KUDC03IVWH4 KitchenAid Dishwasher - Instructions

Pulled dishwasher from under counter, attached link to spring, hooked spring back into frame/chassis, threaded link through pulleys, attached other end of link onto door, reinstalled dishwasher under counter. All's well. Note-I purchased an extra link anticipating that the other one will fail. They're cheap enough.

Caviat: The actual repair is less than 15 minutes, but I spent a lot of time playing with it before I figured out it was that easy and fast. You don't need to remove the dishwasher from the counter to do this. And it will probably help to look at the new part closely so you can understand where the retainer clip is to press it and release the old pump.

First remove the water from the dishwasher pan that would not drain with a wet/dry vac. Otherwise the water will all drain on the floor when you remove the pump. Then remove the two screws on the kickplate on the front of the unit below the door. Remove the kickplate/maintainence access cover. The drain pump is on the right about 8 inches in. Using two hands you grasp the drain pump with your right hand and use the left hand to push the retaining clip down. Then the drain pump will rotate 1/4 turn counterclockwise and can be removed without pulling the dishwasher out. There is likely to be some water leak out that was traped in the pump housing that you can not reach with the vac. Disconnect the wire. Connect the wire to the new pump, put it in place and 1/4 turn clockwise to install it. Replace the kickplate and you're done.

Rather than remove the pump assembly - as an earlier post had done - I pulled the entire dishwasher out and laid it down on the floor. This allowed easy, direct access to the motor (that was the hard, messy part). From this point it was easy. Unplug the wiring, remove the retaining bolt, rotate the motor off the mounting brackets and pull it out. Then put the new one in. That was the easy part (about 15 minutes). The entire job took 2-and-a-half hours, most of which was taken in disconnecting, cleaning up and reconnecting the dishwasher. It's much quieter now.

I did a search on the website and read the instructions for trouble shooting. I took the inside door off by taking the screws out. I pulled the part and tested it and found it did not in fact have no ampage. I then ordered the part on line. It came in two days, I plugged it in, put the door back together and the total time was about 15-20 minutes. Easy, simple, great instructions and the entire thing only costed me the part itself. It's working great now! And I've never worked on appliances before.

Ordered new part(s), parts arrived in a few days, removed the 6 screws holding the control panel cover onto the dishwasher door (requires a torx driver), removed control panel cover (carefully, so as not to break any wires on the wiring harness from the door to the computer board), unscrewed/removed door switch, popped off the the two plastic brackets holding the door handle assembly (door handle, latch bracket, door latch actuator, spring) to the front door, removed the broken handle, installed the new handle, reversed steps, done. Works like a champ.

The one thing I did do at the same time is notice that there's only one return spring for the door handle (even though both the handle and latch bracket have hooks for springs on both sides. I suspect this is what caused the door handle to break in the first place (the spring causes uneven tension on the handle, which over time caused the arms on the handle to catch and break). So I also ordered a second spring, and when I attached the new door handle to the latch bracket assembly I also installed return springs on both sides. With even tension, the handle doesn't tend to twist when it raises and lowers the latch, so hopefully won't break again. Just a thought while you have the unit off the dishwasher.

I went on the internet and found a pdf file with the Kitchenaid dishwasher repair manual for my model. One of the hardest parts of the job was convincing myself that I could do the job. When you're young, you just go out and buy a new dishwasher and tell yourself, "it's only money, we'll make more." When you're over 50, you tell yourself, "I can fix this. It will mean I get to retire a week sooner if I don't spend another $700 for a new dishwasher."

In hindsight, I could have done this job (replace the motor) in about 30 minutes. 1) Turn off electrical breaker in basement. 2) slide out dishwasher. 3) disconnect water supply. 4) use old towels to soak up any water still in the tub. 5) turn dishwasher on it's side. 6) unhook the wire harness plug from the motor, squeeze with fingers to unhook. 7) unbolt motor, 1 bolt. 8) turn motor counterclockwise, 1/4 turn. 9) pull motor out from sump, requires some force. 10) install new motor, but use some rinse aid to lubricate the rubber seal on it. Instead I did things the hard way and took the whole darn machine apart!!! See my story below.

I was surprised at how simple the design was and how few parts there really were inside the dishwasher. I found the pdf repair manual very useful, and I also found some repair videos on line. One thing they may or may not tell you - clean the parts well and lubricate the gaskets with some 'rinse aid' liquid when you put the machine back together. Also, it might help you to take a few pictures with a digital camera before you take things apart - that might help you remember how things go back together. Take close up pictures and use a treble light to illuminate the area when you're taking a picture.

The new motor was the ticket to fixing the loud noise. I was worried because the part cost $150. Before I ordered a new motor, I hooked up the old motor to electricity on my work bench and was able to recreate the really loud noise - so I was pretty sure that the new motor would eliminate the problem. It was very easy to install the new motor, only one bolt holds it in place. I did need to disassemble several parts to get to it though. Have no fear. One thing I did was mark the electric leads that went to the small pump with red and black sharpie markers so I could easily see which terminals to plug them back onto.

After reassembling the whole dishwasher with a new motor and testing the dishwasher for leaks by pouring a couple pitchers of water into it - I put the beast back under the counter (hooking it back up to the water supply line, the drain pipe to the garbage disposal and finally the electric supply). Then I ran it and water gushed out the bottom.

This whole job should have been easy, but things never go easy for me. Maybe if I would have lubricated the old sump gasket with rinse aid it would have sealed properly when I reinstalled it. Maybe if I would have cleaned the old sump gasket and the bottom of the tub really thoroughly things would have sealed right. But I didn't - so it leaked. I went ahead and bought a new sump gasket ($30 and had a few more days of waiting and self-doubt and having the dishwasher broken down). One the gasket came, I went through the entire uninstall, disassembly, reassembly and reinstall process AGAIN!!! This time with the new clean sump gasket and thoroughly cleaned surfaces. I also lubricated the gasket with rinse aid before installation. NO LEAKS! Job finished. Lessons learned. Doing it the first time was pretty tough though. Good luck! Get a helper for moral support and picture taking!

1. Open the dishwasher and remove the two plastic grommets about halfway down on either side of the opening. Then remove the two screws under the grommets.

2. Remove the kick plate under the door. May have to lower unit by turning the feet using the adjustable wrench.

3. Make sure you have enough slack in the water input line and electrical wiring that you can pull the dishwasher out about 12 inches or more.

4. There is a spring and nylon rope link on both sides of the unit. Probably just one link is broken, but the replacement comes with two, so you can replace both or save one as a spare. Look at the good side and it should be pretty self explanatory how it attaches. I found it easiest to first thread the link around the lower pulley, then attach the link to the spring, then spring to the rear support, then the link to the door.

5. Reverse (2 to 1) to reinstall the dishwasher.

Printed door assembly parts list and photo from KitchenAid website. (With the absence of instructions, it was a big help.) Remove door cover. You'll need a star driver bit. Remove the old dispenser. Note how the metal clamp and black cover sheet are positioned. Install the new dispenser. Insure the wiring harness is snapped in place. Replace the door cover. Not difficult; just some patience. One more hint ... be careful when taking the door cover off and you won't have to disconnect any other wiring.

This was the second time I had this problem so I knew the symptoms and remedy. The tools needed were two nut drivers a ¼” and 5/16” along with a flat pry bar and Phillips screw driver. I started by removing the lower front panel by removing the two ¼” screws on either side. The lower panel will lift up and then can be removed by pulling on the bottom. There is a flat sheet metal piece behind the front panel with insulation that can be removed very easily along with the front panel. When the front panel is removed it exposes the front legs that may need to be dropped to let you lift the dishwasher over the tile (if you have ceramic tiles). The next step would be to remove any ties to the counter top if it is attached. Mine were attached by the two straps on either side with Phillips screws. After the top is free, lower the front legs by lifting the dishwasher with the flat pry bar and threading the legs up into their holders. With the legs lifted the dishwasher can be pulled out to expose the tension springs located along the sides at the very bottom. Chances are the ropes are broken off the plastic holders that fit over the door hooks.
Remove the plastic guides by removing the 5/16” nut from the middle of the lower roller. Remember to note which hole the screw is coming from this also sets the tension for how fast or slowly the door drops. Placing the nut closer to the front will drop the door slowly and toward the back will drop the door more quickly. I placed mine in the middle hole. When the plastic guides are removed attach the nylon pope to the spring and attach to the back of the dishwasher. There is a hole located on a flat piece of sheet metal the spring will attach to at the back of the dishwasher (if it is broken). Check the other side if it is still in tact. With the spring in place weave the rope around the plastic guides then pull the springs to help get the plastic end over the door hook located at the bottom of the door. Repeat this operation for the other side (kit has a both sides covered) and reinstall dishwasher in cabinet.
Steps
1) Remove front panel (1/4” nut)
2) Release Dishwasher from Cabinet
3) Lower front legs
4) Pull Dishwasher out from under Cabinet
5) Remove Rope Guide (5/16” nut)
6) Install new Rope Guide (Supplied in Kit)
7) Attach new rope to Spring and attach spring to dishwasher
8) Weave rope through rope guide
9) With door closed pull spring to relieve tension so rope can be attached to door
10) Repeat for other side (Kit has both sides)

i removed the top screw for the water input to the spinner, which gave me enough room to replace the worn nipple pin that the spinner snaps on to. then snapped the new spinner in place. and then screwed everything back into place.

So one day passing the dishwasher while it was running, I noticed a rather pungent burning smell. Yikes, I shut it off!
I took apart the pump housing at the bottom inside the dishwasher, expecting to find some kids toy plastic bit had got caught and had jammed the motor or something. But nothing there, and my dishwasher has a little screen to keep just such things from getting to the pump anyway. Hmmm.
So, ran the dishwasher again, seemed ok now.
A week later, same thing, burning smell. Pull it apart again, but no sign of trouble. But I know something is up, so I pull the kickplate and have a look underneath... Way at the back I see a red wire that looks a little melted, but it's hard to tell, so I pull the whole dishwasher out. Sure enough, one of the heater wires is melted and burned, and the plastic locknut holding that side of the heater is badly scorched. Looks like a little electrical fire, I'm lucky it didn't get out of hand!
The heater still tests ok with an ohmeter, but I don't trust it now - order the heater and replacement locknut and washers. Didn't need to order washers, they come with the heater, oh well.
Heater removal and replacement is very straight forward, but I added some high-temp gasket silicone sealant (Ultra Blue) around the seals as I think the original problem may have ben a bit of water leakage causing a short.
Took about an hour to pull the dishwasher out, remove the heater and install the new one, put a new terminal on the heater wire, and put the whole thing back under the counter.
Working great now. But not a problem I expected to have with a 2-year-old dishwasher!

Removed the screws holding the metal front of the dishwasher on, removed the 6 screws holding the dispenser in place. Put the new part in and put all screws back in where they were. Put the front back on the dishwasher with its screws, done.

remove old seal, clean and dry the gap where the new seal will be installed. Apply adhessive, place new seal, then let dry for 24 hrs.

The hardest part was getting the seal, we first ordered from a sears parts store locally. They also told me that everything was included to install it, but they did not include the adhesive, they lost the order via ups and never notified me. I finally called them and they made me go back to the parts store for a refund. I then ordered on parts select and they had it in my hands in 3 days.

Disassembled inside bottom section of dishwasher found broken chopper part,removed and replaced with new part,only hard part was holding spring compressed when putting in new part,needed needlenose and thin screwdriver.Thank You for your great website and help

I first thought I may have a defective water feed tube that runs from the bottom of the dishwasher tub aolng the back to the top. This is what the top rack sprayer plugs into to get water.

This was easily replaced by uncliping the feed tube by the two clips, one on the top of the tub and one in the back. You then give the feed tube a twist clockwise about 45 degree (relative to the bottom of the dishwasher). This will remove the feed tube and bottom sprayer.

However, this didn't fix the issue.

I then replaced the pump/motor. This is done by uninstalling the dishwasher and flipping it onto it's back so you can look at the bottom of the dishwasher. There is an electrial connector on the right side that needs to be disconnected. The motor is help on by one bolt in the back and a socket wrench with extender will be needed to get to it. Once the bolt is removed, and motor needs to be twisted about 45 degress so it feels "loose". Then you need to pull straight down and the motor will come off.

Just reverse all the steps to install the new motor.

But that didn't fix the issue either.

Come to find out, the problem I was having was the grinder screen was so gummed up with paper, the grinder broke and water was not getting through the screen. Here is how you replace the grider (which was the true fix to the problem).

- Remove the feed tube like I listed above. You DO NOT need to uninstall your dishwasher.

- Use a Torx driver to remove the three visible bolts on the bottom of the washer tub.

- Pull up on the plastic piece you just removed the screws to remove it.

- Use a smaller sized Torx driver to remove the one screw from the Grinder plate. Once you have the screw off, use a pair of pliers to pull straight up on post sticking straight up on the grinder housing.

-You can now see the grinder. Pull the screen and grinder assembly out. If it is still intact, just clean it and replace it back into its groove. If it is in pieces, it is destroyed and buy a new one.

- Reverse all the steps to put the dish washer back together.

This screen that fits into the groove was jammed up with paper and was causing my my issues. Once I placed this the macine worked great.