Short Circuit

[shortcircuit]

Please help,

I have a vintage Kitchenaid Superba by Hobart dishwasher, avocado green, single bottom wash arm, with party settings, not sure what KDC number it is. The machine would cycle on, but no water would ever come out. I tried to tap the solenoid to get it to work, hit the wire connected to it by mistake, caused a spark. It did not trip the breaker, the machine is still getting 120 volts, however, she no answer.

Any ideas what I may have done? Can it be fixed?

If I manually, will manually turning timer back to reset help?

How do I properly check/test the water inlet valve?

Thanks

 

[stevet]

Start Here.

You may well have blown out the door interlock switch when you shorted the wires on the water valve. You will need to remove the door handle and the complete control panel to access the switch. If you are not electrically competent, have someone who is check to see if the switch if burned out. If it is, many of us have plenty of those spare switches. Just ask.

Do not mess with the timer. If you break it, you can't find a new one anymore.
Also, you did not say of the machine ran but was only missing the filling portion of the cycle so I have to ask.. did you check to see if the water was turned on?
The valve could be bad or clogged,so you will have to explore further.

 

[shortcircuit]

Thank you,

I can check the switch, notwithstanding the embarrassing rookie mistake. The water is on, I will check the shutoff valve for clogs. Is there a way to bypass the solenoid to manually fill to check pressure?

How can I tell what KDS model number I have?

Btw, the machine was hooked up and unused for three years prior to me buying house, we also have very hard water.

Thanks

 

[rp2813]

The "Party" option could be found on the model KDS-16 and maybe KDS-17.  Both are 1970s vintage machines -- as if the avocado panels weren't already a dead giveaway.   

 

There's a sticker inside the door that has model information on it.

 

[shortcircuit]

Thanks,

The door switch does not have any power coming into it, unless of course I am testing it wrong. How do I test it and should there be power to it?

 

[stevet]

Start down below

Start at the terminal block and see if you have 120 volts across the white and black wires there. There will be power at the door switch on one side of it when the door is open and no power on the other side. The switch needs to be closed to pass power thru it. Remove the switch and test it out of the machine with your tester and no wires attached to it. Push the plunger lever in so it closes the switch and if you have continuity between the common and n.o. connections, the switch is good. It is normally open, but held closed when the door is latched.

Also, since you shorted out something while testing the valve, make sure that you did not burn off any of the slip on terminals on the wires supplying power to the valve. You may have burned off the neutral wire and since many connections are daisy chained on those machines, you are not sending the neutral back up to the controls.
I think you will find the problem when you really look over all the connections.

 

[combo52]

Non Filling KDS-16 or 17 DW

Check the overfill switch for continuity they have small contacts and are easy to blow out if you short something, after that you probably ruined the timer.

 

[panthera]

I've worked on two KitchenAids

which had in-line fuses at the wiring terminal for the house line.
Very clearly (in contrast to GE) not original. I'd start there. Paranoid people (like me) tend to do things like that with hard-wired appliances, which these were back in the day.
You've gotten good advice about the rest. Do check the timer next. If you blew that, nothing else need be bothered with until that's replaced.