Sunday, December 5, 2010

Bosch Dishwasher Takes Forever

Our dishwasher was taking about five hours to complete its basic wash cycle. And the dishes were none too dry at the end. Well, it's an older model and maybe it's time for a replacement. So we were off to the appliance store where we discovered that nobody any longer makes a dishwasher in white or that takes a wooden front panel. Maybe we'll have to cough up the $250 or so that it will cost to get the thing repaired.

But - this is 2010, so let's check the Internet first. Thank God that Al Gore invented this thing.

Google the phrase, "Bosch Dishwasher Takes Forever" and you will likely find your way to this blog post or maybe this one. I didn't get to this one with the step-by-step "fix it" instructions until after I had completed my repair.

Here's the real Google phrase you need: "Bosch dishwasher solder joint"

When I hit that first blog post and read:
...I opened the control panel, pulled the control board out and, walla!, found a burnt solder joint at the heater relay. How ’bout them apples? In case you haven’t already figgered it out, you can click the picture for the larger, annotated view.

I was doubtful. A couple more posts with the same problem and I suspected I might be onto something.

Sure enough, once I pulled the controller board out on our machine - well, here's my picture:
Bosch

What a manufacturing operation Bosch must have been running. Think about it. If you can find three people who have the patience and ability to photograph, solder and post to the Web, how many of these damn bad boards must there be?

Well, If you found your way here because of my helpful blog post title, you have two choices. If you are handy with tools including a (low wattage) soldering iron, just go to the step-by-step post here and check this out for a possible solution. Otherwise, you need a new controller board. If you are within warranty, this should certainly be a freebie.