Resetting controller on Ariston AFA250?


I made the mistake of opening the door of my dishwasher a few times
during the rinse cycle, now it refuses to do anything.


When I power it up the machine drains the water out of the bottom &
then stops with the green led flashing. I've tried disconnecting the
mains but I can't work out how to kick it back in to life.


We have had the problem once before & the engineer took 2 minutes to
fix it so I suspect that the controller needs reset in some way.

There aren't many button to play with, just power, half load & the rotary selector.


Does anyone know how to reset it?


Many thanks

bob wrote:
Resetting controller on Ariston AFA250?

Google is your friend. See if this will work for your model. Try
cycling into test mode and then back out into user program mode.

http://www.geocities.com/davehills/ariston

MACHINE OVERVIEW



On the top of the door at the right-hand end is a row of four program
indicator lights, a program selector button (P) and a power switch. One
of the program indicator lights will illuminate depending upon the wash
cycle selected. At the end of the wash cycle the light will flash slowly
(about once a second.)


FAULT CODES
The program indicator lights have another function, which is not seen in
normal machine operation. When the electronic control system detects a
fault with the machine one of the lights will flash rapidly. If a
problem occurs with the machine then the fault can usually be determined
from the fault code displayed. The four program indicator lights
display a four-digit binary code. If a light in on then a "1" is
indicated. If a light is off then a "0" is indicated. For example, if
the lights are OFF-OFF-ON-OFF then a binary code of 0010 is being
displayed.

Fault codes are as follows:

No Program Code Fault condition
1 Heavy wash 1000 Operation of flood
protection system
2 Normal wash 0100 Heating
element/Thermistor/Thermostat fault
3 Rapid wash 0010 Drain pump fault or drain
blockage
4 Soak wash 0001 Not filling to correct
level within 6 minutes

Note: The light will flash rapidly to indicate a fault-do not confuse
with the slow flashing light that indicates the end of a User Wash
program.

TEST MODES

The Electronic Control Systems also incorporate a couple of Test Modes,
normally only accessible by Ariston or Indesit Engineers.
There are two Test Modes: Short and Long. In the short Test Mode it is
possible to manually activate individual machine functons. In the long
test mode manual activation of functions is not possible-the test is
completely automatic.
To enter either Test Mode it must be possible to access both the program
and power buttons with the machine door closed. To do this the machine
must be released from its housing and eased forward about an inch.

To enter a Test Mode:

Set the machine to OFF with the door closed.
Press and continuously hold the "P" key, then operate the power button
in the sequence ON-OFF-ON.
The left hand light will momentarily flash, ie code 1000. This confirms
entry into the test mode. (If entry is not accepted, ie no flash, then
power off and try again)
Within 1 second of the above release and repeatedly press the "P" key,
allowing no more than 1 second between key presses:

3 key presses gives a code of 0010. This is the Long Test
4 key presses gives a code of 1010. This is the short Test Mode
If you press the key too many times then keep going until either 0010 or
1010 is displayed.

Short test procedure

If you have selected the short test procedure (1010) then:
· The machine will fill to the level switch
· The wash pump will start.
· The heater will then run for about 5 seconds
· The machine will then stop after about 50s with both heavy and
normal wash lights flashing

After the above has completed each single press of the P button will
activate different functions of the dishwasher. The program selection
lights will illuminate to indicate the function currently activated:

No Code Function
1 1000 Fill solenoid valve
2 0100 wash pump
3 1100 Heating element
4 0010 Detergent/Rinse aid dispenser
5 1010 I/Sol regen
6 0110 Drain pump
7 1110 Fill Sol
8 1100 End of short test (1100 will flash)
9 0000 Returns the machine to user mode

To exit the short test procedure during the test hold down the P button
and switch the power button to off-This resets the machine to user mode.

Long Test Procedure

If you have selected Long test procedure (0010) then:
· The machine will fill to the level switch
· Wash pump will start
· Wash pump stops and detergent dispenser operates
· Wash pump runs and heater heats to 60 deg c
· Drain pump operates
· Fills to level switch
· Rinses
· Drains
· End of test cycle (1100 Flashes)

The long Test Procedure will run for around 20 minutes.
To exit the long test procedure during the test hold down the P button
and switch the power button to off-This resets the machine to user mode.

Note: Remember to open the door to select a user wash program or to
cancel a user wash program!

Thanks very much to Mr Jordan for posting the reset instructions here!

After I had an overflow of my Ariston LSI61 built-in dishwasher and cleared the blocked filter, I found that the first light (overflow error) was blinking. After some fiddling with the buttons, I could select a wash cycle but for any cycle attempted, the machine refused to fill with water. The motor could be heard, and it would stay in the same state (without water) until switched off.

I couldn't get a repair engineer with my warranty out for 8 days - far too long to be without a dishwashwer so I thought I'd try to find a fix myself.

I found numerous postings on the web of people with similar problems but no reply other than the link to a site where you had to pay money and wait 14 days for reset instructions.

I followed the suggestion here, pulling my dishwasher out one inch to access the controls whilst the door is closed (necessary for entering the test modes), entering one of the test modes (I chose the long test) and back to the user mode. After the first few seconds of the test, I could hear the water running and the dishwasher filling. The test ran, and I entered user mode again. Now the dishwasher works!

Thanks again for these excellent instructions! This saved a service call and an 8-day wait!

Catherine