OK, I did as suggested and had the dishwasher go through the diagnostic cycle as Joe outlined. Then ran a "normal" cycle. At the end of the normal cycle I still had the flashing green light in the "clean display.

The problem is not the heating element ..... I ran a few dishes in the normal cycle and at the end of the cycle these 3 dishes were hot. Also I made sure that the incoming water was hot. Any more suggestion?

Thank you.

Model # 665.17054401.
At the end of what should have been a "normal" wash we had instead a flashing "clean" green light. I followed the reset suggestions several times and got rid of the flashing green light. But the light returns when I try to run a normal wash cycle. The water is hot .... I felt it in the tub .... the heating element works .... it is hot when I do a quick hot dry cycle. When I try to do any of the regular washes the washer starts but after a couple of minutes I hear a humming sound. I should mention that when the problem first occurred there was unused soap in the dispenser. And in running a test .... start a normal wash .... I hear the water filling but I don't think enough water is being added. Ideas.

Here are your parts
Parts for Kenmore Dishwasher 66517054401 - AppliancePartsPros.com

The Sears parts site usually have actual part breakdown diagrams but they do not share these with other part vendors.

See the attachment for the tech sheet.

If it is the 7 blinking error then it is probably a heater problem.
The heat error is for water heating not drying by the element.
They do not monitor the temperature when the dishes are drying.

Also are you sure the dishes are hot at the end of the cycle from the heater or is it just from the hot water?

Unplug the unit and check the thermistor, see the tech sheet.
Check the heater and high limit combo at the control board. Should be 10 to 30 ohms. This will check both components and the wiring. If it is open (infinite ohms) then investigate further.

If both the above are OK then it is probably a control board problem.

I a sorry for not responding to you earlie4 but I was at the cottage for a week.
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From your previous input ..... unplug the ribbon connector ... I purchased a new control unit.[/COLOR]
I do not see what you are referring to in this thread and cannot find another post from you that I responded to so I am not sure why I recommended replacing the control board.
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By the way ..... you must know this[/COLOR]
I am not quite sure what you mean.
I have no way of knowing what you purchase as I just volunteer here.

the, your words .... unit control and keypad are one in the same ....called the control unit!
Again I am not sure what you mean.
I did look up the parts breakdowns at Sears and they show a Control Panel as Item 1 (keypad) and a control board as Item 11.

[COLOR="Blue"]I know your are a senior expert but, now a thermistor???????[/COLOR]
If the thermistor checks out OK with a meter then it is OK, see the tech sheet that I attached to an earlier reply.