dishwasher heating element

[kenmoremmm]

i have a kenmore elite dishwasher (age unknown, but at least 10 years old). stainless interior. cleans great. dries great, most of the time. however, it seems to have periods where 2-4 times in a row the heating element is stuck on after the wash cycle has completed and it melts/deforms our plastics (kids plates). then it goes away for the next 50 to 100 washes and will come back intermittently.

i've read enough new dishwasher reviews to understand that i don't want to buy a new one because you can get a lemon without the ability to return (home depot, lowes, etc).

i'm thinking it's probably the control panel, but curious if others have experienced this similar issue and what steps were taken to correct it.

[Wrenchturner]

Could be the panel or a sticky relay.  Won't be too easy to diagnose if it's intermittent and during use though.

You might be able to pull the relay and bench test it for a "failing closed" situation, or just replace it anyway.

[lthenderson]

The first thing I would do is a hard reset. Either unplug it if accessible or flip off the breaker on your electrical panel for a good ten minutes. This will allow the control board to power down completely. See if things repeat.

Are your plastics in the top rack? I'm assuming this is the case. If not, most dishwashers require all plastic to be in the top rack.
Are you hanging towels or blocking the vent during the heat cycle? The heat cycle actually exhausts the hot humid air out the vent with a small fan to control the temperature so if the vent it blocked, it can't exhaust the air.

[nereo]

Good advice on possible solutions.

I'm just curious why replacement with a used unit isn't considered. "Like new" dishwashers show up on CL *all the time* as people remodel/upgrade.
Also not sure what you mean about not being able to return a new unit that's a lemon to Lowes or HD.  I've found them more than willing to take back anything so long as its within a reasonable timeframe (always within 90 days, though I've ogtten it extended to 6+ months by asking for a manager).  IME they'll bend over backwards to help you with a faulty product.   They just turn around and make a claim with the manufacturer, fwiw.

[zolotiyeruki]

That sounds like a sticky relay to me--a similar thing happened in our oven.  If you're halfway handy with a soldering iron, it's not too difficult to replace. 

[kenmoremmm]

all the reviews on HD.com basically say the same thing: dishwasher sucked and they couldn't return it. i'm not sure of the validity of that, but i also don't want to find out. i recall similar experiences for washers/dryers.