Customer Questions and Answers for Dishwasher Heating Element by Whirlpool

Hello Keith, When the clean light flashes it can only mean one of two things. It can mean that a button is stuck and the control panel is in need of replacement or it can mean that the heating circuit has failed. The way to tell which has happened is that if the heating circuit has failed, the clean light will flash seven times with a pause and then flash seven times with a pause, etc. If this is the case, you need to troubleshoot the heating circuit. There are five components: the heating element, the high limit thermostat, the door switch, the control, and the wiring harness. There should be a tech sheet behind the kick panel which will show the wiring diagram. This should enable you to shoot through the circuit with an ohm meter. If it reads open from the control board, you will need to test each component individually. I have found that if the unit is solidly mounted under the counter top and is properly leveled, the heating element is the most common part to fail.