High Limit Thermostat

Unplugged the dishwasher. Closed and disconnected the water supply. Removed two screws that attached the dishwasher to the countertop. Pulled the dishwasher out from underneath the countertop. Laid the dishwasher on its side to access the bottom. The high limit thermostat had shorted out and showed signs of electrical burn. I removed the high limit thermostat by unscrewing the single screw that holds it in place. I then pulled the two electrical terminals off the high limit thermostat . One terminal (i.e. small electrical plug connecting electrical wire to high limit thermostat) was burned badly. I cut it off the wire and attached a generic terminal bought at local hardware store (six for $3). The other terminal was fine. I plugged the new high limit thermostat in and attached it with the single screw to the dish washer. Put the dishwasher back in place. Test ran dish washer and dishes came out shiny, clean and dry. Done.

As another poster had written, on terminal on the thermostat was burned off, most likely due to poor contact by the female spade connector on the end of one of the wires. Removed the DW, tipped it back to gain access, removed the failed thermostat, installed the new one, crimped a new terminal on the end of the wire, and re-installed the DW. Tested all cycles with the heat on and everything worked as designed. Very simple repair, took more time to get the DW out and put it back in than to replace the part and repair the wire.

Disconnected power to the unit at the circuit breaker. Removed the bottom panel of the dishwasher. Used a stubby Phillip screwdriver to remove the single retaining screw holding the high limit thermostat against the bottom of the dishwasher tub. Not only was the thermostat burned out, one of it's electrical connectors was also destroyed. Removed the tape holding the cable bundle together so that I could work on the quick disconnect plug outside of the unit. One end of the quick disconnect plug was completely burned through and needed to be replaced. After doing the necessary electrical repairs and assembling the new thermostat into position I applied power and everything worked fine. It helped having a picture on your website that I could use to identify the correct replacement part.