Bendix Dishwasher not getting hot

[richardq]

Hi, this is my first post so please go easy…
I have a Bendix BDW 52 dishwasher that I purchased about 6 years ago but it has had little use.
The Problem:
I noticed that i wasn’t cleaning the dishes properly and upon further investigation, I discovered that the water was not getting hot. It has plenty of water for its cycle and starts, finishes, drains etc the cycle as before. This led me to suspect the heater element had failed so (unplugging from mains) I striped the side panels and door off, including the bottom front panel and located the heater element terminals. After disconnecting them I measured a resistance of 27 ohms across the terminals suggesting that the element is fine. Would I be right in suspecting the thermostat (mounted in the door) is the cause? I have disconnected it too and upon (cold) testing it with an ohmmeter across the two terminals, I got a reading of 1 suggesting that it was an open circuit. Am I right in believing I have a faulty thermostat? Any advice would be much appreciated as I am sick to death of washing dishes by hand…

Richard

ps I have read the follwing post: http://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/modules.p … ge&pid=104
and I do own the later more complicated model but on inspection of the pipes/side moulding etc they seem to be quite clean and as I said earlier there is plenty of water coming through the spinners during the cycle.

[richardq]

Re: Bendix Dishwasher not getting hot

I have taken a closer look and noticed “another” thermostat mounted under the floor of the dishwasher beside the heater element but this thermostat has 4 connections – any tips on testing it?
Thanks Richard

[Penguin45]

Re: Bendix Dishwasher not getting hot

Mechanical timer machine, so o/c thermostat stops timer until temperature is achieved – thermostat closing starts the timer motor and advances off heat.

I’d check that the 4 tag safety thermostat underneath is showing closed circuit through both sets of terminals. If one or other circuit is open, that’s your problem; which brings you back to the IWMS. Underfilling will allow and overheat, which will trip the safety.

Penguin45.

[richardq]

Re: Bendix Dishwasher not getting hot

Thanks Penguin45 for your speedy reply. I tested the 4 tag thermostat beside the heater element (this thermostat is connected straight to heater element terminals; live and neutral) and got zero resistance so that indicates this thermostat ok. I discovered another thermostat again atttached to the underside of the dishwasher floor with two smaller wires connected to the mechanical timer switch and this was found to have an open circiut – possibly faulty. Please forgive me ignorance but I could find no trip/reset button from a potential overheat should I be able to find one?

Thanks
Richard

[Penguin45]

Re: Bendix Dishwasher not getting hot

No, there’s no re-set. The one under the tub is listed as a 59c thermostat, but there is no mention of whether this is normally open or closed. Pull it and heat it, I suppose. Your test meter will detect a change when it cycles.

Penguin45.

[richardq]

Re: Bendix Dishwasher not getting hot

Thanks for that Penguin45. I tested all (3) the thermostats in hot water and they all seemed to operate corectly so I reassembled the whole thing and gave it a test run. It now seems to be running perfectly (getting hot) and so maybe the problem was a slightly corroded contact. So success and THANK YOU again. I really appreciate the advice on this forum – it gave me the confidence to take the machine to pieces.

On a separate note, I have uploaded a photo taken of the side of the machine (IWMS – moulded plastic) http://www.flickr.com/photos/32315247@N07/?saved=1
and you can see a large rectangle dark brown section. On inspection it looks like it is filled with gravy and has the same consistency (it slopes when you tilt the machine) and doesn’t appear to interfere with the operation on the cycle (Water passes down through it I think). However it does seem trapped there and I am concerned why it is there. Any suggestions?

Thanks Richard

[Penguin45]

Re: Bendix Dishwasher not getting hot

That’s the contents of the regeneration or softener unit – don’t panic, it’s meant to be there.

Penguin45.

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