Bosch Dishwasher won't drain and goes directly to "Clean" Light

[ed3120]

I have a Bosch SHE4AM15UC Dishwasher that won't drain and complete a cycle.

Short Story: If drain the water myself and start dry, the dishwasher appears fine and the impeller runs for 30 seconds continuously with no strange noises.  If I start with water in the bottom, the impeller runs for 4-5 short bursts and then the dishwasher displays the clean light.

I've cleaned the hoses.  I tried changing the drain pump and that didn't work. Then I tried changing the computer board. That didn't work either.

Long Story: When I start it, I hear the drain impeller try to run for 4-5 short bursts.  After that the Dishwasher displays the clean light, like it has completed the cycle.  The entire process takes less than a minute.

I opened the drain area and found some string and junk tied around the impeller.  I cleaned that, closed it all up and ran another cycle.  This time, I heard the drain motor run consistently for around 30 seconds, instead of short bursts (the was no standing water, so the impeller didn't have any work to do).  The dishwasher then successfully moved onto the next part of the cycle.  I thought I fixed it.

I stopped it, to restart the cycle, this time with water in the bottom.  Again, 4-5 short bursts from the impeller, and then the clean light.  So it's consistent, it works with no water in the bottom, but fails when there is water in the bottom.

[greybeered]

For my Bosch Ascenta Dishwasher (Model No. SHE3AR56UC/16 ) solution was to replace Control Panel (i.e. Control Board) located in the top of the door with Bosch Part No. 00705306.

[greybeered]

As is the case on occasion, I was mistaken While the dishwasher initially sounded like it completed a wash cycle after I replaced the touchpad circuit board within the door, it didn't. So I replaced the combination control and relay board located at the right bottom rear of the DW base assembly, and voila! All is working as expected.

For Bosch dishwasher, Model No. SHE3AR56UC/16, the part is referred to as a "Control unit" with Bosch Part No. of 00705047.  For the base assembly parts diagram showing the control unit, see http://www.appliancepartspros.com/base-assy-parts-for-bosch-she3ar56uc-16.html .  BTW, a few posts here and there on the net indicate that a burned out/cracked solder connection on these boards is a not uncommon problem (perhaps design related). 

While the price online in the US is around $126 before shipping, it's over $200 CAD in the great white north. So I ebayed a board that was pulled from a display unit down south at cost under $100 CAD including shipping. And so far so good

P.S.  I hope the Bosch brand pays attention to issues such as this on their control boards / circuit panels, and upgrades the design/manufacture requirements to reduce the incidence of like problems.

[greybeered]

Below are extracts from Bosch Service Bulletin 58300000150815_ABZ_EN_A published 7/2/2010

E:25 error code caused by loose drain pump covers - If an Ascenta dishwasher doesn't drain properly and / or shows an E:25 error code, the problem could be the
drain pump cover wasn't replaced properly (i.e. not completely seated and locked into position). Loose drain pump covers allow more water flow to the drain pump, increasing the pump load, drawing more current and causing an E:25 error code. Occasionally E:23 and E:24 error codes can occur as well.  The Clean light can come on, giving the impression the dishwasher finished it’s cycle when it actually didn’t.

Repair:
? Remove cover.
? Check for damage. Clean out any debris.
? Replace cover, making sure cover solidly locks into place.

See Here for a link to the part on my SHE3AR56UC/16 bosch ascenta dishwasher.  In my unit, it's a small blue part that fits over the drain outlet.  To access the part, remove the filter plate assembly.  Of course take care to unplug your DW  or turn the breaker off before sticking your hand in, and watch-out for any shards of glass.  Even if it seems locked it, this is a good time to remove the part and clean off any gunk.

For me, the trickiest step when reinstalling was to orient the drain pump cover correctly before fully seating and locking the cover into place.  You will know that the cover is seated/locked in correctly if the filter plate and filter slip into place easily and the filter plate flush with the interior base of the tub.  Once all reinstalled, plug the DW back in / flip the DW breaker on and start it up again with a normal wash cycle.  If the DW  now completes a full wash cycle (w/o stopping in a minute or so and displaying the Clean light), then all is good.  If not, well carry on ...

BTW,  if the repair worked, this is a great time to 'clean' your dishwasher using the Glisten product to help remove scale etc from the interior workings, tub etc.

[MoTeD]

I agree. The impeller cover must be installed correctly. Also the Glisten product is called Dishwasher Magic