages . They replaced the power board for free . It's was covered under the warranty for three years . The repairman said this happens a lot in Florida with all the power outages.

 

[TromboneAl]

Can you turn off the water heating option and see what happens?

 

[Moemg]

I just remembered they told me to unplug the unit and wait a few minutes and then plug it back in as sometimes that resets the board if it is not fried . Hope this helps !

 

[HFWR]

Sounds like the system is waiting for a signal from a sensor, perhaps the temperature sensor, that is not forthcoming.

 

[Texas Proud]

Can you turn off the water heating option and see what happens?

I did... and that is when it decided to do PF instead of getting stuck....

I will have to pull out my book to see how long the warranty goes... hopefully it is three years!!

Thanks for the suggestion on turning it off... I will do that for the next few hours and when I get back home I will see what happened...

 

[WanderALot]

I did... and that is when it decided to do PF instead of getting stuck....

I will have to pull out my book to see how long the warranty goes... hopefully it is three years!!

Thanks for the suggestion on turning it off... I will do that for the next few hours and when I get back home I will see what happened...

TP, I have the same problem with my dishwasher and turning off the HiTemp rinse and HiTemp wash caused the cycle to proceed as normal. This seems to be a part that goes out frequently. I haven't had time yet, but looking around the net it seems like the temperature sensor is not that hard to replace. I found the part for my dishwasher and will be ordering it soon.

 

[Walt34]

OTOH maybe it just needs a good swift kick in the right place (think Fonzie and the Juke-box)

Sadly, that only works in stuff that has electro-mechanical relays, basically an electrically operated switch. Sometimes they'd stick and a kick in the butt unstuck them.

That doesn't work with transistors.

Try searching the make and symptoms, in variations of phrasing. I fixed my gas clothes dryer that way, the part cost $20 and I didn't know diddly about clothes dryers. Now I know a little bit more than nothing.

Among other things, the Internet is becoming the world's greatest library.

 

[Nords]

It might be time to start writing things down or to fill in a chart. If you can keep track of what happens when you choose different options (like heavy wash, light wash, heated dry, air dry) and different combinations, then that might tell you if it's a sensor (the water temp) or the cycle timer or a fried control board.

Any other suggestions? I am on my third attempt to get it finished tonight and tried without the hi temp, but then got a PF which means power failure.... so, just started the fourth cycle

Grab the model number and head for the Samurai Appliance Repairman at FixItNow.com. His troubleshooting guides are pretty thorough and the discussion board gets a lot of repair guys & handymen. If there's a common problem with the brand, someone has posted about it there.

The "good" news is that there's not much about Frigidaire dishwashers in the FAQs. So yours is not prone to minor failures, probably not under recall, and may be seriously broke...

 

[Texas Proud]

Thanks Nords.... I will be doing some research next week when at work... I don't want to waste my time on vacation!!!

I did turn it off and did a normal wash and it completed the cycle... but then at the end it seemed like it got stuck on something.... I am hoping it is not fried, but it is looking like it might...

SOOO, as suggested... we will be doing various options and see what happens...

Again thanks for all the options....

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Unless I can figure out and fix an appliance myself, I generally dont bother getting a service call to repair it.

My last three appliance service calls were stupid. One was for a dishwasher that I had already figured out needed a new inlet valve. Sears (it was a kenmore) quoted me $210 to replace the valve and charged me $80 to come out and tell me about the ripoff, but of course they'd apply that towards the repair. I bought the valve for about $35 and replaced it in about 10 minutes. One was for a refrigerator that had a torn seal. Dude quoted me a couple of hundred to replace the seal. I put some caulk on it and that worked great for 10 years or so.

Seems like any basic repair is a couple of hundred bucks. Might as well buy a new one.

 

[Moemg]

When the Maytag guy came to replace my fried dishwasher part . He was in and out in a few minutes so it must be an easy repair .

 

[Texas Proud]

OK... last night when filling up the dishwasher... I looked down at the bottom water jet sprayer... and all three ends were melted!!! One was hanging down on to the heating element which did not seem to help it much...

I did not know it could get that hot in there!!!....

Now I got to decided if I get it fixed or just leave it as is... I am looking to move soon and would just let it go to the new owner...

 

[Notmuchlonger]

OK... last night when filling up the dishwasher... I looked down at the bottom water jet sprayer... and all three ends were melted!!! One was hanging down on to the heating element which did not seem to help it much...

I did not know it could get that hot in there!!!....

Now I got to decided if I get it fixed or just leave it as is... I am looking to move soon and would just let it go to the new owner...

Ha! couple years ago a plastic lid fell down on the heating element thing in ours. Whole place got filled with this nasty plastic smoke.. Ya it melts plastic pretty well

 

[Texas Proud]

Ha! couple years ago a plastic lid fell down on the heating element thing in ours. Whole place got filled with this nasty plastic smoke.. Ya it melts plastic pretty well

I just didn't think it would melt it's OWN plastic