Help! We have a Maytag Dishwasher MDB5100AWW that had some problems earlier in the month withgetting dishes clean. I found the water inlet valve to be part of the problem and replaced it. The problem was partially solved, the other part of the problem turned out to be the filter had lots of mineral deposits and other things in it (the kids had "helped" put in the dishwasher). With these problems taken care of, the dishwasher was back to cleaning fine.

One month later, I came home to the smell of burning wires and the dishwasher was running for about two seconds then shutting off. I opened the door and the steam coming out seemed hotter than normal. I pushed the drain/cancel button to drain the water, it would not drain. I turned off the circuit to the dishwasher and allowed it to cool. After a couple of hours, I tried to drain the dishwasher again. It still won't drain but was pushing water through the arms instead. I tried pushing a different cycle button and still could only get intermittent bursts of water through the arms. Tried drain again, still wouldn't work and I also heard a popping sound from under the dishwasher. We turned off the circuit again and my husband checked underneath the dishwasher. It appears to have a very slow drip, which surprised us because it did not leak after the initial repairs were made; we kept tabs on leaks just to be sure all was safe. It does not seem to be leaking as long as the dishwasher is not running (we still have to get the water out of the dishwasher).

So I guess my question(s) is/are, how do we trace the leak? How do we know if a gasket somewhere went bad? And does it sound like the computer fried as with all the cleaning cycles and drain, the arms turn a few seconds and then stops? Any help would be appreciated. We have five kids; the dishwasher is almost a neccessity!

Thank you!

Did you happen to check to see if yours follows under the the recal...


http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07094.html

Thank you for your reply. I had not checked on the recall for the dishwasher. I now find it is in the model #'s under the recall and will talk to Maytag about getting this taken care of. That doesn't answer the leak question, but does answer the electrical question. Thanks again!

The recalls I have done Whirlpool has been fixing everything while out

I called Maytag and found that my model of Maytag dishwasher is not on the recall list, I have yet to get through to an operator at Maytag as hold times are long.

Would a small leak underneath the dishwasher cause the computer board to short out and burn wires inside the door (it only leaks when the dishwasher is running)? I am planning on taking the door apart to see what went on inside as soon as I am able and try to get in touch with Maytag again. Any other suggestions?

Thank you,

Charlotte

Check this site has alot of tips


http://www.applianceaid.com/maytag-dish.html

Thank you! I will look this site over. I was able to talk to a tech who had the same kind of problem with her dishwasher. She said that the drain to the pump was clogged and told me to try taking a shop vac and sucking the drain out. She mentioned that it smelled like burnt wire and wouldn't cycle until it was cleaned out. I will try that (hopefully Sat.) and see if that does anything. Otherwise, I may have to call the repair guy to look at it.

Charlotte

I am unable to find anything plugging up the drain hose. The machine will fill but will not drain. When it is time for the drain cycle, I can hear a click sound but nothing happens. Does this sound like a pump failure or does it sound like the control board is bad? Where these dishwashers made to last only 5 or six years before they die? The person who installed it was familiar with Maytags and did not have to repair very many. This has been a disappointing Maytag experience. Thank you for any help or suggestions!

The only way to tell if its your pump or the control board, is to get a volt meter and test to see if you have 120 volts to your pump when the control board tells it to drain. If no 120 volts at your pump, then your control board is bad.

Here is the parts diagram for your model in case you or others need to view or order parts:
MDB5100AWW

Jake

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