Kitchenaid Dishwasher kudp02crbs1 - Blown fuse and water in tub

[stubborn1]

Hello,

 

In the past several weeks, I've noticed off and on that our dishwasher leaves about 1/2" of clean water in the tub at the end of the drying cycle - basically just under the element.  Today, I noticed no power to the control panel and started taking readings with my multimeter.  I diagnosed a blown thermal fuse which I'm sure is just a symptom of a bigger issue.  Any idea where I should be looking next?  Could a bad element or drain motor on the way out cause these symptoms?

 

Thanks in advance

[stubborn1]

Another piece of info whether relevant or not - when I noticed water in the tub at the end of the cycle, I would manually initiate a rinse cycle by pressing cancel twice and the machine would pump the remaining water out of the tub without issue.  I've also inspected the entire drain pathway and can see no obstructions.

 

I did a little more poking around grabbing some resistance readings.

 

Element = 13.5 ohms.  wiring diagram says 10-30 is okay, so this seems alright

Drain motor = 22.5 ohms.  wiring diagram says 16.3 with no +/- range.  Could this be a potential issue?

 

Any other widget I should be probing at this point?

 

[Rhubarb Tau]

I wouldn't necessarily suspect the drain pump, especially if it pumps out quickly when commanded on.

The water left in the tub, couple things come to mind:

• If you don't have a high loop in the drain tubing, water could be siphoning back into the tub from the sink connection.
• If there's a (food-based) restriction in the drain tubing, the drain pump could be timing out before the water level actually empties (IIRC each drain cycle is 2 min). Since the water is halfway pumped out when you start another CANCEL/DRAIN cycle manually, 2 minutes is plenty of time to pump out what's left.
• If you're not using rinse aid (like Jet Dry, et al.)or the rinse aid tank recently ran out, the dishes could be holding more water than usual, eventually dripping down into the tub.

On the thermal fuse:

• There are two temp switches on this unit. I'm guessing you're talking about the one that's fitted up into the main control board inside the door, but FWIW there's a limit switch in line with the heating element, fitted against the bottom of the tub, usually in the front-center. Was the one you found open the in in the control board?
• If that's the case, I'd take a close look at the Line, Neutral and Heater connections at the control board, and also at the board itself (pop it out of the plastic case, take a look at both sides) If you don't see any discoloration on the board or the connector housings, I'd just replace the thermal fuse and keep an eye on it.

[stubborn1]

Thanks for the thoughts.  Regarding the fuse, it's the one on the main control board that I found open.  Looks like I should carefully inspect the board for any damage.

[Chat_in_FL]

When replacingh the thermal fuse, it is imperative to replace the wires included in the kit, else it WILL blow again.

[darren412]

You may just have 2 separate issues going on with the dishwasher. Usually that fuse is known to have blown because of a bad connection in the fuse wiring itself. doesn't definitively mean its the fuse wiring but most likely if you change out that fuse with the replacement kit # W10258275  that will most likely restore your power and you will be ok.  It comes with new wires so be sure to replace the new wires with the new fuse .  DONT just change the fuse !  or you will most likely have the same problem again. There is a reason for replacing the old wiring with the new wiring and that may be why the fuse had blown.  

As to the issue with the water in the bottom of the tub. You mentioned the water was clean and not dirty.  Check and make sure that the water inlet valve is not allowing water to flow into the tub when the valve is not energized. If it is , then that may be where the clean water is coming from.  The dishwasher just may be draining and washing fine. There are a couple of ways to check the valve flow. One is after a cycle has completed and finished check the bottom and make sure it is drained out. if it is, then wait several hours and come back to the dishwasher like you normally would  to  do  another dishwashing cycle and check to see if there is clean water in the bottom of the tub then as you  had mentioned you were getting.

The other way is to pull the inlet water hose off the valve from the dishwasher side and check to see if it is slowly dripping on its own when its not energized. 

If its clean water like you mentioned . The valve is most likely where its coming from.