7 replies to this topic

[Novice134]

Hi, I have a Frigidaire Dishwasher Model FDB989GFC2 which won't start.  When I press the start button, the 'time remaining' displays and counts down.  But, there is no water going into the tub and there is no washing sound.  I emptied the dishwasher to see what is going on and noticed there is some water on the bottom of the tub (where water drains).  This seems to indicate that the dishwasher had broken down the last time I ran the dishwasher.  I did query RepairClinic.com and was told that it is a problem with the motor.  (They may have been misled by a comment I made that the machine had a humming sound when it was first installed.  But, now, there is no sound at all coming from the dishwasher.)

I called in a repair person.  The repairman indicated that the control board is not getting power.  The quote to fix this problem is the cost of a new machine.  So, I paid for the diagnosis and asked my brother-in-law (who is an EE) to check the control board for me.  He tested the various connections and it seems to indicate the board is getting power.  He thinks there is a short somewhere.  Can anyone give us an idea what to test?

Thanks.

 

 

 

[Ron]

134,  See if we can get something rolling on this.  I would imagine that the service tech checked to make sure your float wasn't sticking,  you can check that by flipping it up and down a couple times, then try it to see if it fills.  If it doesn't,  pull the bottom panel off and see if your getting 120 to the water inlet valve when you press start.  You must be getting power to the board if it's lighting up. Why did the tech say no power was getting to it?  In that case check the door switch,  see if you have power there.  After you check these things out...press cancel then press the high temp wash and start cancel pad together for 3 seconds to see if it will go into test mode....Ron

[Novice134]

Ron,

I flipped the float several times, but nothing happened.  The water inlet valve is getting 120.  The door switch is also getting 120.  We tried pressing the hi-temp wash and start/cancel button but the machine won't go into test mode.  What else can we test?

As to the tech, the first thing the tech did was to open the control panel and tested the board.  I didn't see which part of the board was tested.  But, the tech said there is power going to the display board but no power on the control board.  Therefore, the control board needs to be replaced.  The float was not tested at all.  In fact, only the control panel was looked at and nothing else.

Thanks.

 

[Ron]

134,   If you have 120 going to the valve,  the dishwasher should be filling.  Im sure you have the water on.  Sounds like you have a bad water inlet valve.    I'm surprised the tech did not check this....Ron

[Novice134]

Ron, there is currently water on the bottom of the tub and the float is up which seems to have broken the circuit.  However, even though we manually depress the float trigger so that the circuit is complete, the dishwasher is still not filling.  Is there a way to test the other components to make sure they are not causing the problem?  For example, is there anyway I can get the machine to drain the water in the tub?  Is there anyway I can get the spray arms to spin?  This way I can make sure no other part is causing the problem.  Thanks.

[denrayr]

i have run into this a couple of times the nuetral door switch is probably bad when you measured voltage at the valve did you test to ground or neutral?

[Novice134]

We disconnected the wires to the door switch and one of the leads looked burnt. it feels like the switch doesn't always close when you close the door. if you push on the handle it seems to make the connection.

we pulled the wires from the bad switch and connected them with a test lead and tried again. it worked!!!!!!!!!!!!

looks like we need a new door switch.

Thanks Ron and denrayr for all your help.

 

 

[Novice134]

Just want to let you guys know that the new switch came in the mail today.  I have installed it and everything is working fine. 

I have 2 additional questions:

1.  The plastic cover for one of the wires that plugs into the door switch is charred and cracked.  I used some electrical tape and wrapped it before plugging the wire into the new switch.  Will this cause a problem?  Should I have replace the wire as well?

2.  The heating element on the bottom of the tub has some rust (from the standing water when I had the problem), will this cause any problem?  How should the rust be removed?

Thanks.