Australian Kitchenaid KDS-17 Timer Problem

[mit634]

Hi All,

My Australian Kitchenaid KDS-17 has developed a fault where the dryer fan heater runs through the entire cycle.

I have removed the timer and confirmed the dryer contact has permanent continuity.

The timer does not seem designed to be taken apart as it is held together with rivets. I'm happy to try drilling out the rivets but thought I would ask here first if anyone has experience with such a fault and/or disassembling one of these timers.

The timer is a Holzer (made in Germany, as was the dishwasher). Pictures attached.

Thanks all.

Regards,
Tim

 

[stevet]

WHAT A FAR CRY FROM THE US MADE TIMERS!

Tim, I have never seen a timer like that on this side of the world. KA used Singer or Mallory timers in the machines they made here for 110v60hz machines. And seems to have far fewer connections than the machines had here.
Is just the fan or heating element on thru the whole cycle? If it is only the fan, then maybe you can wire it up to the heater terminals so they work at the same time. The fan draws far less current than the element does so the terminals on the timer should be able to handle it. If it is the heating element that is always on, then you can still work around that by connecting a relay or contactor for the element that is energized when the fan is running.

Have you tried contacting the manufacturer of the timer? Maybe they still have a replacement for it available. Here in the US, Whirlpool was quick to obsolete and make no longer available, most of the Kitchenaid parts for machines made prior to them taking over the brand.
Would be nice to see some pictures of your machine if you can post them.
Hope this helps a bit.
Steve

 

[gizmo]

Hi Tim

Is there any aperture where you can peer into the timer and see the contacts?
I would guess you have a stuck contact. (I wonder if that rectangular opening in pic 3 lets you peek inside?)

If you can see that a contact never opens during a full rotation of the timer, try prising the stuck contacts apart with a very fine screwdriver.
You could also try some "contact cleaner and lube" from Jaycar electronics. It is magic stuff but don't reconnect the timer to power until the contact cleaner has had a few hours to evaporate off. It is great at dissolving away burnt residues in dodgy contacts and lightly lubricating the moving contacts.
the heating element draws the highest current so the heater terminals in the timer have a hard life and are likely to be the first to play up.
As long as the contacts are merely stuck and come clean with prising apart and cleaning, it should be OK to re use. If the contact is burnt up, you need a new timer.

I have found an appliance timer repair service in NSW -
B&W Appliance Timer Reconditioning, in Canley Vale NSW. Phone: (02) 9726 2214

good luck with it.

 

[mit634]

It's fixed

Hi everyone,

Getting back to this thread after a VERY long time...

The issue was that the timer of my West German built Australian sold KDS-17 dishwasher had developed a fault where the dryer fan heater ran throughout the cycle and not just in the dry phase.

As a temporary fix, I simply disconnected the fan heater unit. However, I was determined to try and fix it properly and the time came when the dishwasher became our daily use machine.

After unsoldering and removing the two motors from the timer, I drilled out the two rivets holding the upper and lower halves and the middle circuit board together. To my horror, as I separated the pieces, parts popped out everywhere. Unfortunately most of the parts inside this timer, many under spring pressure, are held in place by the case itself. Not to be deterred, I then drilled out the twelve rivets holding the bottom circuit board to the lower half of the plastic housing to get to the electrical contacts of the fan heater. As I separated these, even more parts popped out ! All up I counted I had over 60 loose parts on the bench.

The easy part of the exercise was to find the contacts for the fan heater, which as I suspected had become welded together, and separate and clean them. The hard part was figuring out where each part went back and how to reassemble it while holding everything in place.

Firstly I drilled and tapped the plastic case so that I could reassemble it with machine screws to replace the rivets. Then I built an assembly jig using timber and Meccano strips to aid in holding parts in place against spring pressure, while I located the mating part and tightened the screws almost down. Then I slid out the Meccano strips and tightened the screws the rest of the way down. I used the assembly jig at two stages of assembly.

It took a couple of attempts to get it right but it worked better than I thought it would. I reinstalled the motors and put the timer back in the dishwasher and it has been working beautifully ever since (about two months now in daily use). I'm really glad I went to the effort to try and fix it.

 

[mit634]

Loose contacts and springs

 

[mit634]

Lots of loose parts

 

[mit634]

Reassembly part 1

 

[mit634]

Reassembly part 1 continued - circuit board screwed almost down - about to slide out the Meccano strips

 

[mit634]

Reassembly part 2 - upper and lower halves

 

[mit634]

The machine (which my partner has beautifully repainted)

 

[launderess]

Cheers!

Very well done indeed.

Pints all around!

 

[combo52]

KA Timer Repair

Wow Tim, You get the award of the month [ if not for the year ] of successfully completing a difficult repair.

 

I just love how clever and resourceful many on this site are, congratulations 

 

John L.

 

[qsd-dan]

Impressive work and dedication!

 

[DADoES]

 
Yay!

 

[aussie-plugs]

Brilliant work!

You have the patience of Job to do that ... so glad to see it didn't end in tears

 

[mit634]

Thank you so much @launderess, @combo52, @qsd-dan, @dadoes and @aussie-plugs.

I appreciate the kind and positive comments.

I hope this thread inspires others to tackle a timer repair if other options are limited.

Tim