[Gurrier]

Hi,

my dishwasher's 2.5 years old. Unloading it this morning, it was still hot, even though the cycle should have finished 5 hours before, and several plastic items had melted.
It looks like the element had overheated - it was still hot.

I let it cool down, and then turned the dishwasher on and off again quickly - less than a minute. The element was already hot enough to singe a tissue I held against it.

Any ideas what the problem could be? My first thoughts were the element itself, or maybe the thermostat. How difficult would replacing these myself be, and what tools would I need? Physics labs were a long time ago!

Thanks,

g

[denman]

Here is a tech sheet on the unit
http://www.servicematters.com/maytag...s/16026392.pdf

Here is the service manual for your series
http://www.servicematters.com/maytag...s/16021814.pdf

The heating element is OK
If it is heating when it should not be probably the heater relay contacts on the timer are welded shut.
If this is a metal tub could be a wire has shorted to the tub
If just overheating could be the thermostat.

[Gurrier]

Thank you! I won't have time look at it until Saturday, but I feel a lot more confident I'll be able to do something useful with it then. Manuals FTW!