The circulation pump on my dishwasher is not always working. Today I was watching it and it started up ok. during the last 20 minutes the pump stopped working. I measured the voltage on the pump and it was 120 volts. I did notice the pump was exceptionally hot. I could not hold my finger on it for more than a second. I put a temp meter on it and it was about 176 degrees f. When i turned it off, I took a probe and put it in the back of the motor and turned the fins on the back of the motor. It turned freely. Possibly the the thermal safety switch in the motor opened.
There are times when I first turn the dishwasher on the motor never starts. or will start for the initial rinse cycle but does not turn on after that. So I don’t think the over heating is the issue.
Could the start capacitor (10uf) be bad? or is it the motor?
Any other ideas?
Thanks
Rick
[quote=Rick in Pittsburgh;648089]The circulation pump on my dishwasher is not always working. Today I was watching it and it started up ok. during the last 20 minutes the pump stopped working. I measured the voltage on the pump and it was 120 volts. I did notice the pump was exceptionally hot. I could not hold my finger on it for more than a second. I put a temp meter on it and it was about 176 degrees f. When i turned it off, I took a probe and put it in the back of the motor and turned the fins on the back of the motor. It turned freely. Possibly the the thermal safety switch in the motor opened.
There are times when I first turn the dishwasher on the motor never starts. or will start for the initial rinse cycle but does not turn on after that. So I don’t think the over heating is the issue.
Could the start capacitor (10uf) be bad? or is it the motor?
Any other ideas?
Thanks
Rick[/quote]
my bet is that it’s a bad capacitor / bad motor. I’d replace them, as normal operating temps are about 140, but when you are getting hotter, it’s due to undue resistance resulting in heat. Most of motors sold now come with the starter capacitor so you are ready to go. It’s not in the rest of the machine, ie board though if you are getting that amount of heat below. The risk of running it too many more times is that it will/ could eventually cause a thermal fuse to blow at the circuit board too. As long as you got power at the motor, its good to go.