KDTE334DSS0 KitchenAid Dishwasher - stops running mid-cycle, power reset kills control panel

[creativepart]

Model Number

KDTE334DSS0

Brand

KitchenAid

Age

1-5 years

Started a Light wash cycle about midway through (timewise) the front panel LED that indicates cycle position went dark. Opening the door (only way to see control panel) the wash mode has changed to Normal, the heated dry is lit properly, the Start light is lit and the Washing light is lit. At that point none of the touch buttons work you cannot change, start, cancel anything. After waiting 24-hours with it still in this position I did a power off / on reset. After power off for 30-min when it's turned back on the Touch Panel is dark and not-responding to touch. No lights no sound anywhere.

Being relatively handy, I removed the door and bought a new control board ($214) and installed it. Nothing. Online troubleshooting suggested the control panel was dead. So, I put the original control board back in the DW and bought a new control panel ($262). When I plugged this in everything appeared to work normally. All the buttons worked and the lights lit properly.

So, I ran a Light Wash cycle to test everything... exact same result. Mid-cycle the outside LED went dark, the cycle stopped, the wash mode changed to Normal, heat, start and washing were lit. I waited another 24-hours and recycled the power. Now this NEW Control Panel is dark and not responsive at all. I did try reinstalling the new circuit board just for yuks and giggles and nothing happens.

Certainly there is some reason why cycling the power after a mid-cycle stall is causing the Control Panel to go dead. Any and all help is appreciated. I do not want to purchase another Control Panel and or Circuit Board.

By the way I tried all the tricks to enter a diagnostic mode - since the control panel is totally dead pushing buttons 1-2-3 1-2-3 or 1-2 five times does nothing.

 

[rickgburton]

Turn the power off or unplug the dishwasher for a couple minutes then restore power to get the machine into standby mode, plugged in and all the indicators off.

Press Start to wake up the control then press any three keys in the sequence 1-2-3 1-2-3 1-2-3 with no more than 1 second between key presses.

The Service Diagnostics Cycle will start when the door is closed.

Invoking Service Diagnostics Cycle clears all status and last run information from memory and restores defaults. It also forces the next cycle to be a sensor calibration cycle.

Drain and wash motors will pulsate on and off.

Last Run cycles and options returned to default.

Last Run Delay returns to the lowest delay increment

Calibration cycle may force an extra rinse to occur prior to final rinse (to assure clear water), then calibrates the OWI and the fill amount during the final rinse.

Operating state returns to Standby upon completing the Service Diagnostics Cycle

The service diagnostic cycle has 27 intervals and will take about 23 minutes

The service diagnostic cycle starts on interval 27 and ends on interval 1

Interval 27 turns all the LEDs on as a display test

Interval 26 is a one second pause and all the LEDs turn off.

Intervals 25 - 24 - 23 and 22 are for error codes.

The Clean (or Completed) LED will flash the error codes in two parts. The Clean LED will first flash the function code, pause for 2 seconds then flash the problem code, pause for 5 seconds then repeat three times

If there are no errors, Clean or Completed LED will stay on solid for 5 seconds.

Interval 21 is a 10 second pause and the Hi-Temp LED will be blinking. Press the Hi-Temp key to clear customer history and error codes. If Hi Temp key does not respond, the control panel is in “sleep Mode”, open and close the door to wake up the control panel and then press Hi Temp key to clear the customer error history.

Intervals 20 to 3 is the service diagnostic cycle.

Intervals 2 and 1 are for any error codes found during the service test.

Do not interrupt the diagnostic cycle

Post any error codes here

 

[creativepart]

Turn the power off or unplug the dishwasher for a couple minutes then restore power to get the machine into standby mode, plugged in and all the indicators off.

Press Start to wake up the control then press any three keys in the sequence 1-2-3 1-2-3 1-2-3 with no more than 1 second between key presses.

Nothing happens when the power is restored and I push the Start pad. Nothing at all. No wake up. Touching any keys in any order doesn't have any effect. No sound, no lights and no diagnostic mode when the door is closed afterward.

 

[creativepart]

FYI, when the power is on I can hear a slight electronic hum or buzz from the control board. When powered off it goes quiet.

Touching the touch pad is like putting your finger on a window. Other than a smudge there is no result.

 

[rickgburton]

So the new control panel and new control board are installed in the machine? What's the part numbers of the two parts?

 

[Jake]

Also its possibly the door latch switch is starting to fail. This happened to me on service call in Blythe, California earlier this year on a customers dishwasher, no lights no nothing. And sure enough the door latch switch did not have continuity when the door was closed. I ordered and installed the new door latch switch and it worked perfect!

1. Open and close door, and then press Start/Resume key.
2. Unplug dishwasher or disconnect power.
3. Measure resistance of door switch contacts while checking mechanical operation of latch assembly--->Look at the photo attachment below.

Lets first check the door switch. Check the resistance of the door switch with a multimeter. Should be less than one ohm. High ohms=bad switch.

Here's the door latch switch assembly for your model you can order if yours is bad:
Door Latch WPW10653840


There is a video in the door latch switch part link that shows you how to remove it and replace it.

Jake

 

[creativepart]

It appears that after my dishwasher stops mid-cycle that simply turning off the power to reset it when I turn it back on it totally bricks the control panel - so now I"m down two control panels - the original and the new one. However, when it stopped mid-cycle though the status, program lights were still lit they were frozen and non-responsive. I did not get a chance to try to put it into diagnostic mode before I ruined the Control Panel by turning it off/on.

Yes, new Control Panel and New Circuit Board installed but because I have spent nearly $500 and have a totally dead unusable dishwasher that I'm not willing to spend another dime on this.

Is the control panel that fragile and is it not salvageable in any way? It's as if a fuse has blown, but it has no fuse. I did test the power - 125v at the main power into the circuit board (black/white wires) and there is power at the control panel. I used a meter on the exposed circuit board on the outer Wash Status Light board. I don't remember what it was but something around 3-4 volts.

I also tried the diagnostic where you unplug the control panel, turn off the power and then turn it back on to see if it would automatically start the drain pump but nothing happened - with either the original circuit board or the new circuit board.

At this point - I'm throwing up my hands. Going shopping for a new dishwasher.

Control Panel Part #WPW10537414
Circuit Board Part # W10866116

@Jake - I understand the latch switch can be an issue, but I can't see how it could brick the control panel nor stop running mid-cycle in the same place. Also, your No. 1 in testing is not possible because pressing the Start/Resume key does absolutely nothing. Even unlatched the control panel would not be dead. So, I fail to see how it could be the latch. But I will check it later today.

 

[creativepart]

Also its possibly the door latch switch is starting to fail. This happened to me on service call in Blythe, California earlier this year on a customers dishwasher, no lights no nothing. And sure enough the door latch switch did not have continuity when the door was closed. I ordered and installed the new door latch switch and it worked perfect!

So, I took it apart one more time and tried to get a good ohm reading on the latch. It's very hard because the VOM probes don't stay firmly in touch with those little round pins. It got a very hard to decipher the result. anywhere from .9 to 3.2 and back to .1. It changed constantly. But then it was impossible holding the VOM probes on to those contacts.

The part is only $27 but to overnight it is another $25 and If I could see this as an absolute slam dunk fix I'd order it today. But I'm fairly unconvinced that the door latch has such a massive impact on the entire operation of the DW including the control panel

Before the DW stopped working, the touch control panel worked when the door is open - it just doesn't run without the switch being activated - so why would a defective "run" switch make the control panel totally inop all the time?

 

[Jake]

Even unlatched the control panel would not be dead.

It was for me my friend, dead as a doornail whether it was latched or unlatched.

So if the door latch switch ohm tests good when you press the lever on it in, then you have a much more serious problem. It would possibly be a short in the wiring causing it to brick, Check every inch of your wire harness for melted or frayed or cut wires causing a short.

Jake

 

[Jake]

If the meter leads are too big to ohm test it properly, Rick posted this safety pin trick:

Jake

 

[creativepart]

Wouldn't it seem you could run a jumper from one lead to the other on the purple wires that the switch activates? The resistance would be nothing and the continuity would be complete. Just like a new switch.

 

[Jake]

Yes, I forgot to mention that, you can use a jumper wire and jump the door latch switch electrical connector and see if everything lights up again.

Jake

 

[creativepart]

Jumping the door latch switch did nothing.

This is now complete. I thank everyone that helped, you folks are terrific.

I removed the DW today - I found water under it. Not a lot, but enough that it got stagnant and a bit moldy. Seems there was some leak in the bottom of the DW perhaps the drain motor? Not a big enough leak to present itself outside the DW though.

I'd guess that the DW could be fixed, but instead I purchased a new DW for about $400 more than the parts I'd have to buy to fix it. I'm waiting to schedule the installation, but after removing the old one I feel confidant that I can install this myself. Everything is still serviceable - the drain hose, power cable and braided water line.

Thanks again!

 

[rickgburton]

I purchased a new DW for about $400 more than the parts

You did the right thing!