I have a kitchenaid dishwasher model KUDL02IRBS1. It stopped working with water remaining in the bottom. There are several green lights across the top panel and none of the lights, light-up. When I hit any button nothing happens. We went away for a week, when I returned the lights were on when I closed the door. It made it through part of a cycle and then quit again. Now I get no lights. There is power to the unit, and I am reading 118V at the circuit panel. I first pulled out the thermal fuse and tested it for continuity. It reads 0. To double check I put it back in and applied power. It reads 0 volts across the fuse and 118 on either side. So I am assuming it is good. The door switch appears good as well. Everything I read hinted that the thermal fuse was the likely culprit, but unfortunately it does not appear that it is. I did not know what else to check. I am assuming the possibility of a short because the fact that after it sat for a while, it worked for a short period. My guess is that I need to look at replacing the wiring harness or the circuit board. Any suggestions on how to further diagnose the problem, or what the likely cause is? Thanks.
Here are your parts
http://www.appliancepartspros.com/partsearch/modelsearch.aspx?model=KUDL02IRBS1
Here is the tech sheet
http://www.servicematters.com/docs/wiring/Tech%20Sheet%20-%208572216.pdf
Check that the power to the board is correct re P 4,2, 8 and 6 See the tech sheet.
Visually check that the wires from the bottom of the unit to the control board are OK. You may have to check them later for continuity. Also check that they have not been degraded by leaking rinse aid.
Try the following:
Connector Cleaning / Checking
Unplug the unit
Open it up
Remove the ribbon cable from the keypad to the control board at the control board.
Clean the edge connector.
If it is the type where there is not a connector just the insulation is removed, it can be cleaned with a pencil eraser. Do not use an ink eraser as it is too abrasive.
Check the tracks in the ribbon cable for hairline cracks. A magnifying glass helps here.
Would not hurt to clean the connector on the board. Use electronics contact cleaner or isopropyl alcohol and a tooth brush. Be gentle and do not reconnect till all the solvent evaporates.
Reconnect everything and give it a try.
If all OK and the above cleaning does nothing, check the keypad switches, see the tech sheet.
If all OK then it is probably the control board that is shot.
Note that it is still a bit of a crap shoot but your odds are better with the control board if the keypad checks OK.
It is part of the keypad/control console
I checked P2,4,6,8 and they looked good. I cleaned the contact and did a visual inspection and everything looked good. I saw no corrosion. I did the keypad check and all buttons checked good. So I ordered the control board.
You said it was still a "crap shoot". So is there any further checks? Any other likely culprits? My wife will give me about a week before she either makes me pay to get someone to fix it, or buy her a new one. So I am better off ordering some extra parts. Do I need to check the wiring harness?
Thanks again.
You said it was still a "crap shoot". So is there any further checks? Any other likely culprits?
Not really, sounds to me as if you have done a thourough job troubleshooting.
Do I need to check the wiring harness?
Sounds like it is getting power so the harness should be OK.
Please Help. I ordered both the control board and the control panel (to be safe). I installed the control board and nothing happened. Then installed the control panel and still nothing. I checked the power at the board. I am not very skilled at reading the tech sheet or using the multimeter, but here are my measurements
P2: 121
P3:0
P4: 121
P5: 0
P6: 119
P8: 116
P9: 0
at the thermal fuse I read 119 on each side and it goes from infinity to 0 when testing the resistance
at the door switch I read 119 on the tan side and 116 on the bl-w side
I am desperate and irritable so any advice is appreciated. Maybe it is time to throw in the towel and call a pro. I have read the tech sheet several times, and do not see any other possibiities. Thanks.
Please Help. I ordered both the control board and the control panel (to be safe). I installed the control board and nothing happened. Then installed the control panel and still nothing.
Damn!!!
[COLOR="Blue"]
I checked the power at the board. I am not very skilled at reading the tech sheet or using the multimeter, but here are my measurements[/COLOR]
P2: 121 Neutral
P3:0 Heater thru board relay to P4
P4: 121 Neutral thru a door switch
P5: 0 Motor thru a board relay to P4
P6: 119 L1 thru the fuse
P8: 116 L1 thru the fuse and a door switch
P9: 0 Motor (other side) thru a board relay to P8[/COLOR]
I am a little confused by the above readings.
I need to know where the other meter lead was.
It cannot be on Neutral as you see a voltage on P2 which is the Neutral.
When measuring the voltage one meter lead should always be kept on the Neutral (a common reference point).
at the thermal fuse I read 119 on each side and it goes from infinity to 0 when testing the resistance
This looks good
[COLOR="Blue"]
at the door switch I read 119 on the tan side and 116 on the bl-w side[/COLOR]
This looks weird. When the switch is closed it should be a dead short so you should see the same voltage on both sides re: the same as the fuse.
I would pull the wires off it and check it for continuity
I am desperate and irritable
I can sympathize as I have been at the same point numerous times during my career. Sometimes a deep breath and counting to ten does not help but often leaving it and forgetting it for a day or so does the trick.
If you find yourself getting more and more frustrated and you start going in circles then it may be time for a second opinion.
Thanks for your patience. OK I am going to show my ignorance, but it may answer some questions. I was connecting the red lead to the power lines and the black lead to the stainless steel door, assuming that was grounded. However if I touch the hot lines (p6, P8) with the red lead and the black lead to either the neutrals P2 or P4 I get 0 volts. If I touch the black to the door I show the above readings. Does this mean there is a short in the neutral line somehwere? Also if I connect the red to P2 and P4 and the black to the door I show a positive voltage. I pulled the door switch off and it goes from infinity to zero ohms when depressed.
Thank You! Thank You! I got it working. Unfortunately not sure why. I did two things. I disconnected the door switch and checked it. It looked good, going from infinity to 0 when closed. But the contacts had some corrosion on the tan line so I cleaned with steel wool. Then I did a continuity check on the lines by disconnecting the power at the junction. All checked good. I put it back together, and decided to try one last time. To my amazement, it turned on. I will make sure to recommend this site to my friends.
Congrats, glad to hear you have repaired it.
Also thanks for getting back to us as now others will be able to see your experience and that you did repair it.
Just a note for the future on using the meter.
Normally you do not use the case/frame as a test lead location.
It is earth ground not electrical ground and can give confusing results.
The case is grounded and is wired this way so that if a live wire touches the case/frame, it cannot go live (blows the breaker) and give you a shock but it is not the return for the electricity.
So normally you just check it using ohms to the live side with the unit unplugged, just to see if perhaps something like a motor winding has shorted to the frame.
When checking for voltage one lead should be on the Neutral as this is the electrical return line.
Hopefully this will help in the future when you repair other appliances.
Thanks you! Got it working. Not sure how. I checked the door switch and it was good, but the contact on the tan side looked a little dirty so cleaned the switch with steel wool. Then a did a continuity check on the wiring harness and also checked good. When I put it back together it worked.
Help again. I am about to jump in front of a bus. Everything worked fine for a week, and then stopped. Same symptoms, no lights. So i checked the power and found that the thermal went is bad this time. It stays at infinity on a continuity check. To double check I jumped the fuse, and my lights came on. So I do not know what to do. Am I just really unlucky and this failure is a coincidence, or is there some bigger electrical problem and this is just a symptom? I am afraid that if I replace the fuse it will just blow again, if there is some bigger problem. Should I just replace the thermal fuse, or should I replace the wiring harness to be safe? Or do I throw in the towel? Thanks again.
I will show my ignorance again, but how do I check the resistance on the wax motor. If I deciphered it correctly there are two violet lines coming from p10 into a small component at the vent. I assume that is the vent motor. I assumed that I could test the resistance by connecting a lead to each of the pins. However, I still read infinity. Am I doing this incorrectly, or does this mean the motor is bad? Thanks again for your time and patience.
The part number you quote looks OK.
The vent motor should measure 600 to 1800 ohms.
Sounds like it is shot.
FYI: It is called a wax motor. Basically it is a plunger in a tube filled with wax.
It has a heater in it when juice is applied the wax is melted by the heater.
The wax expands and pushes out the plunger.
Remove power and the wax solidifies and pulls the plunger back in, sometimes there is a spring to help the plunger retract.
Works like a solenoid but in slow motion.
Thanks, I will give it another shot. I doubled checked the wax motor, and definitely reading infinity. I will order that and the thermal fuse.
Yes I also think it is worth a try.
You may want to check just to be sure that it is not powered all the time.
If it is powered all the time, does that mean it is likely the new circuit board is bad? Would that explain why after replacing the circuit board the wax motor goes bad and therefore causes the thermal fuse to blow?
I left the new circuit board in because, I did not think I could return it since it is electrical and plugged in. But, I am not certain that had anything to do with the original problem because I could not get it to work until I disconnected the wiring harness, cleaned the connections, and put it back.
Or could is it likely the failing wax motor was the original cause. I know you can not give a definitive answer, but if you were guessing.
My guess would be that your problem was the bad connection you found and that it is likely that the old board was OK.
Wax motors do have a fair amount of problems so it is probably all that is gone.
Could be when you were working on the unit the heaters connection came off inside the unit.
I got the vent, but the fuse is shipping separately. How do you get out the old vent? It is all plastic and I did not want to break it. Do you twist, pry, or is there a tab to get the vent and the vent deflector to separate? The deflector has a small horizontal slot at the 6:00 position. Do you force something in there to pry it open?
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you but was at he lake and then got stuck there due to a storm.
The following should help I believe they use the same vent type on this unit. See page 16
https://secured.whirlpool.com/Service/SrvTechAdm.nsf/2cd44500d572193285256a45004fd9d6/4e8b0d2df77cd7e585256cd800643b6d/$FILE/KD01.pdf