Kitchenaid KDI-17 blower not turning on/no longer drying dishes

[mcthenia1059]

Hi everyone! I have a KDI-17 that I purchased a couple months ago, it was still new in its crate with the samples of dish detergent inside. It has worked flawlessly until recently when it started tripping the GFI it was plugged into. After a week or so of resetting the GFI, it no longer continued. Then a week or so later I noticed my dishes were still quite wet when unloading. I listened to a full cycle and did not hear the heat/blower kick on during the dry cycle. I am not mechanically inclined but hoping maybe there is something I can do to repair. Does anyone have an idea what could have gone wrong? I’d so appreciate any suggestions!

 

[combo52]

Drying Fan Not Working On A KDS-17

It is pretty simple as repairs go to see what is wrong with the fan, I would have parts for it if something is needed, but it may just need oiling.

 

A DW like this does not need to be on a CFI circuit, it won't hurt but it may trip occasionally.

 

John L.

 

[mcthenia1059]

Thank you for your response!

I had at one point used a heavy duty extension cord to plug the dishwasher into a regular outlet across the kitchen, just hate having the extension cord so I went back to resetting the breaker every time it was tripped. I wasn’t sure if the tripping had anything to do with the dryer fan cutting out completely which is why I wanted to make sure to mentioned it. Is there somewhere specific I should oil? Or something I can trouble shoot to determine if I do in fact need parts?

 

[chachp]

 

<span style="font-family: helvetica;">Amanda,</span>

 

<span style="font-family: helvetica;">Do you have the service manual?  If not you can download it here.  This may help you to troubleshoot and also is good to have on hand.  You may want to start with trying to spin the wheel with your fingers and see if it just got stuck.</span>

 

KD-17 Series-Automatic Dishwashers Service Manual

KD-17 Series-Automatic Dishwashers Service Manual

www.automatice.org

 

[mcthenia1059]

Thank you, Ralph. I just downloaded it and I will see if I can make heads or tails of it

Maybe a silly question but is there any harm in me continuing to use the dishwasher while the blower is inoperable?

 

[cfz2882]

check if the blower motor is stiff-if so,a little oil should fix it

 

[retro-man]

I am not sure if the dishwasher should be used without the blower working. Again I am not sure if the heater coil would be still energized without the blower working. If so then I would imagine a great possibility of a fire. A friend had an older KA dishwasher and he had a fire in that general area and I believe it was from the blower/heater area. Not sure if that was the cause, but others will chime in here.

Jon

 

[combo52]

KDI-17 Drying System

If the blower does not come on the heater will still come on, there is a safety thermostat that will cycle the heater off to prevent damage however if you know the blower is not working it would be better to unplug the heater if you are going to use the DW till you fix the blower.

 

There is little possibility of fire unless you have flammable stuff around the heating unit, the DW etc is all Metal.

 

John L.

 

[mit634]

My KDS-17 regularly used to trip the GFI when the dryer came on. I found that small amounts of water would splash into the air duct during washing and run down onto the heating coil and contacts. This created a high-resistance path to ground through the metal body, enough to trip the GFI once the power was applied at the beginning of drying.

The easiest solution was to put the dishwasher on a circuit not protected by the GFI.

 

[rinso]

Our KDS-17 has a working blower fan, I think. I can't hear it and there is no evidence of steam emitting from a vent.

 

[mcthenia1059]

Thanks for all the replies! I will try to oil this weekend and fingers crossed that does the trick. Otherwise I guess I’ll be seeking a replacement blower. I did send in my warranty card when it was installed, I can’t imagine what the recipients must think when they get it lol I read somewhere on here that Whirlpool is required to honor from the day it was installed. I doubt anything will come of it, I was more curious than anything.

 

[cfz2882]

with that long sit,even more likely the blower is seized-once oil is applied to busings,may have to get the "squirrel cage"turning by hand to break shaft free of congealed,gummy old oil.