i have been dealing with this kenmore dishwasher for a couple weeks now. customers concern is that the sanitize light blinks at the end of the cycle. now from my understanding that means that the unit failed to reach around 155*f. i put the unit into service mode first and cycle threw until the heater comes on. its drawing around 8 amps and the heater is getting hot. now that i know the heater and the circuit is ok, i replaced the control board thinking maybe the relay is shutting off to early. customer calls back and says it doing the same thing. so i tell the customer to run the hot water before running the machine. he does and same thing happens. he even went as far as turning up the heat on the water heater. so now i change the owi sensor because it i know it has the thermistor in it. customer calls back with the same issue still. im at wits ends with this thing. the customer has been really good/patient about this. i just want to get this thing fixed. any suggestions. any help would be great. thanks alot/

First, I'm not an expert repairman, just a homeowner who had to learn about this junky dishwasher.

As you see, it is winter, and probably cold where this is at. Even here in Florida it will get cold enough to bother the dishwasher. Running the hot water at the beginning of the cycle isn't going to help three hours later at the end of the cycle, since this dishwasher is incredibly slow too.

So even though the element is heating, it isn't heating enough. I believe that as the element gets old, which doesn't take long, it loses the ability to heat as when it was brand new. You will need to replace the heating element.

After that, you will have to make sure the dishwasher gets the proper 120°F water, either with a recirculating pump or a point of use water heater (tank or tankless).

I am back in this situation again, after fixing it about two years ago just with the element replacement. I believe these elements are so junky that you have to keep their heating to a minimum. I would set up a point of use water heater to the maximum for the dishwasher, which I THINK is 140°F. Also, you can't have such hot water going anywhere but to the dishwasher or you'll get scalded. If you use a recirculating pump it will have to have the water heater temperature increased to 120°F or more, which is a negative aspect of this option.

I was hoping somebody might follow-up and suggest which option is better between the pump and the point of use water heater.

I hope you'll let people know if this works, and I hope I've been able to help.

Hello, I'm interested in finding out what exactly fixed the problem. ~ My dishwasher is doing the same thing. The repair man Sears sent out was not helpful at all. In summary, he simply adjusted the jet dry dispenser, made up all kinds of ridiculous excuses and charged me the service fee. Needless to say that didn't fix the problem but this guys behavior was so unbelievable I was ready to get him out of my house. (My dishwasher is currently still under warranty for the parts but I will have to pay for the labor.)

Thanks in advance for your help,
Melissa