Dishwasher Repair
December 9, 2004 1:51 PM Subscribe
What's wrong with my dishwasher? First this happened and then this. Now the dishwasher runs continuously but does not spray any water. I was so proud when I "fixed" the disposal, so help is greatly appreciated.
Response by poster: Yeah, but the disposal was such an easy fix. Oh, I forgot to mention that the dishwasher is from a swedish manufacturer but I don't remember the brand.
Plus, I like myself as a "handywoman".
posted by Lola_G at 2:00 PM on December 9, 2004
Plus, I like myself as a "handywoman".
posted by Lola_G at 2:00 PM on December 9, 2004
If you're dealing with an off-brand, be forewarned that you might have a hard time locating service. It took a full month for the plumber to get parts for the goofy, brand-X water softener that came with our house. Showering with hard water for a month is not fun.
I'd second the advice to call a real plumber--clearly there's something wrong with the system here, and it's more than "reset" will fix--but start thinking about buying a new one if you can't get ready service for the brand you have. If it takes several weeks and twice the money to get the parts, you might just want to invest in a new model.
posted by handful of rain at 2:11 PM on December 9, 2004
I'd second the advice to call a real plumber--clearly there's something wrong with the system here, and it's more than "reset" will fix--but start thinking about buying a new one if you can't get ready service for the brand you have. If it takes several weeks and twice the money to get the parts, you might just want to invest in a new model.
posted by handful of rain at 2:11 PM on December 9, 2004
did you turn off the water supply while fixing things and forget to turn it back on?
posted by andrew cooke at 2:12 PM on December 9, 2004
posted by andrew cooke at 2:12 PM on December 9, 2004
Response by poster: No, I didn't turn of the water. Others have said that there is a shut off valve that may have been triggered when it was flooded by the garbage disposal.
I was hoping someone might be able to suggest some possible locations for that since I don't seem to be finding them. I cleaned out the dishwasher, so unless something is lodged in a spot not easily viewed, I am at a loss.
posted by Lola_G at 2:38 PM on December 9, 2004
I was hoping someone might be able to suggest some possible locations for that since I don't seem to be finding them. I cleaned out the dishwasher, so unless something is lodged in a spot not easily viewed, I am at a loss.
posted by Lola_G at 2:38 PM on December 9, 2004
Response by poster: Pardon the typo. I did not turn off the water.
posted by Lola_G at 2:41 PM on December 9, 2004
posted by Lola_G at 2:41 PM on December 9, 2004
Lola-
Don't give up!
I had the same thing happen to me. The same exact thing happened to my dishwasher. I ended up replacing an electronic control card which was mailed to me from GE for $80. When I returned the old one, they gave me $50 back. Total repair cost: $30. And the dishwasher ran perfectly thereafter, at least until we sold the house.
Would your dishwasher be made by GE by any chance?
andrew's got a good point... check the water valve and make sure it is "on". Also, make sure the drain hose to the disposal is clear. If it still doesn't work after checking those, let me know and I'll tell you how I fixed my dishwasher if you're game. It was easier than I would have thought.
posted by Doohickie at 2:43 PM on December 9, 2004
Don't give up!
I had the same thing happen to me. The same exact thing happened to my dishwasher. I ended up replacing an electronic control card which was mailed to me from GE for $80. When I returned the old one, they gave me $50 back. Total repair cost: $30. And the dishwasher ran perfectly thereafter, at least until we sold the house.
Would your dishwasher be made by GE by any chance?
andrew's got a good point... check the water valve and make sure it is "on". Also, make sure the drain hose to the disposal is clear. If it still doesn't work after checking those, let me know and I'll tell you how I fixed my dishwasher if you're game. It was easier than I would have thought.
posted by Doohickie at 2:43 PM on December 9, 2004
Does G have Minnegasco Service Plus? If so, the dishwasher maybe covered and you can get it repaired for free. If she has Service Plus, but that particular appliance is not covered, she may want to get it covered and then make a service call. She can also add Service Plus today, get a service call tomorrow and the only negative is that she has to keep the plan for 12 mos, which for an older house is not such a bad thing. Does that make sense?
posted by Juicylicious at 3:13 PM on December 9, 2004
posted by Juicylicious at 3:13 PM on December 9, 2004
This won't help you today (and I'm not in the city where my copy is located, right now, so I dassn't try this question blind), but the Reader's Digest Complete Do-It-Yourself Manual is an essential shelf-keeping unit for any self-described handy{wo}man. It has exploding diagrams of appliances like dishwashers and charts of what symptoms are associated with which failures.
I am thinking you should pull apart the supply hoses under the sink to make sure that they are not kinked or clogged in any way by the garbage disposal issue. There is probably a filter screen which could be completely gummed up with food material due to the disposal's deluge.
posted by dhartung at 12:20 AM on December 10, 2004
I am thinking you should pull apart the supply hoses under the sink to make sure that they are not kinked or clogged in any way by the garbage disposal issue. There is probably a filter screen which could be completely gummed up with food material due to the disposal's deluge.
posted by dhartung at 12:20 AM on December 10, 2004
I have a copy of the manual too. Great for a beginner (i.e., someone who has never attempted a given task before, which is a category many of my home-improvement jobs fall into).
I'll go into what happened with my dishwasher, since we haven't heard from Lola lately: I used it three times in a row on Thanksgiving, and the last time, it got to a certain part of the cycle and just stayed there (similar to Lola's). It turned out that every time the DW was run, the steam of drying dishes would condense on the electronics. If you let it dry fully, no problem. But running it three times in a row resulted in enough condensation to short something out on the card. I found an 800 number for GE inside the DW and called it and they sent me a new card. Interestingly, the new one had a "condensation shield" that was kind of like flashing to keep the condensation off the electronics. So apparently mine wasn't the first to have this problem.
If Lola tried to run the unit repeatedly in an effort to clear it out and/or diagnose, it could have done the same thing.
posted by Doohickie at 5:58 AM on December 10, 2004
I'll go into what happened with my dishwasher, since we haven't heard from Lola lately: I used it three times in a row on Thanksgiving, and the last time, it got to a certain part of the cycle and just stayed there (similar to Lola's). It turned out that every time the DW was run, the steam of drying dishes would condense on the electronics. If you let it dry fully, no problem. But running it three times in a row resulted in enough condensation to short something out on the card. I found an 800 number for GE inside the DW and called it and they sent me a new card. Interestingly, the new one had a "condensation shield" that was kind of like flashing to keep the condensation off the electronics. So apparently mine wasn't the first to have this problem.
If Lola tried to run the unit repeatedly in an effort to clear it out and/or diagnose, it could have done the same thing.
posted by Doohickie at 5:58 AM on December 10, 2004
Response by poster: It's an Asko brand. Whatever that is.
Another holiday party last night, so I didn't do anything but I will try all of the suggestions tonight.
Juicylicious, I think we do have Service Plus but then someone has to arrange to be home. Also, G dated a plumber once...so there is always that!
posted by Lola_G at 10:39 AM on December 10, 2004
Another holiday party last night, so I didn't do anything but I will try all of the suggestions tonight.
Juicylicious, I think we do have Service Plus but then someone has to arrange to be home. Also, G dated a plumber once...so there is always that!
posted by Lola_G at 10:39 AM on December 10, 2004
Lola- If you remove the front cover below the DW door, there may be a service brochure there. If so, it may have such things as a schematic, an 800 number, etc. If you think it might be the electronics card, you may be able to find out how to get a new one through that.
But as others said, check all your lines, connections, drains, filters, etc. first.
posted by Doohickie at 12:35 PM on December 10, 2004
But as others said, check all your lines, connections, drains, filters, etc. first.
posted by Doohickie at 12:35 PM on December 10, 2004
This thread is closed to new comments.
Every place we've lived, we've managed to find some older guy, with a good understanding of machinery, who can come in and clean out, tune up or otherwise repair major appliances like this. (Or tell you up front when they've bit the dust.) They'll probably charge $25-50 to come out and take a look, but you'll have a much better idea of what you're facing, and they'll usually knock that off any repair fee.
posted by LairBob at 1:57 PM on December 9, 2004