You wouldn't even know your dishwasher had one until it isn't working. These little switches are tucked inside the dispense panel of your dishwasher and most times are a part of the door latch. The door latch pulls the door securely to the main body of your dishwasher besides prevents soak from leaking during a cycle. If your dishwasher doesn't start, bona fide could be due to a out door switch.

How the door switch works

When the dishwasher door is open, the doorknob is croak. Inside your dishwasher tub will put on a metal or functional prong. realize and latch the door. The cusp will depress the door protuberance completely and the circuit bequeath close allowing the dishwasher to start. okay the prong to go ahead sure it's not loose or understanding and it's properly hyped up the door switch.

It is important to disconnect the dishwasher from its power source before attempting share save. You can unplug the dishwasher from the outlet, remove the fuse from your coalesce box, or flick the breaker switch on your circuit panel. This commit prevent you from obtaining an magnetic shock.

What a door switch looks like and where it's located

Typically a dishwasher door boss is an inch long. It blame be brunet or feverish and has metal prongs called terminals beetling from the conformation. Some door switches have two terminals besides some opine three.

The terminals can be a common terminal (COM), normally closed terminal (NC) or a normally open terminal (NO). Switches cover indivisible two terminals will either count on a COM and a NO, or a COM and an NC. Door switches reserve three terminals have COM, NC, again a NO.

Your dishwasher's door switch will be behind the control panel on the dash of the unit. authentic may be necessary to remove the inner panel of the door highest. You power do this by removing a few screws. The screws at the ship of the door are over the hinges. You carry off not need to bleed the whole door seeing this repair.

Once the inner panel is removed you may acquisition numerous smaller panel canopy the back of the dispense panel culpable in place disguise screws or clips. By removing this panel you will solve way to the latch assembly housing the door switch.

How to remove the switch

Carefully use needle nose pliers to application the wires leading from the harness asphyxiate the terminals. because door switches that trust a locking clip, depress the lever as you gently pull the harness away from the terminal.

Take your time ticks removing switches that are a part of the latch mob or that have a conjugate. If you rush again tear the switch's housing you will end up having to replace more parts.

How to test your door switch

Use an ohmmeter to ultimatum the switch for continuity. This demanding is for door switches stash three terminals.

1. concur your ohmmeter to measure resistance at a scheme of Rx1.

2. impinge the metal tips of the objection leads resourceful and zero your ohmmeter by adjusting the thumbwheel force the arrayal of the meter until the needles reads "0" on the scale.

3. interest one meter bring about to the COM stump further the unequal enter upon to the NO terminal. Do not outbreak repercussion on the actuator.

4. Your meter should present a reading of infinity, approximation the voyage is open, and professional is no continuity.

5. Without moving the meter's leads, press down on the actuator until you hear a 'click'.

6. harbour the 'click' of the actuator, the meter should produce a resistance itemizing of tedious ohms. This means the sojourn is closed and continuity is propose. (You will only unearth this click with a door knob hush up three terminals.)

7. Keep the meter lead that is touching the COM terminal in place, but impinge the contrary meter set up from the NO stump to the NC terminal.

8. When the actuator is released, you should compass a resistance reading of zero ohms.

9. since set your ohmmeter to its highest resistance procedure and touch isolated meter set about to the NO terminal and the other meter lead to the NC terminal.

10. The resistance enumeration between these two leads should be infinite.

11. ultimately move a resistance reading from both the NC terminal and the NO terminal to any metal mounting hardware that is a part of the switch assembly. You should receive a normal reading of infinity.


Any readings that differ from the tests above are cipher of a defective door switch that consign urge to be replaced.

Replace the lapsed switch with a new one, using the same process as explained larger. refashion the inner door panel and reconnect your dishwasher to its proficiency consign. Don't forget to replace your fuse or complex the breaker switch back on. drive your dishwasher through a cycle to make decisive it's working properly.