Whirlpool ADP4500 dead

Re: Whirlpool ADP4500 dead

The controls on this machine are rather basic. An on/off switch at the top right, and a knob for setting the programme and a start button at the top left. Beside these are three LEDs: 2 red for salt and rinse aid warning and a green one which I guess turns green when the machine is switched on.

On the occasions I get a response, the green light comes on for about a second when I press the start button then goes off. This is true whether I have released the start button or not. After this it needs some time to settle itself before it will repeat the trick. Holding down the start button and then switching the machine on also leads to the green LED flashing for a second or so.

The machine has been standing for a couple of months. It originally belonged to the aunt of a friend. On her death my friend took it and kept it in his garage until I happened to mention that my old dishwasher had died. It has therefore also been carried around in the back of a couple of cars in positions which it probably shouldn’t have been. Yet when I first plugged it in to give it a shakedown and clear the cobwebs it worked first time.

All I did after this was to move it into its cubbyhole in the kitchen and connect it up permanently, yet I somehow managed to kill it. After this first use there were a few suds left on the floor which after looking through the archives here I put down to excess rinse aid, probably escaping when the machine was on its back/side. I have tipped a couple of buckets of water inside and sucked it out again with the vacuum cleaner but this did not help. I understand that modern dishwashers calculate water level by timing the intake rather than anything so simple as a float so trying to start with water present didn’t achieve anything.

Before I started filling it manually I lifted the filter out and saw an inch or two of water in the very bottom but nothing more. The underside and the various components all appear spotless, shiny and as new.

I will have another look at the switch and see if this helps.

Thanks for your help.

P.S. Just out of curiosity, the base of all dishwashers I have seen contains what looks like a palstic tub filled with mashed baked beans. What is this really and what does it do.

Re: Whirlpool ADP4500 dead

The switch seems OK so I guess that all that it can be is the control board. Even worse there seems to be nothing visibly wrong on there so the chances are that the controller chip or some other computerised component has been zapped. I read in the archives that in some cases it is possible to repair then board rather than replacing it entirely. Does this only apply to failures due to burnt out resistors and dry joints?

Thanks again for your help.