I married into a Bosch dishwasher after installing three Kenmore middle-priced models for myself, my daughter and my dad. All had food digesters (basically a garbage disposal at the bottom).
This Bosch had been a disappointment. I know they are highly regarded by CR, but way too many dishes not cleaned.
My wife says I need to clean them before putting them into the dishwasher. Doesn't that defeat the purpose? My Kenmores all cleaned much better than the Bosch, which I maintain regularly to assure the micro-screen is clean.

Great thread. Don't know if this is the correct thread for this post, but I guess someone could move it as necessary.

Wevvie's post is very accurate. With no grinder, bits of food, seeds etc can go through the Micro Filter Basket entering the pump, and potentially damaging the impeller. If the stuff gets through the pump, the seeds etc can end up in the spinning washers, clogging the little holes. This can stop the spinners from spinning and severely affect the D/W cleaning.

The design problem of the Micro Filter Basket is obvious. Look down the center of the top, and you will see some baffles. Take a small seed or BB and drop it in, shake it a little, and the seed/BB drops out the bottom. The micro filtration is worthless. Stuff that floats can go over the edge of that raised plastic baffle and fall straight down into the sump area.

To fix the design problem, go to home depot and buy a rubber stopper like we used to use in bathtubs back in the day, and force it down into the center of the Micro Filter Basket Assembly until it covers all those holes you see at the top. I had to trim mine with a razor blade. This will prevent the seeds from getting down into the sump area and into the pump, and into the spinners.

Now of course you have to remove the spinners and clean them out. This debris could also be the cause of some of the odors you may be experiencing.

Thanks for sharing such useful information.

I have an old kenmore ultra wash dishwasher, it stopped working, no water no power to anything, where can I find the fuse for this, sorry model unknown. the door locks ok, but no power, so I am sure it has to be a fuse.

Thank you for sharing this troubleshooting manual!