About 3 years ago I purchased this dishwasher from Sears. It wasn't installed and used until about a year later after a large renovation. When it was installed, the power was hooked up incorrectly which in turn blew out the onboard fuse on the control panel. Since it was beyond warranty time, I chose to replace the fuse myself, purchased from sears.com .

About six months after this replacement, the control for opening the detergent door stopped working. Not really life threatening but annoying the whole package isn't working right. So I proceeded to research what the problem could be and came across similar complaints online elsewhere leading to replacing the whole control panel board. (There either was an upgraded board or another issue regarding replacing a second board, I can't remember which. )

Now the dishwasher runs. The soap panel opens at some point. And it runs. It will run at least 3 times longer than it should until i decide enough is enough.

I have 2 questions. What can this new problem be caused by? And would it be more logical to spend another $30 on a Kitchen-Aide repair manual since I've already invested an additional $140 in repair parts?

Thanks for your time.

If your water is hot coming into the dishwasher, hot would be about 120-130 degrees, and its taking 3 times longer, then its possibly a bad heating element.

Here's the repair manual for your model:
https://secured.whirlpool.com/Service/SrvTechAdm.nsf/2cd44500d572193285256a45004fd9d6/52521bdbd0ef763c85256cbc00520548/$FILE/8178022.pdf

You would need to ohm your heating element for continuity, a good element should show 30 ohms or less.

Make sure the breaker is off to your dishwasher first. Its likely the electrical terminals are in the very back, so you'll likely need to pull your dishwasher out to ohm the heating element. Take the heating element wires off first before testing the element for continuity.

But first feel your heating element all around inside your dishwasher, if you feel bumps on it or pits in it, its definitely your element thats bad.

Here's the heating element for your model in case you need to order it:
Manufacturer part number 8537057 is RepairClinic item number 1164450
8537057

Jake

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Star Appliance Tech. 2 yrs. 1988-1990
Wards Appliance Tech. 11 yrs. 1990-2001
Sears Appliance Tech. 4 yrs. 2001-Oct. 2005
Jake's Appliance Repair Nov. 2005-present

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Thanks for your response.

Heating element is not dinged or damaged in anyway, and the water is about 125 degrees. It runs continuously and I see in other posts that this commonly refers to a bad control board...of which I've replaced twice already.

Twice already?

Its possible your thermostat may be bad, you can ohm it for continuity, take the wires off it first of course.

With the wires off you can even jump it by taping the wires together with electrical tape and run it through a cycle and see if that solves the problem.

Your thermostat part# 661566 is underneath your tub, its #30 here:


Jake

__________________
Appliance Repair School 1987-1988
Star Appliance Tech. 2 yrs. 1988-1990
Wards Appliance Tech. 11 yrs. 1990-2001
Sears Appliance Tech. 4 yrs. 2001-Oct. 2005
Jake's Appliance Repair Nov. 2005-present

If you need more repair advice help on your appliance, click Here

Look-Up & Order Parts

Shop Home Appliances