Kitchen Aid dishwasher stopped working

Kitchen Aid Dishwasher, Model # KUDI01TJWHO

My wife went to do a load of dishes the other night, set the cycle, pushed start, and went about other business. We noticed it went quiet, and the “water heating” light was on, so we gave it a few minutes, but nothing happened. I might add that nothing is going on with our hot water in the house either.

So, we pushed cancel and drain, and started over. It drains fine, FWIW.

We paid attention to exactly what it’s doing, to be able to describe it accurately here.

Set cycle, pushed start, and you can hear the water coming in for a couple minutes, then you hear a “click”, and then it gets quiet.
About 5 minutes or so later, you hear another click, then that “water heating” light comes on, and that’s where it stays, and does nothing else. We cancelled and drained and started over a couple times, exact same thing.

The soap dispenser door is also opening up, FWIW.

Anyone have any idea what is going on?

Thanks in advance!

Here are your parts
Parts for Whirlpool KUDI01TJWH0 Dishwasher - AppliancePartsPros.com

See the attachment for the tech sheet.

It sounds like the wash motor is not running.
Remove power from the unit and check the motor windings with a meter.
If one of them is open then it is toast.

If they are OK then reapply and run a cycle.
Monitor the voltage across the motor.

If you get 120 volts when the wash motor should be on then either the motor is toast or it’s impeller is jammed. The latter is unlikely as you get no noise at all when the motor should be on.

If there is no voltage then odds are that the control board is toast.
But I would check the wires from the motor up to the control board for continuity just to be sure they are OK.
KUDI01TJ.pdf (225.7 KB)

Thanks for the reply!
I understand a little of what you said, but it’s not what I do often. I’ve checked a heating element before, and it sounds very similar. I’ve repaired every appliance we own, some a few times, and I guess I’ve been lucky, in that every time the symptoms have pretty much pointed to a specific part. This is a little more complicated to me.

I have a Sperry SP-10A…I’m assuming that’s sufficient??

Are the motor windings obvious, and how specifically do I check them?

What do you think is the more likely culprit?

Is it worth fixing?

[COLOR=“Blue”]I have a Sperry SP-10A…I’m assuming that’s sufficient??[/COLOR]
Yes It should do the trick.
Use the most sensitive resistance scale and set the zero ohms before starting.
Make sure to remove power from the unit when measuring resistance.

[COLOR=“Blue”]Are the motor windings obvious, and how specifically do I check them?[/COLOR]
Yes.
Either they will be marked or you can use the wire colors see the tech sheet.
Disconnect the capacitor so you get just the winding measurement.

[COLOR=“Blue”]What do you think is the more likely culprit?[/COLOR]
I would lean towards the control board but that is just a guess at best.

[QUOTE=denman;858976][COLOR=“Blue”]I have a Sperry SP-10A…I’m assuming that’s sufficient??[/COLOR]
Yes It should do the trick.
Use the most sensitive resistance scale and set the zero ohms before starting.
Make sure to remove power from the unit when measuring resistance.

[COLOR=“Blue”]Are the motor windings obvious, and how specifically do I check them?[/COLOR]
Yes.
Either they will be marked or you can use the wire colors see the tech sheet.
Disconnect the capacitor so you get just the winding measurement.

[COLOR=“Blue”]What do you think is the more likely culprit?[/COLOR]
I would lean towards the control board but that is just a guess at best.[/QUOTE]
Thank you again!
How exactly do I check the motor windings? And is the capacitor obvious?

[COLOR=“Blue”]How exactly do I check the motor windings?[/COLOR]
Remove power from the unit.
Disconnect the capacitor.
Set the meter to RX1 and set the zero.
Measure the run winding from violet to blue, should ne around 3.7 ohms.
Measure the start winding yellow to violet, should be around 6.25 ohms.
Not sure which yellow it will be but it will be the one that goes to the start winding not the one that is the same test point as the blue wire.

[COLOR=“Blue”]And is the capacitor obvious?[/COLOR]
yes it is the round device on the side of the motor.

As far as actual meter use I will not be very helpful as I have not used a analogue meter in over 30 years.

[QUOTE=denman;858978][COLOR=“Blue”]How exactly do I check the motor windings?[/COLOR]
Remove power from the unit.
Disconnect the capacitor.
Set the meter to RX1 and set the zero.
Measure the run winding from violet to blue, should ne around 3.7 ohms.
Measure the start winding yellow to violet, should be around 6.25 ohms.
Not sure which yellow it will be but it will be the one that goes to the start winding not the one that is the same test point as the blue wire.

[COLOR=“Blue”]And is the capacitor obvious?[/COLOR]
yes it is the round device on the side of the motor.

As far as actual meter use I will not be very helpful as I have not used a analogue meter in over 30 years.[/QUOTE]
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m assuming I need to pull the dishwasher out for this, yes?

I still don’t feel confident in checking this accurately. Does the fact that the “water heating” light is coming on, point more towards the control board? I’m just guessing, but it seems it would.

I don’t want to spend too much on this by having a repair person come out. Nothing against them, but it can be a few hundred dollars in no time, and it’s over 10 years old.