Troubleshooting a non-functional Maytag Quit Series 200 dishwasher

[Mumford67]

We have a non-working Maytag Quiet Series 200 dishwasher (MDBH945AWB) that I'm trying to repair with no luck.  Hoping the community here can help determine whether additional parts cost and effort is warranted here before going much deeper, or if I should just scrap it and get a new model. 

A few things to note in advance:

• For about 2-3 years, we fought a serious German cockroach problem (apparently stemming from a neighbor's townhome).  Seems we finally have things under control now but they definitely led to the current state of the dishwasher.  I found a lot of dead roaches and roach feces on the control board.  For all intensive purposes they short circuited it out and its possible they attacked other areas in the machine we haven't even gotten to (for example, where the power line is wired to the dishwasher).
• The dishwasher has been out of commission for about 2-1/2 years.  At first, the problem was simply a non-responsive control panel, except for one button working.  After a while longer, no buttons lit.

Recently I bit the bullet on a refurbished control board after cleaning out the area behind the inner door cover.  While I initially did see some life in the control panel from hitting the Cycle Select button on the control panel, it was the only button on the panel that did work.   I disconnected  the control panel ribbon from the control board to test to see if the pump would start as per the suggested  board test procedure...it didn't.  After reattaching the ribbon to the new control board,  we no longer had any response from the Cycle Select button on the control panel..  I took off the door switches and tested them with a multimeter and both work fine, as does the handle assembly itself, so I don't think that's the problem unless the connectors from the wire harness took damage from the board short.

Working on the assumption that the refurb board is not a dud, what would be the next area to check?  Or is it more likely that roaches did so much damage that the replacement control board is only the start of a much more extensive rebuild of the machine?

Any suggestion are appreciated.

   -Mumford67

[16345Ed]

Buy a new one!!!

[Budget Appliance Repair]

Your new control board is OK - the touchpad/console is what you need to replace if you want to go any further with this.

 

[Mumford67]

If it is a bad control panel, shouldn't the pump have turned on when the touchpad ribbon cable was removed from the control board?   That was at least my understanding of how one should troubleshoot this problem, and doing so did not lead to the pump engaging.

Regsardless, if there is any likelihood that the panel is bad, this is probably the end of the line for this dishwasher.  As far as I can tell, the part (6-919833)  is now listed as obsolete and is not is stock with any of the regular online retailers, so further repair is not possible.  So I guess the next step would be to buy a replacement dishwasher as per 16345Ed's comment.

Guess I'll put the refurb control board up on eBay for cheap to try to recoup some of that cost.

Thanks for the help.

[Budget Appliance Repair]

@Mumford67 This is an older Maytag that is an  actual Maytag manufactured dishwasher unlike the newer Maytag's that are the Whirlpool manufactured units.

This style of Maytag doesn't have the remove keypad and power up and pump runs to check board.

Old part# 99003395 & 99003396 sub to: 6-919833

One 99003395 used on Ebay for $129.99, (very risky purchasing touchpads used as it could very shortly end up just like yours)

Possibly a new one here, (you would have to contact them and see if they still have it or not):

Part Name:        PANEL-CNTL **NLA**    
Manufacturer:     WHIRLPOOL APPLIANCE PARTS
Part Number:        6-919833    
Part Description:        PANEL-CNTL **NLA**    
Price:    $160.52
Salvage Price:    N/A

Business Name:     A-1 APPLIANCE PARTS
Contact Name:     Nathan O'Neal
E-Mail:     nathan@a-1appliance.com
Address:     PO BOX 4418
City:     HUNTSVILLE
State:     AL
Zip:     35815
Phone:     1-800-841-0312
Cell Phone:     2568833211

[Mumford67]

Thanks, Willie.  Appreciate the clarification about the board test.

Will give A-1 a call tomorrow though as per their website, the part is out of stock.  Can't hurt to check, I guess.  Though it still begs the question of whether it is worth spending $230+ to repair a 12+ year-old dishwasher.  At $70, I was game.  Another $160, however, may be too rich for my blood, esp with the understanding that it may still not work and that there are likely other parts that will need replacing.  Can't imagine almost 3 years of non-use could have been good for the door gasket, for ex.

 

[Mumford67]

So quick follow-up on this.  I finally found a place that sells new-in-box control panels for this dishwasher.  $153+ tax.  Still a bit rich for my tastes but it may be worth exploring.

Sad thing is that I'm also starting to believe that my wife may have thrown out a bag holding eight of the Torx door panel screws. They aren't where I placed them and she did some cleaning in the kitchen drawers.   <sigh>  My stupid fault for trying to keep things simple while running diagnostics.   

So, when I look them up online, I see prices listed anywhere between $3.50 and $10 a screw.  Is there a standard screw type/size I can use as a replacement for these or are the proprietary to Maytag dishwashers?  Would much rather pay $5 or so to Home Depot for a package of 10  than $25-30 to Sears Parts Direct for the same things.

 

[Budget Appliance Repair]

@Mumford67 No screw size listed anywhere for these that I could find.

Best deal if you want the exact screws would probably be Sears @ $3.49 each + shipping, (You can get 10% off your order if you put discount code PARTS in the order code box - it has been a very long running good code for 10% off for over 5 years now).

From my knowledge of the screws you don't need the torx head you can go to any ACE hardware store and get one of there stainless Phillips head screw that is 3/4" long with a thread size of #8 or #6, (I'm pretty sure it is one of those two thread sizes).   They are so cheap compared to having to order them I would either just purchase one of each and test to see what size works then purchase as many as you need of that size or purchase 10 of each and return the 10 you don't need, (I think there are 10 screws for the door panel)

[Mumford67]

7 hours ago, Budget Appliance Repair said:

@Mumford67 No screw size listed anywhere for these that I could find.

Best deal if you want the exact screws would probably be Sears @ $3.49 each + shipping, (You can get 10% off your order if you put discount code PARTS in the order code box - it has been a very long running good code for 10% off for over 5 years now).

From my knowledge of the screws you don't need the torx head you can go to any ACE hardware store and get one of there stainless Phillips head screw that is 3/4" long with a thread size of #8 or #6, (I'm pretty sure it is one of those two thread sizes).   They are so cheap compared to having to order them I would either just purchase one of each and test to see what size works then purchase as many as you need of that size or purchase 10 of each and return the 10 you don't need, (I think there are 10 screws for the door panel)

Thanks, Willie!    Need to stop at Lowes for something else anyway so I will grab a pack of each and see if one works.  Will report back in case the info is of use to anyone else.

Though I think I read somewhere that the top 4 screws are supposed to be slight longer than the side ones.  Is that correct?

[Budget Appliance Repair]

I think on this style they are all the same length.

[Mumford67]

As reference, threads didn't match for machine style screws, but I was able to make 5/8" #8 sheet metal screws work.

Thanks again for the help!