Kitchenaid Superba KDS-17a HELP!

[arcfire]

Hello everyone,

I have an(avocado green) KitchenAid Superba KDS-17a--it came with the home I bought a few years ago. The dishwasher has been running great, but stopped midway through the rinse cycle yesterday, with some water still in the tub. Now I can't get it to do anything--there is no response at all to the cancel/drain button or any of the cycle buttons. No sound, no lights, no draining or filling; nothing.

I checked to make sure power is getting to the machine (yes) and I have checked a few switches (on the door and latch) to make sure they're still good (yes). I tested the control panel too, by testing for continuity according to a list of which pairs of contacts should have continuity when each button is pushed--all OK. Also checked the thermal fuse attached to the water heater. Good.

I don't know what to check next--any suggestions would be appreciated!

Thanks,

Arthur

PS It has been a treat to find out how many people love these dishwashers, as I have poked around online to guide my troubleshooting. For speed and clean, I've never seen a machine that can compete!

 

[stevet]

check all the wiring

If there is power at the machine, you need to make sure that none of the wiring at the bottom of the unit, especially the ground wires are not broken, or disconnected. Also, after this amount of years, some of the connectors could have corroded away and not be working anymore.
I had that happen to my KDS18, and I messed up a timer trying to get it to work. Kitchenaid liked to daisy chain all the white neutral wires from component to component so pull the machine out and check those wires and connections.
Also, did you check the door interlock switch. Speaking of which, did the little actuator on the top right of the tank break off? If it did, you would get absolutely nothing. But seeing how you said it stopped mid cycle, it would appear to be a wiring issue.Also, have you tried manually advancing the timer with the full cycle or any cycle button pressed and the door latched to see if it is a dead spot on the timer or a dead timer motor?
Just some stuff to try..
Keep us posted.

 

[stevet]

manual?

Do you need a copy of the service manual? I have it scanned as a pdf and can email it.

 

[arcfire]

manual would be great

Thank you! Will take your advice about checking all the neutral wiring.

I have tried advancing the timer manually (with door closed and latched)- nothing.

Is the door interlock switch the switch on the upper right of the door that is depressed by the metal rod on the unit when the door is shut? I did check it--the switch is good and it's properly triggered by the actuator when the door shuts.

When I was checking a thermal fuse I also checked for continuity across the thermostat on the heating element--no continuity. Does that mean the thermostat is shot--could that be the problem?

 

[stevet]

Calling Numbers 86 and 87!

Arthur,
I was incapacitated this week and had to go in for a heart cath and had a stent put in(no biggie, really..had it done a few times already) so I did not see this post until now.

There are 2 thermostats as you know so far. One is the "86" thermostat which would not have continuity thru it as it is the sani heat tstat which is normally open and interrupts the timer motor when its time to heat the water to 180 degrees in the final rinse.When the water hits the 180 degree mark, the thermostat will then close and advance the timer to the final rinse portion of the cycle. The "87" thermostat is the safety thermostat which will turn off all power to the unit if the water temp exceeds the limit's cut out point. This tstat will have continuity and then open up if overheating occurs.

It may be time to check the wiring from the interlock switch and the program buttons. or the wiring going down to the timer. Pull off the channel that holds the black evaporation strip in place and check the wires going from the top of the machine down to the bottom and make sure that the connectors on the timer are in tightly and are not burned in any way.

I will email you the manual tonight so you can continue to investigate further.You may have to check continuity of for voltage wire by wire from top to bottom and see what may have gone wrong.

Also, I know this may sound crazy, but did you check for 120 volts across L1 and L2 terminals where the wires come into the machine? Maybe you have lost power on one line coming in to the machine, Remember, you can measure 120 volts from the hot side to the machine and not have the machine run on you.

 

[stevet]

Calling Numbers 86 and 87!

Arthur,
I was incapacitated this week and had to go in for a heart cath and had a stent put in(no biggie, really..had it done a few times already) so I did not see this post until now.

There are 2 thermostats as you know so far. One is the "86" thermostat which would not have continuity thru it as it is the sani heat tstat which is normally open and interrupts the timer motor when its time to heat the water to 180 degrees in the final rinse.When the water hits the 180 degree mark, the thermostat will then close and advance the timer to the final rinse portion of the cycle. The "87" thermostat is the safety thermostat which will turn off all power to the unit if the water temp exceeds the limit's cut out point. This tstat will have continuity and then open up if overheating occurs.

It may be time to check the wiring from the interlock switch and the program buttons. or the wiring going down to the timer. Pull off the channel that holds the black evaporation strip in place and check the wires going from the top of the machine down to the bottom and make sure that the connectors on the timer are in tightly and are not burned in any way.

I will email you the manual tonight so you can continue to investigate further.You may have to check continuity of for voltage wire by wire from top to bottom and see what may have gone wrong.

Also, I know this may sound crazy, but did you check for 120 volts across L1 and L2 terminals where the wires come into the machine? Maybe you have lost power on one line coming in to the machine, Remember, you can measure 120 volts from the hot side to the machine and not have the machine run on you.

 

[arcfire]

86 and 87 good!

Thanks for the info about thermostats 86 and 87. Both are good--I didn't know until your post that 'no continuity' is the proper working state for 86.

 

[stevet]

start troubleshooting

Time to go wire for wire and see what that reveals. I am sure that you will find the manual with the wiring diagrams helpful. Keep us posted and I am sure that you will find the problem and there are others who can also help you thru this adventure.