At one time, the British magazine conducted a survey of readers about the quality of household appliances. There was only one unequivocal conclusion - problem-free household appliances do not exist. Moreover, the models of the elite-class, after 5-6 years, begin to falter. Their conclusion about the degree of reliability of dishwashers of leading brands deserves attention. So the British called Ariston, Bosch and Electrolux the leaders in durability among brands.

But, as was said, even the most reliable home assistant starts to falter. And when this happens, there are two ways out: roll up your sleeves and take on repairs yourself, or call a specialist from the service center for help. Statistics speak in favor of the first option, namely, most dishwasher malfunctions are fixed at home. And in the statistics of service centers, the leading place is occupied by “no drain”.

Therefore, minor and not very complex malfunctions can be completely eliminated by yourself, but for this you need to get acquainted with the device of the dishwasher and consider possible options for repairing dishwashers. Which is the purpose of this article.

Dishwasher design

The case, as in any household appliances, performs the function of a base, on the basis of which all the main components and assemblies of the machine are placed. The main elements of the dishwasher include the following:

• Control panel, which is always located on the front side of the machine. It consists of a digital microcontroller (timer), control buttons and an indicator display (an indicator beam that is projected onto the floor surface can be used as this).

• Spray blocks or impeller. This is a dishwashing water system. It consists of a system of tubes and sprayers (there are two of them: upper and lower). Thanks to a special design, water with detergent is supplied under high pressure, which ensures high quality dishwashing.

• Float switch - a means of protection against water flow. A hollow plastic cylinder floats at a certain volume of water and thereby closes the contacts. Depending on the design solutions, these contacts close the circuit for turning on the pump to pump out water or carry out emergency closing of the water supply valve to the machine.
• The drain assembly consists of a drainage pipe, which is connected to the general sewerage network and a sump pump. The principle of operation is identical to the drain in washing machines, who is familiar.
• Water inlet with integrated inlet valve controlled by a digital microcontroller.
• The water pump is used to supply water to the sprayers and, on some models, to drain the water. As a rule, it is located together with the electric motor, which starts the pump.
• Filters are designed to "catch" the remnants of food and other items.

That's actually all the most important and the most common elements of dishwashers in case of malfunctions. Of course, different manufacturers can add other blocks that expand the functionality of the unit. But all of the above is a base, having dealt with it, you can easily deal with the individual structural elements of your car.

The most common malfunctions and their solutions

To repair a dishwasher with your own hands, you must have a minimum set of tools, namely:

• screwdrivers: Phillips, flat and hex (as shown in the image);
• multimeter with a scale for measuring resistance (Ohm);
• pliers and nippers.

No display, the machine does not respond to button presses

If there is no indication at all, check the presence of voltage in the outlet using a multimeter. If there is voltage in the outlet, the machine will be opened.

If there is an indication of the buttons and the display, but the program does not start, check the tightness of the door closing. It did not help - to repair Zanussi dishwashers, disassembly of the machine is necessary.

There should be a junction box with terminals at the bottom of the machine under the front panel. The voltage through the cable enters this box, and only then it diverges further through the control contacts. Therefore, it is necessary to remove the panel and check the condition of the terminals. This place is exposed to moisture and therefore the contacts may well oxidize. If so, clean the joints with sandpaper.

After we got to the box and if no visual damage was found to the wires and connections, it is necessary to ring the power circuit and determine the location of the damage. Disconnect the voltage input wires to the box and ring them with a multimeter (at the same time, the machine is disconnected from the mains and water supply, and all water is drained). Both cores must be called back by a device with a set scale for measuring resistance, i.e. if the conductor is intact, it should be short, as if you connect two probes together. You can easily replace a faulty cable from the socket to the box yourself, and if after that the machine comes to life - great. If not, then to repair Siemens dishwashers or other brands, there are two ways out: call a specialist or, at your own peril and risk, look for a malfunction in the circuit further.

To select the second option, i.e. searching on your own, first of all, you will need to find the electrical circuit diagram of your dishwasher model. And then check the entire circuit step by step. To do this, break the chain at the joints and use a tester to check the performance of all links in the chain.

For easier understanding of the circuit and troubleshooting, here is some information:

• in the diagram, all the colors of the wires are abbreviated in English letters, they all have a different color, so it is easier to find the necessary section of the electrical circuit. So be careful and don't go wrong. An example of such designations: BK - black, T-R - tan with a red stripe, W-BK - white with a black stripe, BR-O - brown with an orange stripe, etc.
• small circles in the diagram indicate the places of terminal connections, it is in these places that it is necessary to break the circuit and take measurements;
• a dash-dotted line means that these groups of contacts and circuit elements are located inside some block, for example, a starting relay or a button panel (the diagram next to the circled place shows the name of the block and the connection point with the designation and name of the contacts).

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Note. For any chain there must be a beginning and an end, i.e. in order for the voltage to start some element of the circuit, it is always necessary that the “+” can get to the minus. Carefully follow the path of turning on the element of the electrical circuit of interest to you (whether it be a bimetallic plate or a heating element). It's like a route from point A to point B, if there is a break somewhere, it means a dead end, the voltage will not pass, all the elements will not be able to work.

No water supply

If the water supply tap is open and the machine does not draw water into the system, then either the filter mesh is clogged or the water supply valve is faulty. The valve and mesh are located at the bottom of the machine at the point where water enters the machine. It is necessary to disconnect the machine from the pipe, remove the panel and check these elements. If the mesh is clogged, it must be rinsed with a stream of water. The performance of the valve, or rather its coils, can be checked with a tester. To do this, disconnect the leads of the coils and measure the resistance. If the device shows a short (as when connecting the probes together) - the coil has an interturn circuit. If the resistance is zero, then there is a winding break. If there is a certain amount of resistance, the winding is intact, but the problem is inside the valve. In all cases, you will have to buy a new inlet valve, similar and with the same capacity.

The machine turns on, draws water, but the sink does not start

Determine by sound whether the electric motor is “buzzing”. The answer is yes, which means, most likely, something has jammed either the engine or the pump. How to check and unlock the pump is shown in the video below.

Also, the cause of the malfunction may be damage to the motor windings. To check it, it is necessary to disconnect its conclusions and check with a multimeter for an open winding or an interturn short circuit. In the case of the mentioned malfunctions, a replacement with a similar motor or rewinding is necessary, which will be carried out by a specialist.

If there is no sound of starting and running of the engine, repair of Indesit dishwashers and search for damage must be carried out in the same way as described in the first malfunction, i.e. it is necessary, guided by the scheme, to follow the chain and look for the cause of the break.

No water drain

It is necessary to check the sewer pipe - whether the drain is clogged. The cause may be a clogged or damaged drain pump. To determine the cause of the malfunction, it must be removed and checked for blockage. Also, using a multimeter, you can check the health of the windings.

Also, the cause may be dirty filters, how to maintain them is shown in the video below.

No reverse

The causes of this malfunction can be both damage to the motor windings and a malfunction of the timer. With the latter, everything is not very simple, so if you suspect a timer, contact a Bosch dishwasher repair specialist or other manufacturers.

Machine leak

The leak of the machine may be related to the condition of the door seal, it is checked visually. If its condition is unsatisfactory, then you can buy a new one and replace it with a new one without any problems.

In the event of a leak from under the machine, it is necessary to determine the location of the leak. To do this, you need to remove the panel in order to get to the bottom. This will allow you to visually determine the location of the leak, usually a damaged pump seal, water supply hose, or in the drain system.

The machine makes unusual sounds

Check for metal or glass fragments. Bearings may be worn. If at the same time the quality of washing dishes has fallen, this may indicate damage to the pump impeller. Therefore, if there are no fragments, it will be necessary to disassemble the motor and pump in order to determine the degree of bearing wear. The motor shaft must run smoothly and smoothly without obstructions.

No water heating

This malfunction can be caused by the following reasons:

1. defective heating element;
2. the temperature sensor is faulty;
3. timer malfunction.

You can deal with the first malfunction yourself, disconnect the heating element and check for resistance. If it's broken, buy a new one and replace it. It will be quite difficult with the other two, for example, to check the timer, you need to know the entire sequence or algorithm for switching on contacts for heating the heating element. Therefore, the best solution for most users is to contact a service center.

No drying dishes

If the machine is equipped with a turbo-drying system for dishes, then this malfunction indicates damage to the fan motor windings or damage to the fan circuit. It is easy to check the windings, you need to get to the terminals for turning on the fan motor and check their serviceability with a multimeter. If the fan is operational, it is necessary to check the entire electrical circuit for turning on the fan.

We have covered the most common dishwasher problems. Of course, it is impossible to describe everything, but we hope that we have covered the troubleshooting algorithm sufficiently so that we can start repairing dishwashers on our own. It is worth mentioning that the repair of Electrolux dishwashers, or any other do-it-yourself dishwashers, should be done after the warranty period has expired. Otherwise, you lose the manufacturer's warranty, but the decision is, of course, up to you.