[valky]

Hello,

About a month ago the drain solenoid overheated and melted, leaving melted plastic on the plunger and jammed the plunger in the out position. (Drain valve closed)

I replaced the solenoid kit from AppliancePartsPros.com. Last night I started to smell the same burning smell and took off the kick panel, and sure enough the same problem. The machine probably only had about 7 washes since the solenoid was replaced.

There are only two sets of wires going to the solenoid, a white/red, that is shared with other components, and a grey wire that goes to the timer. My theory is that the timer is keeping the solenoid energized, thereby making the solenoid overheat and melt causing the failure.

Has anybody run into this problem, and if so, what was the cure?

I'm not going to throw parts at it in hopes of fixing the problem. If I don't find a definitive cure, I'm just going to buy a better washer.

Thanks in advance for the help.

[Gene]

valky
The problem with your dishwasher is a bad timer. It got stuck at the drain point when the drain solenoid was energized which caused the coils to overheat and melt. This is a pretty common problem for this model of the GE dishwasher.
To fix it now you have to replace the timer and the drain solenoid. It is going to cost you over $150.00 and I do not thing this dishwasher is worth it.
If you decide to buy a new one I would recommend Kitchen Aid as a best brand on my opinion.
Gene.

[DorasAnthony]

I replaced the solenoid about 6 months ago and it melted again also.

AppliancePartsPros replaced it free and I got it fedex in about 3 days.

I was wondering why it failed so quickly again though. Thanks to Gene for clearing up the reason it failed.

I lubricated the timer gears and maybe it will last until I replace the entire unit. $118 for the timer is just to much money to put into a $200 machine.

Anthony

[GE_Orland]

Hello,

I am a new member, and I am having the same problem, I want to replace the solenoid and the timer but the plunger has the plastic melted on it and I am not able to remove the bracket / solenoid assembly.

[DorasAnthony]

You have to remove the entire bracket and solenoid. It comes as a kit.

Don't bother replacing the solinoid without the timer. The timer is what caused it to fail. I ended up tossing the unit, the timer was to expensive.