My Kitchenaid dishwasher is not cleaning good at all, leaving soap residue and some food on the dishes. It used to clean great. There is also an orange and white film all over the dishwasher. The water is not hot, nor is the element when I touch it. Do I need to replace the element? or is something else the problem? Is there a thermostat or fuse that could be the problem? Where do I start? I looked up the element part and it comes with a computer board that needs to be replaced also, are they having problems with this? Does this involve pulling my dishwasher out?
Thank you for your help.

Thank you for your answer. Now just need the time to try these things out.

[COLOR="Blue"]OK, I ordered the new element with control board and replaced them both. The old element tested no good.[/COLOR]
I amk assuming then that your unit is stainless and the heating element included the board as part of the kit.
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What is the thermistor?[/COLOR]
A thermistor is a temperature sensing device, it changes resistance with temperature (see the tech sheet). The control board then uses this resistance to tell it when to heat the water.

[COLOR="Blue"]Looked at parts and there is a thermister listed for this dishwasher. Is that the same part?[/COLOR]
Yes, Item 25 in Section 8.
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Will replacing this part solve the problem?[/COLOR]
Cannot say it has to be checked with a meter.
You will notice that the resistance drops as temperature rises.
If there is a short in the wiring going to the thermistor the unit then thinks it is already hot and will not turn on the heat so also check the wiring from the control board to the thermistor.