Bosch SGV57T03GB wash times extend to 144min

[leegray1965]

Hi, I have a Bosch SGV57T03GB integrated dishwasher whose wash cycle times are creeping up to 144 mins, at which point they fail to finish.

There are 3 programs that are available to use, 70deg, Auto (55/65deg), and 50deg.

The machine displays an estimated wash elapse time, which varies with each program. This is currently 119min for the 70deg program, and 144 mins for the other two.

The 70deg program always finishes, but every time it is used the estimated elapse time creeps up by 1-2 mins. The other programs occasionally finish, but usually end up stuck with 1min on the timer.

I fully expect the 70deg program to eventually reach the 144min mark and then it too fail to finish.

How can I reset the wash elapse timer back to a reasonable level? The only reset I can find is by holding two of the buttons down at the same time, which cancels the current wash, but does nothing to the estimated elapse time.

I thought that possibly the washer is clogged internally, and so not washing properely, however I am regularly using Dishwasher Cleaner.

Even when I have run the machine empty with the Dishwasher Cleaner, on the 70deg program, afterwards the estimated elapse time has still crept up by a couple of minutes.

Is there a sensor somewhere that is faulty, or needs cleaning? The washer is integrated, so it is dificult to take to pieces and inspect further.

I use 3-in-1 tablets, with no added salt or rinse aid, and put a Dishwasher Cleaner through it once or twice a month.

Any help would be gratefully received, as running the dishwasher for 144 minutes each time isn’t exactly environmentally friendly, and I’m not convinced that the wash is as good on the occasions where it has not finished.

[Penguin45]

Re: Bosch SGV57T03GB wash times extend to 144min

Power off, lid, door outer, lower cover plate and l/h side off.

Clean this hose thoroughly:

Then the water level control:

Underfilling will cause erratic operation of the diaphragm switch on the heater unit and extend wash times accordingly.

Penguin45.

[leegray1965]

Re: Bosch SGV57T03GB wash times extend to 144min

Hi, Penguin45,

thanks for the lighning response.

As I mentioned, the dishwasher is fully integrated, so when you say

“Power off, lid, door outer, lower cover plate and l/h side off”

does this mean the dishwasher has to be fully uninstalled to get access to the top and left hand side?

From the pictures it seems to be the case, but I thought I’d ask.

Thanks

[Penguin45]

Re: Bosch SGV57T03GB wash times extend to 144min

Sorry, yup (exclude the lid!). You may just hit lucky with the ribbed hose only – you can get that through the front with the decor panel out of the way.

Penguin45.

[leegray1965]

Re: Bosch SGV57T03GB wash times extend to 144min

Hi,

I had a go at cleaning the pipe – I thought I’d add some step-by-step pictures covering removing the door and the lower fascia incase anyone else wants to try it. I don’t know wether it has worked yet, but the pipe was certainly gunky.

Before I did this, I drained the sump inside the dishwasher using some tubing, so that I didn’t get water everywhere when I disconnected the pipe.

If this fails to improve things, I’ll have to think about cleaning the other bits, but that will mean uninstalling the dishwasher, and I’m not looking forwards to that.

Thanks for the help.

[judgej]

Re: Bosch SGV57T03GB wash times extend to 144min

Penguin45,

Firstly, many thanks for posting the photos, they are a great help.

I have recently obtained a SGV57T03GB/02 from FreeCycle (a bargain purchase, if ever there was one) and am sorting out two symptoms which I suspect are one and the same problem. The first is a smell of rotten eggs, and the second is the extended cycle times, often sticking on the last minute.

I have cleaned out the bottom hose and the water level sensor – both were full of crud as in your photos. There is however one last place that seems to harbour dirt and most likely bacteria. It is located at the top-left corner of the plastic tank, is connected to the final outlet, and it looks like it contains a small float of some kind (a black thimble-sized object). It looks like it is a little pressure-release chamber of some kind.

Mine is full of brown and white dirt, and the float thing moves slighly when the machine is emptying itself, but otherwise may be stuck in the crud.

So, any ideas how to clean this chamber out, in case it is a source of one of the smells or is preventing the machine from emptying properly? The other pipes and level sensor are the easy ones to remove and clean, but this chamber is behind a maze of tubes inside the plastic tank.

Here is the whole side off:

Here is a close-up of the chamber:

(Bigger images are available on the Flickr account hosting these images.)

Sorry if this turns out to be not quite related to the original post. The intention was not to hijack the post, but my problem does seem to be the same thing so far as I can see.

— Jason

Edit: as well as manual cleaning, I have run a cycle with half a bottle of bleach added, and I think the smell is just about gone now. That last bacteria trap has me concerned though – I have tried pouring bleach directly into it, but without being able to physically get into it with a brush, there is no saying whether it will just repopulate the machine with smelly bacteria again.

[Penguin45]

Re: Bosch SGV57T03GB wash times extend to 144min

As you have got the tie bars removed from the matrix, you will probably realise that it can be removed. Back filling and vigorous shaking is about your only option.

1/ Don’t lose the “O” rings where the spouts plug in.
2/ The back of the matrix is a plastic sheet – it’s fragile, so be careful.

Penguin45.

[judgej]

Re: Bosch SGV57T03GB wash times extend to 144min

Yeah, I tried the shaking, but since the chamber with the crud in is just a few cm across, there is not a lot of momentum in the water to shake anything out. Something like a two-foot long pipe cleaner may do the job though. But as you say, being careful with the fragile film on the back, as you don’t want to be poking any holes in it.

The whole matrix just lifts off, once the clips for the hoses are removed. A lot of water comes out, so if I did it again, I think I would tip the machine over at 45 degrees so the water at least did not fall into the plastic sump (that water was not easy to mop out, as there is very little room to poke anything into the sump). Perhaps there was a drain-plug that I did not notice.

Having run the machine now with the side off, it is fascinating to see how it works. The plastic film on the back of the matrix acts as a temporary tank that fills up with softened water. It then gets ‘flushed’ into the main wash chamber when needed the same way that a toilet cistern flushes. It is great knowing what all those noises are when the machine goes through its cycle.

— Jason

[nomadPaul]

Jason , next time you need to remove the matrix , let the machine start its cycle and fill completely……this will cause the water matrix to empty ,then hey presto ! no water in the matrix . You can then re-set the machine and it will drain the sump water.

Actually , there will be a little water in the matrix but nothing major….and if you get water in the base , ensure the machine is unplugged and tilt it forward. Most of the water would run out of a hole under the front of the base

[judgej]

Cool – great tips – thanks.

Since this seems to be the only page on the entire Internet that deals with this problem on this model, I expect this information will be useful to many more people.

Oh, last question (for now): how do the timings on the various programmes work? Does the machine remember how long the cycles ran in the past and give an estimate based on that? I’m just wondering, because they seem to be different each time I run a cycle. Perhaps 1:20 one run, 1:30 the next time. This is the time that it shows at the start, not how long it actually takes.

— Jason

[helo_75]

its all down to water temperature, and turbidity

water temperature differs greatly from time of day/year

if the waters colder going in, itll take longr to heat wont it?

bosch dishwashers have a turbidity sensor in the heater chamber which measures how dirty the water is.. they do keep on washing until the water is cleaner, hence cleaner dishes

[judgej]

I guess there must be some kind of running-total that it keeps in memory then. When I first turn the machine on, it has not yet taken any water so does not know how what temperature it will be, but it should remember what temperature it was the last few times. The time it *does* give though, is spot-on (though I haven’t actually put any dishes in the machine yet, so that may all change).

I guess also it would learn over time just how good my particular brand of dishwasher tablets is, and adjust its programme accordingly.

My other free-standing Bosch Maxx doesn’t have a timer display, so this was never a question for me. Perhaps it did take different times to run, but it’s not something I ever noticed.

Of course, I am just guessing on half of that!

— Jason

[helo_75]

well, even without water.. the temperature can be so different!

itll auto adjust as and when it takes the water

i detest timers, they pose so many questions, with sometimes difficult answers

best dishwashers are a simple bosch with no digital timer

[judgej]

I get the impression the timer on this model is just for us humans – it tells us how long it is going to take. You can’t actually set the timer. You just request a programme (hot, medium, cool, auto, rinse-only) and it tells me how long it will take.

My Bosch clothes dryer has a humidity sensor in, and no timer either. It’s the only way to go really 🙂

— Jason

[judgej]

Re: Bosch SGV57T03GB wash times extend to 144min

Just had a thought: could I scrub out that chamber by dragging a ball-bearing into it with a magnet? Better still, a ball-bearing covered in bristles? It just occurred to me that a brush of sorts could be led anywhere into the matrix with a strong magnet (a rare-earth magnet from an old hard drive, for example).

I’ve never tried this, but it ought to work. In theory.

— Jason

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