Whirlpool Dishwasher Soap Dispenser Won't Open During Cycle

I am visiting my parents and fixing their Whirlpool dishwasher is on my to-do list. It is an 11 y/o Model DU840DWGX1. The soap/detergent dispenser will not open. I took apart the door assembly and the release is free of any obstructions and there appear to no broken parts. If I manually advance the timer dial, the door will pop open at what I’m guessing is the appropriate time during the cycle. However, after putting everything back together, the dispenser still will not open during when the machine is in operation.

Any suggestions as to what I should do next? I’ve checked similar posts and really didn’t find any solutions.

I greatly appreciate any assistance as my folks are in their 80’s.

Gerry

— Begin quote from Dr_Zoidberg57;267518

I am visiting my parents and fixing their Whirlpool dishwasher is on my to-do list. It is an 11 y/o Model DU840DWGX1. The soap/detergent dispenser will not open. I took apart the door assembly and the release is free of any obstructions and there appear to no broken parts. If I manually advance the timer dial, the door will pop open at what I’m guessing is the appropriate time during the cycle. However, after putting everything back together, the dispenser still will not open during when the machine is in operation.

Any suggestions as to what I should do next? I’ve checked similar posts and really didn’t find any solutions.

I greatly appreciate any assistance as my folks are in their 80’s.

Gerry

— End quote

Gerry,

For starters,

Does the timer advance on it’s own, and through the whole cycle ?

Also check, and make sure the lower rack is in properly, and rolling back as far as possible.

Also make sure there’s nothing large in the racks in the detergent cup area, blocking the door.

Good Luck,

:slight_smile: :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

Joe;

Thank you for the quick reply. Yes, the timer does appear to be working just fine. The only apparent problem that i can find is the soap dispenser not opening. As far as i can tell, there is nothing blocking it from opening.

Gerry

— Begin quote from Dr_Zoidberg57;267518

I am visiting my parents and fixing their Whirlpool dishwasher is on my to-do list. It is an 11 y/o Model DU840DWGX1. The soap/detergent dispenser will not open. I took apart the door assembly and the release is free of any obstructions and there appear to no broken parts. If I manually advance the timer dial, the door will pop open at what I’m guessing is the appropriate time during the cycle. However, after putting everything back together, the dispenser still will not open during when the machine is in operation.

Any suggestions as to what I should do next? I’ve checked similar posts and really didn’t find any solutions.

I greatly appreciate any assistance as my folks are in their 80’s.

Gerry

— End quote

Gerry,

Here’s the dispenser operation sequence, using the timer dial as the indicator.

[FONT=Arial][SIZE=1][FONT=Arial][SIZE=1][LEFT]1. At 12 o’clock position - Draw bars
will move upward causing the
detergent actuator assembly to
release the latch and detergent
cup should open.
2. At 4 o’clock position - Draw bars
will again move upward causing
the wetting agent actuator to
release wetting agent.
3. From the 6 o’clock position to the
8 o’clock position the draw bars
are driven down to reset the[/LEFT]
mechanism.

You may want to varify everything again.

I don’t hear anything wrong, yet.

You didn’t find anything broken and it opened when you manually advanced the timer.

Try this :

Remove both the racks,

Put detergent in the cup and close / latch the cup cover.

Start the dishwasher at the" Light Wash "setting and let it run to the "Dry" setting or off.

Check and see if the detergent door opened,

That way we can get a better idea of which direction we need to go.

:confused: :confused: :confused: [/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]

Well, at least on this run through, the dispenser did open without the bottom rack in place. Of course now my father mentions that he thinks the problem is intermittent. In any event, I will run another light cycle with the rack in place to see what happens.

— Begin quote from Dr_Zoidberg57;268047

Well, at least on this run through, the dispenser did open without the bottom rack in place. Of course now my father mentions that he thinks the problem is intermittent. In any event, I will run another light cycle with the rack in place to see what happens.

— End quote

OK,

Honestly, it sounds like a loading problem or the rack is in wrong(backwards) or not going back all the way,due to something in/on the track or back wall.

Good Luck,
:cool: :cool: :cool:

— Begin quote from Krotz;282393

I had the same problem, and it was driving me crazy. I finally solved the problem…what I had done was accidentally turned the bottom rack 180 degrees when I was cleaning the bottom of the dishwasher. Even though it fits perfectly both ways, it turns out that one way goes in about 3/4" more, which is just enough for the soap dispenser to open a bit and let the soap out.

It sounds like you’ve already checked this, but I thought I’d add my two cents just to see if it helps…

Good luck!

— End quote

Krotz,

Thanks for the "back up".

We haven’t heard back from him, so I guess he figured it out.

It was a pretty common occurrence, even repairmen made that mistake.

Thanks again,
:cool: :cool: :cool:

Admiral LSD2615HEB side x side.
The ice/water dispenser have no lights and nothing happens when I push on the dispense pad. The icemaker is not making ice.
The rest of the fridge is working fine. Freezer compartment is freezing and refigerator side is cold. Lights come on when I open either door.

Is there a fuse I can check? Failing that, where should I look?

Doesn’t anybody have some advice for me?

I recently tryed to replace ice maker as it quit making ice. Water supply good it appears there isn’t any power coming to the ice unit from plug inin freezer ?? How much power should there be and if its not there where to start to look for causes?

Hi.

The voltage to the icemaker should be 120VAC.

Provide the model and serial numbers.

Simon.

Thanks for the suggestion. The little lid on the tray was open and it physically prevented the soap door from opening when the dishwasher door was shut.

— Begin quote from Uday Kalathia;774134

Thanks for the suggestion. The little lid on the tray was open and it physically prevented the soap door from opening when the dishwasher door was shut.

— End quote

Uday,

Thanks for the update, we’re glad it was something of a minor nature.

Thanks and Good Luck,