Dishwasher repair or replacement?

Help? I've got a Sears "Ultra Wash" dishwasher (going on 8 years old). Yesterday when starting it, it came "on" for a few seconds and stopped...did it a few more times.

Can't get it to finish a load, keeps trying to "start" and then turns off. I understand some try to heat up the water before washing...our water temp isn't the problem.

Fix it or replace it? I've got no experience with dishwasher at all.

Any thoughts, opinions, experience, or troubleshooting tips?

Eight years is a pretty long time, I'd replace it.

Peter

I've got a close friend in the business that does repairs - I'll stop by and ask, but it'll take me at least a day.

I repaired mine a couple of years ago - it was the motor that sells for about $100-125 and he just gave me a used one that looked like brand new.

Some of the repairs are dirt cheap parts and others are not worth fixing. There have been quite a bit of improvements in dishwashers over the last several years.

Sigman, have you tried www.repairclinic.com? They have good info, I have used them in the past.

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was_jlh said:
Sigman, have you tried www.repairclinic.com? They have good info, I have used them in the past.

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ditto.

i put new rollers and belt in my dryer for less than $50 for the parts, shipped.
it was pretty simple, really.

you should research it, and see if it might be something easy to repair.

but it could be an excuse to buy a nicer one!

Bob

Had to get a serviceman recently. Dishwasher would not drain. It seems a couple tiny little silicone feet from a cutting board had gotten through the filters to wedge themselves in the drain pump. No parts to replace, but it still cost around $100. Sigman, in your case I wonder if the door switch/latch could be the culprit. This would certainly stop the washer like you describe if it wasn't engaging. Good Luck!

Geoff

Just so happens that I have been having dishwasher trouble too. The door springs on my 15-year-old have been breaking. The first time it happened was no big deal. I just bent the broken one so it worked again. Then, last week it broke again, but get this: this time the sound it made was so loud that it set off the burglar alarm! Apparently, the frequency of the spring and the bang convinced the "glass-break" sensor that a window had been broken. That's weird!

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif

Suggestion #1 - Try starting the machine further along in the wash cycle. That is, turn the dial further along instead of the normal start position. If it works in some other location, I would suspect the timer mechanism that is behind the dial.

Suggestion #2: Take the door panel apart and look for a loose wire.

Chuck

I fixed mine for under $100. The silly motor bushings went and there was no way to replace them without breaking stuff. It was relatively easy to replace the whole pump+motor assembly.

Make sure you kill the power before doing anything. There are lots of live wires in there.

Daniel

If you have to call a professional repairman..BUY A NEW ONE INSTEAD!!
I had a washer repaired for about $150. and two months later something else happened to it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mecry.gif

If an appliance is over a couple of years old it does not usually pay to repair it (unless you can do the repairs yourself).

Glenn

If you get a big kick out of fixing your own stuff, I'd try to repair it. But I'm not hearing that from you. The cost of that diswasher spread out over the eight years you've owned it is nothing. Get a new one that's much quieter and cleans better.

Very little to go on, but my source says that it's probably the bushings in the motor (the motor needs to be replaced). It's trying to run and can't so it shuts down.

They're not hard to work on, but unless you know for sure what's wrong, it can be expensive buying parts, especially if they're the wrong parts.

If you use it alot, and money is not an issue, I'd say replace it with a newer more efficient and larger capacity model.

I certainly appreciate the posts here!! I've been looking at the cost of parts and having a repairman come out "just to tell me what's wrong" before I pay for the parts and then added labor costs on top of his "just to tell me what's wrong with it" visit...

Indeed the cost of a new one spread out over 8 years is not a bad spread! I think I'll go shopping for a new one this weekend!

Thank you all!!