My dishwasher wouldn't start this morning. It had been running, and then my wife opened it without stopping the cycle. After that, it wouldn't start or drain. The panel had -- displayed, which according to the manual meant that the door wasn't closed.

So I opened up the control panel to see if I could find anything, and I found something strange.

There are two micro switches that seem to be activated when the door is latched. Both are N.O. switches. If I activate the right one, the washer then acts as if the door is closed. If I activate both, or just the left one, then the washer still thinks the door is open. I also took a wire and closed the left side, and got the same result.

I checked both switches with a multi-meter and they both work fine.

So for now, I've just left the left switch unhooked, and now the washer seems to be working fine.

I can't find a schematic to see exactly how those switches are supposed to work.

So any ideas what the real issue might be? Have I defeated something important by leaving one switch disconnected? Is my control panel defective?

Most important, can I tell my wife that she broke it? :)