One of the biggest producers of dishwashers in the US, KitchenAid are part of Whirlpool, who also manufacture appliances under several other brand names. As a result the design and components of KitchenAid dishwashers are similar to many different models on the market, which means that troubleshooting and fixing your dishwasher problems is made much easier.
Although KitchenAid dishwashers are very reliable and can last for years they do sometimes have problems either as a result of faulty parts, or due to a lack of maintenance.
If the problem is serious then calling in an engineer to repair the dishwasher may be necessary but often spending a few moments troubleshooting your KitchenAid dishwasher will quickly locate the reason for the fault and a lot of the time a simple fix will work without the hassle and cost of a call out and repair.
Like any other modern models, a KitchenAid dishwasher has fault codes which will be shown on the display screen if an error has been found by the dishwasher. Below are a few of the common faults you may encounter with your KitchenAid dishwasher. There may be slight variances from model to model, but the error codes and their meanings are usually very similar.
- The ‘clean’ light flashes once followed by six further flashes – This is a generic error code telling you that your KitchenAid dishwasher has found a general fault. This error can sometimes appear even when you haven’t had any problems with the dishwasher and it may be detecting a false positive for some reason. If this is the case then try disconnecting the dishwasher from the power supply for a few minutes then try to run a program again. If this error persists then you can reset the dishwashers diagnostics to clear the fault code. Do this by pressing the following buttons in order (again there may be variance from model to model but the process is the same) – press heated dry, normal, heated dry, normal. If done correctly then everything on the display will light up momentarily. Leave the dishwasher for a few moments then start a new wash program.
- If the problem recurs, or you can’t clear the error then beyond basic troubleshooting and maintenance, such as cleaning the filters and checking all inlets and drainage, you’ll probably need to call out an engineer for some professional advice.
- The ‘clean’ light is constantly flashing means a heating fault has been detected. Most likely you will experience this error code if your KitchenAid dishwasher is not getting hot or not drying properly. The two main components of the dishwasher which control the temperature are the heating element and the temperature sensor/thermostat. You may require a replacement part to remedy this problem, although you can check the heating element with a voltmeter to see if it is the source of the problem or not.
For further assistance please have a look at our page about common dishwasher problems and our general dishwasher troubleshooting guide.