This past Tuesday as I was having my first cup of coffee, my wife says to me, "Would you like to start your day out with some bad news ?". Anyway, she tells me that our 15 year old Maytag dishwasher is "dead". This machine has been a "champ" at it's job, and "momma" has been very happy with it's service. And, it has been working, recently, just as good as the day we first used it. So, I started investigating.
As background, I am a retired 68 year old (male) DIY'er. I was an Aviation Electronics Technician in the Marine Corps (1966 - 1970), so I am "very comfortable" with troubleshooting appliance / electronic equipment. That said, I decided that my strategy for this project would be : "Momma ain't happy", so I must SOLVE this problem in a very short amount of time. If I could not repair this 15 year old dishwasher myself in a cost-effective manner, quickly, a new dishwasher was "gonna happen, and FAST".
I immediately began researching my make, model, and problem on the internet when I found thread(s) on this forum indicating the probable problems. I also "pulled up" the parts diagrams for my model.
The first step was to check the dishwasher circuit breaker. It was not tripped, so I cycled it anyway. No lights, no "worky" ! Next, I got out my multimeter, removed the inside panel to the door to get at "the guts", and carefully checked for 120v on the "incoming side" of the door latch switches. It was 123v AC. Then, I turned the circuit breaker OFF, pulled the wire connector off one side of each of the door switches, and checked them with the ohm meter function for continuity when closing the actuator for the switches with a screwdriver. They check good.
Having completed that, according forum-tech's responses to threads on this board relating the "same' problem, the "Prime Suspect" was the Control Board. Next, I look up the cost / availability for the control board for my model, and, it's $125.00 + shipping ! Whoa ! Decision time ! Do I put $125.00 into a 15 year old dishwasher, or put that towards a new machine ? . . . . . AND, what if that doesn't fix it ! ? Am I willing to take a $125.00 chance, and possibly lose it ?
Well, during my research on this forum, I noticed that if you buy a part from AppliancePartsPro.com (APP) and it doesn't fix it (and you do not break it or "burn it up"), they will give you a full refund excluding shipping. I thought : "This is GREAT !" I was 80+% positive, that the control board would fix my dishwasher, and I was willing to risk the shipping costs, but had the assurance that I could get a part refund to use towards a new dishwasher. My local appliance parts supplier, who I have bought parts from before, has a "no return" policy for electronic / electric parts, as do most of those type of shops.
I placed an order for my control board with APP at 3:00 pm Tuesday. I noticed their "average" delivery time with "standard delivery" was 1.7 days, which is great, but I wanted it "definitely" in 2 days, so I spent an extra $5.00 for guaranteed 2 day delivery. APP got the order "out the door" that afternoon, and it arrived Thursday mid-afternoon.
I visually checked it with the old board, looked good, installed it, and, VOILA ! I successfully ran a "Rinse & Hold" cycle, short 8 minute cycle that does all the operational tasks involved with the other longer cycles (fill, pump water, through sprayers, drain). Next step, I loaded it up with dishes and ran a full Normal cycle (92 mins) with the Sanitizer feature selected. No anomalies, and the dishes were clean and looked great. I will definitely use AppliancePartsPro.com in the future.
Momma is happy again ! . . . and, therefore, so am I !