# Solved: Dishwasher Burning Up?



## Frank4d

My wife asked me to check out the dishwasher about 5 minutes after she started it because she could see smoke in the kitchen. Sure enough, a light cloud of smoke coming from the area at the top of the dishwasher door. It smelled like burning electronics (like burned ICs or resistors) so I cut the power at the circuit breaker panel and removed the front panel at the bottom. No smoke or burned smell there, the motor was not hot, and nothing looked burned underneath. 

Figuring I need to see where the smoke was coming from before I can fix it, I turned the power back on and washed a load of dishes. Everything appeared to work and no smoke this time.

I am thinking maybe something fried inside the door? Not much there except 8 pushbutton switches, four lamps, and a dial that selects the operation mode. Does anyone know (so I don't have to take it apart) if Maytag puts circuit board assemblies inside the door?


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## ckphilli

Just a thought...

Are lizards prevalent in your area? One could have crawled in and fried. It's happened before with my a/c unit...lizard goes in...gets sideways...and we smell him burning. Sad but true; but it really doesn't hurt anything except the lizard and my stress level...I hate smelling something burning.

Anyway, I hope it works out for you-


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## new tech guy

U sure also it was not the dry cycle. I know mine which is a GE Profile Triton emits steam during the dry cycle. The burning could have possibly been a chunk of food that fell on a heating coil as well and you smelled it burning up.


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## Frank4d

My job is electrical engineer at a high tech electronics company so I know the smell... definitely electronics parts burning. Just not sure where it was coming from.


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## JohnWill

First off, the electronics are indeed in the door, you have to take a panel off to see the PCB. I'm surprised it still works after smelling circuits frying!


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## Knotbored

My bet is a teflon spachela dropped onto the heating coil, or a plastic bottle cap or a plastic picknik fork. It may be totally melted away so look for remains in the strain drainer on floor of the the diswasher.
I know that smell well-and it is exactly like an electrical insulation burning. You probably dislodged it when you reloaded the trays.


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## JohnWill

I don't use the heated drying in mine, so that could never happen here.


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## Frank4d

I took the door apart (after finding my Torx drivers) and found nothing there except a synchronous motor, switches and lights. Since apparently nothing burned, nothing to fix. As Knotbored posted, maybe something plastic. I put it all back together and hope Murphy doesn't find out.


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## JohnWill

Must be an older dishwasher, both the one I replaced a few years back and the current one have a pretty good sized electronics board in the door.


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