KDI-17a

[stevet]

Thanks for the memories

John, you reminded me of some of the really dumb things they did when they made some of the wiring harnesses on the dishwashers.
What always stands out in my mind were the spade terminals on the timers and components that were not even solid spade terminals! They were hollow and just clipped on to the terminals with those thin sides.
Yep, got to wonder who approved that decision!

 

[DADoES]

 
Just to say, the KDI-17a we had from late summer of 1975 until we moved out of that house in the early 1980s ... and then the KDI-17a that was already in the "new" house that went until the early 2000s ... neither one had any timer trouble.

 

[mom11]

Yikes...what have I done???

Oh boy, fellas, what have I gotten myself into? I will have to check the for the #'s you talked about. Can you tell me where I would find them? The owner's manual I got with it was for all 3: custom, imperial, and superba. Mine is the superba. I love this machine and it does such a good job.

I got it, btw, because my 10 month old $750 Kitchen Aid dishwasher has had to have service twice...in 10 months. Next time they come out I have to pay for everything because it wouldn't be under warranty. So I pulled that thing out, put it in the basement, and will put it back in when we have to sell the house. Modern appliances just cannot handle my family. I have moved to all vintage appliances over the last few years because they simply are better machines, have fewer things to break down on them, and I am able to fix them myself...to a point. Our family should work for Consumer Report because I can pretty much tell you the design flaws and breaking points of all the major (and minor) appliances we've had for almost 30 years. There's not a modern machine out there my kids can't break or wear out. But all my lovely older ladies are chugging along just fine.

Everything new has a motherboard on it and those have been a disaster for us. My new motto is: "There is only room for one "mother" in this kitchen (laundry room) and that's me."

Thanks for the help, Steve.

 

[danemodsandy]

Lisa:

The guys are just pointing out some things KitchenAid could've done better. Those are to be found on any appliance. Your GE Combination probably has a replacement compressor, because the originals were duds, and many of them went kaflooey just outside of warranty, as the one on the Combination I grew up with did. So, there are weak points on anything, even vintage appliances we prize today.

Please remember that your KDS-17 has already outlasted most of the dishwashers sold in competition to it, and has the potential to go many years more. It's not a perfect machine - no machine is. But it's a damn good one. And no motherboard.

 

[firedome]

All 4 of the KDC/KDI-17s we have or have had

have had no timer issues. The KDC-17 we bought new in '74 was still working perfectly in 1990 when we moved. That said, Steve or John, would it be worthwhile to go in now and replace the spades with better types? I do lots of soldering on the tube amps I work on so that's no big deal, and have 3 of these machines, so the wires and timers themselves were OK?

 

[combo52]

Termainal failures on KDC and KDI KD DWs

Hi Roger, yes if I were considering using either of these DWs as a daily driver I would carefully check both the timer, selector switch and the door interlock switch for any terminal overheating and I would also replace all the spade terminals that carry the dry heater or main motors current with better quality terminals and crimp and solder them, you might also want use heaver wire. This was a major weak spot for heavily used KD17 DWs.

Hope this helps you keep these DWs alive, timers and selector switches for these DWs are getting harder and harder to find.

John L.

 

[firedome]

That...

is great advice John, thanks very much. I'd like to keep these classic beasts alive!