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Electronics Repair (sci.electronics.repair) Discussion of repairing electronic equipment. Topics include requests for assistance, where to obtain servicing information and parts, techniques for diagnosis and repair, and annecdotes about success, failures and problems. |
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#1
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Dishwasher heating element.
I'm trying to fix the "hot dry" function on my dishwasher--as is, I get no
steam, no heat, and no drying. After seeking some advice, I removed the heating element and tested its resistance with a multimeter. It said 0 OHMs! I figured it was broken and got another, but that says 0 too!! Does this make sense? |
#2
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Dishwasher heating element.
"jonlevy" wrote in message
... I'm trying to fix the "hot dry" function on my dishwasher--as is, I get no steam, no heat, and no drying. After seeking some advice, I removed the heating element and tested its resistance with a multimeter. It said 0 OHMs! I figured it was broken and got another, but that says 0 too!! Does this make sense? Many heating elements have resistances that are less than 25 ohms. How good is your multimeter between 0 and 20 ohms? |
#3
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Dishwasher heating element.
jonlevy wrote: I'm trying to fix the "hot dry" function on my dishwasher--as is, I get no steam, no heat, and no drying. After seeking some advice, I removed the heating element and tested its resistance with a multimeter. It said 0 OHMs! I figured it was broken and got another, but that says 0 too!! Does this make sense? Have you checked that voltage is actually going to the heating element when it is supposed to be getting hot? The heating elelment may be well under 5 ohms for a fraction of a second when it is first connected to the circuit before it starts heating up, then the resistance goes up considerably. If you short the ohmmeter leads together on the lowest range, and then measure the heating element, it will certainly not be exactly the same if the elelment is cool, or has just been heated up. Have you tried connecting the old and/or new heating elements to 120V directly, and then measuring them? In my experience, it is just as likely to be the contacts on the timer switch, or the electrical connection to the heating element that are causing your problems. H. R. (Bob) Hofmann |
#4
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Dishwasher heating element.
Your meter probably cannot measure very low ohms to begin with. Your heating
element when cold should measure about 6 to 15 ohms, depending on the type. If it was truly shorted, your machine would be popping breakers, or blowing fuses, or whatever. The fault is probably the controller unit, relay, or the main control circuit board, or an open connection somewhere. Since you are not an experienced appliance service tech, I would suggest you make a call for an estimate to have your machine serviced properly. You may end up spending more time and money on it than having it serviced properly in the first place. Probably, buying a new heating element for nothing is an example of what I am getting at. In servicing these appliances, like most electrical devices, there are serious safety issues involved. -- JANA _____ "jonlevy" wrote in message ... I'm trying to fix the "hot dry" function on my dishwasher--as is, I get no steam, no heat, and no drying. After seeking some advice, I removed the heating element and tested its resistance with a multimeter. It said 0 OHMs! I figured it was broken and got another, but that says 0 too!! Does this make sense? |
#5
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
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Dishwasher heating element.
"jonlevy" wrote in
: I'm trying to fix the "hot dry" function on my dishwasher--as is, I get no steam, no heat, and no drying. After seeking some advice, I removed the heating element and tested its resistance with a multimeter. It said 0 OHMs! I figured it was broken and got another, but that says 0 too!! Does this make sense? You don't really need the "hot dry" feature. Many dishwashers come with a switch labelled "hot dry" or "energy saver" which simply turns the heating element off. You now have a permanent "energy saver" dishwasher. Just open the door and pull out the racks to let the dishes air-dry. And save some electricity to boot. |
#6
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Dishwasher heating element.
You don't really need a dishwasher. You'll save a lot more energy
hand-washing the dishes. Or just let the dog lick the plates. But some of us like the convenience and features. For example, the sanitary-dry feature that is now popular -- which requires the heating circuit to be functional. For people that keep kosher or halal, it is an essential feature. Jim Land wrote: You don't really need the "hot dry" feature. Many dishwashers come with a switch labelled "hot dry" or "energy saver" which simply turns the heating element off. You now have a permanent "energy saver" dishwasher. Just open the door and pull out the racks to let the dishes air-dry. And save some electricity to boot. |
#7
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Dishwasher heating element.
You can often get to the electrical connections by removing the
kick-panel below the door. Check for voltage at the heater terminals. If there is no voltage, Kill the breaker and open up the door itself from the inside and check for a burned-away wire, and check for continuity of the switch in the proper mode, which should connect the heater to the line. if no continuity exists at the right time as you turn the knob, the switch itself has burned contacts. You can either disassemble the switch and burnish them clean, or buy a new washer as a new timer switch usually costs $250 or more (actual worth: $4.95) because you were smart enough to find the real problem...Burnish with a fine non-mica nail file. Upon opening the switch, the burns from a toasted contact will be obvious if that's the problem causing it....A 1337 fix to this is to use a relay to handle the current of the drying element instead of the ridiculously-overpriced switch, or better, an SCR circuit. Properly-done, you will make a dishwasher that might actually outlast the motor or the cavity... Heated drying is somewhat wasteful, just leave the dishes in there for the next day. There's no real need to get the dishes into the cupboard like some kind of national emergency, only to sit for the next 4 days until they are needed again. If your water heater is set for 145ºF, then you don't need heated drying unless you are in some kind of hurry. Sanitized-drying is nothing more than a fictitious selling-point for the gullible, as your dishwashing detergent and the heat automatically-sanitize everything due to the sodium-chloride content. This goes into the same category as "Amps of power" or "powerful [x]-amp motor, or any reference to volts or amps as a unit of power, as well as any usage of the phrase "protecting your family" or any derivative or variant thereof). 0 ohms means continuity exists, the elements never short, only burn open, so both elements are good, they are simply not getting power. find out why and you will have fixed the problem. In all-too-many cases I have found a wire connection burned away because the next higher wire gauge, to prevent a potentially-unsafe condition and increase reliability, would increase manufacturing costs up to 12 cents more per unit. This is most common in american-made appliances and part of an intentionally-overlooked weakness to add additional revenue for repair costs in the hopes you will take it back to an "authorized service center" for repair. Replace any conductors you may find broken with 14AWG wire instead of the 16-18AWG that they consider safe for handling a 15-amp circuit. I have done many conversions on appliances to make them actually safe to use, as well as reliable and efficient, and never heard a complaint about the unit again. As a side note, there is no such thing as an american-made "energy-efficient" appliance as you may have been often lead to believe. A dishwasher should draw no more than 2 amps peak aside from the heater element ("energy-saver"). a washing machine should not require more than 5, and a dryer motor should not need any more than 4 amps not counting the heater element (fluff mode), for any of these to be considered anywhere near energy-efficient. When in the market, force the salesman to show you actual motor current. This is why I never see a truly-japanese-made appliance in the trash for any other reason than blatant abuse/neglect/otherwise unwanted-but-functional, yet I see nearly-new american appliances headed for the trash daily with problems that should never have happened if anyone cared about quality. |
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