[jdheal]

My Kenmore dishwasher's (model no. 665.17362301) soap door dispenser will not open automatically during a wash. When the dishwasher door is opened after a wash, the soap dispenser snaps open.

jdheal

[TechnicianBrian]

Does this seem to be an intermittent problem? If you open the door at the end of a wash cycle and the dispenser door springs open, that is because it opened earlier in the cycle. The doors do not open all the way, but actually contact the upper wash rack allowing the door to open just enough so the water from the spray arms will slowly wash the detergent out. This prevents a large quantity of detergent landing on the dishes on the bottom rack. The most likely reason for soap to remain in the dispenser after a wash is either the pump isn't pumping enough water during the wash cycle, or something like a large plate, or cookie sheet is placed in the lower rack preventing the dispenser lid from opening enough for water to scour out the detergent. If your utensil basket is mounted in the front of the lower rack or on the door, putting a spatula or wooden spoon will do the same thing. Now if the door doesn't open at all, then there is a problem with the dispenser or the wiring to it, but if it opens at the end and detergent spills out, then it's time to check those items mentioned above.

[jdheal]

Thanks for your reply,

The soap dispenser flips open every time, without exception.
There are never any big plates up front in the lower rack, just standard size bowls. The utensil rack is on the right side, not the front.

Does this mean the dispenser needs replacing or a wiring problem? You also mentioned a pump problem, but there is always lots of water inside when I open the dishwasher door. Any way of knowing if there is a pump problem?

Jamie

[TechnicianBrian]

As the pump is running, you should be able to hear water hitting the inside of the door. Or let it start running, then open the door and see if everything is wet. I am reluctant to suggest a new dispenser since it opens when you open the door. This indicates it is opening at the appropriate time, but either the detergent isn't getting flushed out by the water, or as I said, something else blocked the lid. If you know nothing is blocking it, then check the pump and make sure everything is getting wet during the wash cycle. Also, when you look inside during a way, make note of where each wash arm is situated, then let it run for a moment or two, and see if they are in the same position. This would lead to a water pressure problem, possibly the pump or a clogged chopper assembly.

[Flip69]

TechnicianBrian, I am following up with you on this thread. I have the same problem as jdheal. However, when I open the door to the dishwasher at the end of the cycle, the door to the detergent dispenser is not open. It is still shut and latched. When I manually pull the latch back to release the detergent door, the door often still remains stuck shut. It seems like the powdered detergent gets sticky on the gasket and "glues" it shut. I am checking to see if liquid detergent solves the problem. Of course, the problem might not be the sticky detergent, it might be the latch. I am not sure if the latch is opening during the cycle or not. I suppose I could try running the diswasher with no detergent in the dispenser to see if that solves the problem. Any thoughts? If the problem is the latch, how fixable it is?

[TechnicianBrian]

It is unlikely detergent is holding the lid shut, but rather the spring that tensions the lid is broken or otherwise not working. I would look at the hinge side of the dispenser and see if spring is still intact. When you release the lid, it should snap open without much difficulty so if it doesn't do that, then I would suspect the spring. Hope this helps.

[tstolz]

After trying everything, from less soap, to resetting the dishwasher using the the posted method, i realized our problem was easily fixed. This Kenmore Elite dishwasher will not work with tall plates or pans placed in the front left area of the bottom rack. It prevents the soap door from opening, which prevents the soap from being washed out of the dispenser. By simply keeping this area clear of anything that extends more than an inch above the rack, our dishwasher is working great! To see what I mean, put a tall plate or pan in the 1st or second slots of the bottom rack fromthe left side of washer, and lift the door to within an inch of being closed, if you look in, you can see how dispenser would be obstructed. I have never had this problem with other dishwashers, but it is no big deal to work around. Hope this helps. It is a very frustrating problem.

[gingerbreadcutie]

Dear TechnicianBrian,
I am not a blogger so I clicked on quick reply...I'm not sure of the model number but my mom has a Kenmore ultra II dishwasher and the door won't open while the dishwasher is running that we are aware of. There is only a little soap in the dispenser when the cycle is done but, it should be empty right? We do not over stack high dishes nor is anything bent but, it will open manually obviously or we would not be able to put any soap in it...To get by for a while do the dishes get just as clean if we only put soap in the prewash section of the dishwasher for now and being that it is older is it worth having a tech out to fix it? It's a portable and we got it for a great deal so I think it's worth it but don't know for sure if you get what I mean...Will it be cheaper to fix that than buy a new dishwasher I think so lol...but, if a repair man needs to come out how much do you think it will set us back unless it can just be fixed? Thank you by the way my email is goomba98@yahoo.com if you have time to answer....