Whirlpool G2P Integrated Dishwasher

[balvine]

I own a Whirlpool built in dishwasher, Generation 2000 4
Product number G2P DWI/1 WH

When I turn it on, in lets water in and stops. Then nothing. When I prod the front buttons, it then pumps the water out and stops. Then nothing.

The washing arms inside do not spin around although they are perfectly free.

The filter is not blocked.

I have a suspicion that my problem may be caused by a faulty circuit board: it is a Flextronics UCB-1CFD-P5-A2 with SW Version 16 made in WK:0418

Are any members able to confirm my suspicion or point me in another direction. (By the way, I am in Dominica, The Nature Island of The Caribbean, where local experts have never seen an integrated dishwasher before...)

 

[Sleepyhead]

Does the start light flash an error code?
If not, I'd suspect the wash motor isn't starting up. Could be, faulty wash motor, faulty wash motor capacitor or a faulty pcb.

 

[balvine]

Thanks for your quick comments...

There are no error led flash codes.

How can I tell if it is a faulty pump motor or a faulty pcb. (A new pcb costs £78.26 - this would therefore be an expensive mistake if the problem is the motor!).

According to the engineer, he didn't see can voltage applied to the motor, so I guess my previous question should be... how can I tell if the problem is a faulty pump motor capacitor or a faulty pcb.

The clue may be that after it just "stops", when I press the button it then pumps the water out quite happily...

Is the same pump used to "wash" dishes and to pump water out?

 

[Sleepyhead]

Nope. Different pumps.
Not sure how your engineer checked for voltage at the wash motor though. If it's disconnected then the pcb drops the voltage.

When it should be washing do you hear a buzzing noise?
If you do, spend around £10 on a capacitor and fit it to the motor.

 

[balvine]

He connected his meter to the two wires of the motor. When I said voltage I may have meant ampage...

I do not hear any noise.

Thanks to you, I think we have eliminated one of the three possibilites...

So...

Is there a quick and dirty way in which we could "trick" the washing motor into life, so that we could discover if the washing motor would work if it was given the correct trigger signal from the pcb?

Or... can you imagine a pcb that works well enough to let water in and pump water out but not well enough to start the washing motor?

Last point: thank you very much for your help so far... this is far more than I got from Whirlpool in the UK.

 

[Sleepyhead]

Sorry, no shortcuts I'm afraid. The test for voltage should have been carried out at the pcb and/or capacitor. If the motor is unplugged to test for voltage then you'll get nothing at any point. Amperage would involve a different method of testing.
If you have a multimeter that can measure capacitance you can test the capacitor. You can also check for continuity across the motor.
The main pcb could fail in such a way as to give the symptoms you describe. Strip it out and check the pcb for obvious damage.

 

[balvine]

OK. You may not have appreciated this but I'm in the Caribbean island of Dominica, where the local experts haven't probably seen as many dish washers as you have...

Two questions...

(a) Is there anyway in which we can determine if the problem is the washer motor or the pcb?

(b) Given your experience, which of these two items do you think is more likely to have suddenly died?

 

[Sleepyhead]

There will be two 12 digit numbers on a label somewhere on your dishwasher. The first begins 85. Let me have the number and I'll see if there's any information I can give you regarding further testing.

 

[balvine]

Thanks for your continued interest and help with my problem.

The numbers are 8542 347 158 10

 

[Sleepyhead]

There's not much more easy testing can be done unfortunately.
Before stripping the motor out to bench test it try fitting a new capacitor. (I'm assuming your machine is fitted with the Ceset motor and not the Askoll one). If memory serves me right you need a 7 or 8 microfarad capacitor. (If your machine is fitted with an Askoll pump then it's most likely that this is the fault, they are notorious for failing and are replaced with a Ceset motor and capacitor).
If that doesn't start it you'll need to take the motor out and wire it up on the bench to test it. If it runs with direct connection then it narrows it down to wiring or pcb. If it doesn't run then the motor will need replacing. However, if the motor is faulty there is a chance that it has in turn damaged the pcb.

 

[balvine]

Right. Now I'm a man with a mission. I'll call the dishwasher expect in a couple of hours time (now 5:30am here) and get him to test the motor on dry land (so to speak)...

I'll let you know our findings.

Once again, thanks for your continued support in this matter...

 

[balvine]

I have a Askoll pump, Article 295106, 230/240 Vac, 50Hz, 0,70A (which I guess mean 0.7Amps).

Please can you give me some guidance on how to remove the pump for a "dry test" as my belove'd engineer has disappeared...

In addition, I assume the only way to give it 240 volts is to cut the wires and use an insulated "block" to allow simple connection to the mains and then allow the reconnection when I reinstall it / a replacement...

Last question... Went ordering a Ceset replacement motor, please could you tell me a model number / description so that I get the right thing.

As always, many thanks for your continuing help...

 

[Sleepyhead]

Whenever you try to order the Askol pump it will be superceded to the Ceset one.
There's no capacitor on the Askol, one will (should be) supplied with the Ceset.
I'd suspect the Askoll pump has failed. Hopefully it won't have damaged the pcb at the same time.

 

[balvine]

The pump works. I tested it insitu by giving it a direct feed from the mains and it roared into life perfectly happily.

I have just given it a mini test as it "appears" that it may now be working... It certainly started and stopped without me prodding any buttons but I can't tell if it did anything inbetween as there was nothing in it...

More news after the dinner plates have been used for a proper test.

So... at this stage ... either it works or, I guess, its the pcb...

 

[Sleepyhead]

It could be that your Askoll pump has a cracked magnet. It happened to mine and one of the symptoms was a "stuttering" when it started up. Eventually it just refused to start, when I stripped it down I found the magnet split into two halves.
If it ran when connected back up to the machine it would infer that the pcb is ok. I'll put my money on the Askoll pump failing.