Modern Inconveniences

December 23, 2005 6:38 AM

All of a sudden, my dish-washing machine no longer works.

Ok, so y'know how most dishwashers, when you turn them on, make that "hmmmmmmmm" noise and then go "gwhoosh" as they kick in? Mine just goes "hmmmmmmmm" and does nothing, like a car that won't turn over.
Unfortunately, I don't really know much about this appliance as it was here when I moved in. It's a Hotpoint.

So, my questions are:
Have you experienced a similar problem? What was the fix? Can I do it myself?
Should I get it repaired or should I just replace it?

posted by Jon-o to Technology (11 answers total)

Sounds like it isn't filling with water, which is easy enough to check. Here are a couple of dishwasher diagnostics pages that can help you figure out why.
posted by caddis at 7:04 AM on December 23, 2005

I used the acmehowto page on our washer and saved many $$$.
posted by caddis at 7:06 AM on December 23, 2005

I have no idea what is wrong with your dishwasher, although if you live someplace cold it may be that the intake line is frozen. In any case, I've had great luck with the Q&A forums over at Appliance 411. They also sell parts but there are a lot of people asking and answering questions there. Check out the dishwasher forum and if necessary, ask your question again there, it's like AskMe for major appliances.
posted by jessamyn at 7:15 AM on December 23, 2005

Usually you hear the water coming in before the motor kicks in.

If water isn't coming into the DW: Often this is caused by the float for the water level valve being either jammed or missing. Check under your bottom rack for a usually cylindrical plastic thing about the size of a 400ml can of tomatos. Make sure it can move up and down freely and there isn't a chicken bone or something limiting it's downward travel.

If you DW fills with water it's probably your wash motor that isn't running. This can also be caused by a stuck or defective float but usually is because of an actual fault in the motor curcuit (open motor, bad timer) or something jammed in the impeller (like a fork).
posted by Mitheral at 7:28 AM on December 23, 2005

in my limited experience, even though major appliances these days have a pile of fancy electronics, it's the more "physical" bits that break (motors, fans, pipes, seals, etc). so you probably have a good chance of fixing it if you poke around and think a bit. assuming you're a poke around kind of person. which i guess maybe isn't the case if you're asking.
posted by andrew cooke at 7:39 AM on December 23, 2005

I had a bad experience with this: Dishwasher breaks, I pay $50 for an "estimate" whereby broken timing controller is diagnosed, I order part ($190) and replace it myself, dishwasher works for 1 month, then same part goes out again.

I could have replaced the whole thing for less.
posted by StickyCarpet at 8:29 AM on December 23, 2005

Best answer: B. Spin the Motor (10 Minutes)
Sometimes the motor sticks and won’t turn, especially if you haven’t used the dishwasher for a while. One sign of this problem is a humming sound without any other action. To get things going again, remove the lower panels (Photo 6) and reach under and spin the motor by turning its fan blades by hand (Photo 12). You must turn off the electrical power at your main panel to do this safely. If the blades don’t turn freely, call in a service pro to diagnose the problem.
posted by ootsocsid at 9:13 AM on December 23, 2005

Just make sure you turn off the circuitbreaker and unplug the dishwasher first.
posted by ootsocsid at 9:14 AM on December 23, 2005

Response by poster: It turns out that another possibility is that, after periods of inactivity, some part or another dries out and sticks. To remedy that, I need to put a quart of water and a cup of white vinegar into the bottom of the main compartment of the appliance.
I didn't know that a dishwasher was a "use it or lose it" kind of thing...
posted by Jon-o at 11:56 AM on December 23, 2005

I had one that did something like that. It turned out to be calcium deposits had clogged up the intake thingy. (2 cents)
posted by muddylemon at 4:12 PM on December 23, 2005

Response by poster: I spun the motor and the dishwasher started right up, earning me 125 bonus husband points.
posted by Jon-o at 8:12 AM on December 28, 2005