Kenmore dishwasher only starts after disassembly

Dishwasher Repair
1

[LEFT][FONT=Arial][/FONT]Recently my Kenmore dishwasher has become increasingly troublesome. After closing the door, the dishwasher will not start by pressing the “start” button. If I press the “Drain/Cancel” button, it will drain. I can select a wash mode (with the corresponding LED lighting up), I can select a delay start, but pressing “start” does nothing. I took the front cover off and disconnected everything from the main control board. Noticing two bad 470 micro-F capacitors (but not having spares on hand), I put everything back together and turned the power back on. The “Start” button worked properly after that. A few days later it stopped working again, so again I dismantled it, changed nothing, reassembled it and the “Start” button worked again. This process has been going on for nearly a month. A few days ago I bought two 470 micro-F capacitors and replaced the two distended ones. Same result, the start button works and then it doesn’t. At this point, I don’t know if I should buy a new control board, or a new faceplate (reasoning that the physical button/micro controller is going bad). I found the board to be part number AP3775964 but I can’t find the white faceplate. Suggestions are welcome. Which part is likely going bad?
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2

Most likely the problem is a bad control panel ribbon cable. It’s not repairable and comes as a part of the control panel. So the solution is to replace the control panel.

3

Thanks Gene! I ordered the front panel and everything worked great for a week. Then the thermal fuse blew (DMM registers no continuity and shorting it results in the dishwasher starting), seeing as this is the first time it’s blown, I believe they’re unrelated and I just ordered a fuse.

Thanks again for the advice and the part number!

4

You are welcome. Keep us posted.

Gene.

5

It’s been a few weeks with the new front panel and the new thermal fuse. The dishwasher is functioning perfectly. Thanks again Gene and AppliancePartsPros.

6

You are welcome. I’m glad it’s up and running.

Gene.