I have a Maytag portable dishwasher I purchased in 1994 which has worked flawlessly, but last night, during the “wash” cycle it abruptly stops. I noticed that the circuit breaker on the AC outlet that I had the dishwasher plugged into had tripped. I reset the circuit breaker, turned the dishwasher on again, and it tripped the circuit breaker immediately again. I then switched the plug for the dishwasher to another outlet and it tripped the circuit breaker for the other outlet. I tried both of the above with the cycle setting knob on wash (activates the motor to wash the dishes) and also changing the cycle setting knob to the dry setting (activates fan only to dry). The circuit breaker tripped in all of the
above scenarios.
I smelled no odor. There was no water on the floor. I emptied all the water out of the tub (all that I could, there was some I couldn’t soak up, even with a rag) and put a fan on the open dishwasher overnight to dry it out, thinking maybe it might dry out a leak onto any electrical circuits and the dishwasher might function again. In fact, I tried it just now, setting the cycle setting knob to the dry setting, and guess what, the blower fan came on, and the circuit breaker didn’t trip (Note that the interior tub is not bone dry, even though I had a fan on it all night, as I can feel some water in the tub when I stick my fingers in what looks like a finned area where I believe the water exits the tub). I also turned the cycle settings knob to the middle of the wash cycle, plugged it in, and the motor came on, also without tripping the circuit breaker. So far, so good.
I am guessing that maybe a gasket might be bad and have leaked water onto an electrical component, causing a short. Maybe it was a gasket which prevents water from leaking on the motor? Does anybody have any idea what gasket might be the bad, or should I simply replace “all” suspect gaskets? I saw a website which had exploded parts schematics of my dishwasher but I can’t remember which website that was. Does anybody know the website with these exploded parts schematics?
In short, any general advice on what I should do next. I don’t want to operate my dishwasher again until I fix this.
I would start by removing the lower panel (kick plate) and looking for signs of any leaks, like hard water or soap residue. That will help pin point where the leak maybe.
Nat
I removed the “toe-panel,” which has on the back of it Maytag part #9-11897 (but it is listed on this website as Whirlpool part# AP4319226) and observed the bottom panel of the dishwasher, which is called in the schematic on this website as the “Bottom, cabinet” (Whirlpool Part Number: AP3990250). This appeared to have some dried water stains on it. I suppose this indicates some kind of leakage. It may have been wet before, but as I said previously, I put a fan on the dishwasher all night to “dry it out” to try to get rid of what I believed may have been a short due to water leakage, and everything appears dried now.
I guess I now have to examine the entire interior for signs of a leak. This could be a real pain as there are a whole bunch of gaskets, any one of which may have leaked.
You should be able to see fairly clearly where it has been leaking. As you suspected look near the motor. Your unit was made by Mayteg, but Whirlpool bought Maytag last year, that’s why a lot of the parts are listed that way.
Nat
Nat -
I am trying to access the motor to inspect it. I have the front of the dishwasher on blocks. I am trying to figure out what to remove next to get to the motor. In the door schematic there is a small panel just below the door panel in the front. Is this what I need to remove or do I need to remove the entire metal cabinet which surrounds the tub (if this is even possible).
update -
I managed to remove the smaller front panel located below the front door panel and discovered water stains with dried dishwasher detergent on the right side near some wires the air blower (see the two pictures). I believe the leak is at the main door seal but I am not positive.
Question -
Should I run the dishwasher and observe any leaking or would this possibly cause damage to the dishwasher due to possibly shorting my dishwasher again? !cid__media1.jpg (42.1 KB) !cid__media2.jpg (39.2 KB)
Look on the Tub page at part #13, this should twist and you can lift the entire pump & motor assembly, make sure you disconnect the wire harness and hoses from the bottom first.
I would probably suggest replacing the entire pump and motor due to water getting into the motor, part number [COLOR=#0000ff]AP403003[/COLOR] plus it’s a lot faster than trying to figure out which and how many seals are leaking.
Nat -
The leak appears to be at the right front near the blower assembly and some wires near the blower (see pictures in previous post) rather than where the motor is in the middle of the unit.
But the water probably got into the motor causing the short and throwing the breaker like that. Of corse I can’t see everything you are looking at, this is something we have ran into before and replacing the seals only didn’t work.
Nat
[SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000][FONT=Times New Roman]Nat - [/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000][FONT=Times New Roman]So what you are saying is that the leakage I saw at the front right near the blower, probably due to failure of the door seal, is unlikely to have caused the short and that replacing the motor & pump assembly - [/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE][COLOR=#000000][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman]Part Number: AP403003 is the most likely solution?[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]
[SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000][FONT=Times New Roman]So typically failure of the door seal does not typically cause a shorting problem?[/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000][FONT=Times New Roman]Would there be any point to running the dishwasher again and trying to replicate the short and see where it becomes wet to pinpoint the leak (to see where and if it occurs in a place other than the motor) or do I risk damaging the dishwasher in doing so?[/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE]
That dishwasher may fall under Maytags recall of being a fire hazard. The jet dry disp/soap disp leaks the water runs down the wires and smokes the motor. You have to check the serial number to see if it falls into that recall I did a ton of those last winter the kit comes with a new door panel and wire harness and insulation. Maytag dishwashers grommet in the soap door always leaked if you remove the front panel you’ll probably see damage
[COLOR=#23578d][SIZE=3][FONT=Times New Roman][COLOR=windowtext]v2k04[/COLOR][COLOR=windowtext]: [/COLOR][/FONT][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000][FONT=Times New Roman]Thanks for the info on the recall of Maytag dishwashers due to a leaking soap dispenser. I found a URL about it here:[/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE] [FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][COLOR=#800080]http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07094.html[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000][FONT=Times New Roman] . Mine is not one of the listed as having a leaking soap dispenser.[/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE]
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Does anybody in this forum have an opinion on my idea of running my dishwasher again to pinpoint where it is leaking (which previously caused the circuit breaker to trip), or would this action possibly damage the dishwasher by causing a short again and tripping the circuit breaker once again?
the motor pump seal and water would pool up on the floor under motor and you would see water damage to floor and motor
the soap dispenser the grommet is rubber and shrinks over time and water goes through latch assy and runs down inside door panel and leaks around the door hinges
if the corner gaskets are missing inside tub
door seal
The lower spray arm spilts open and creats turbulance in the water and the water splashes up and over the tub lip
the door doesn’t latch tight enough and the latch needs adjusted
You are going to have to run it to pinpoint the leak otherwise you would just be guessing at it The most common is the grommet in the soap door latch I have probably replaced several hundred of those seals Run it with the door panel off and the bottom toe panel removed
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000]Sorry for the delay – it has been about four (4) months since I have been able to address my broken dishwasher (no, I am not bumping up the thread up). And yes, all that time I have been washing my dishes by hand![/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000]I finally got around to dissembling the front panel and can view the soap dispenser latch assembly. I see a lot of crusted/dried soap around the soap dispenser (see the pictures) and strongly suspect the soap dispenser grommet as the culprit, as you suggested it was a strong possibility for investigation.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000000]The only remaining question is how to test for leaks by turning on the dishwasher to watch for leaks with the toe panel and the door panel removed – when I remove the door panel, I can’t get the dishwasher to start. I tried lifting the metal latch that the door hinges on when it is closed to simulate closing the door, but no luck. Only when assemble and then close the dishwasher door have I been able to start the dishwasher. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
Sorry again - haven’t been able to get to my dishwasher lately - how do I hold the door switches in on my maytag (to check for leaks with the dishwasher running) if the door is open - aren’t the electrical contacts for the door switch somehow buried in the door - how do I locate them?
