On first use today it stopped mid-cycle and won't drain - the circular timer dial wll not advance unless you turn it my hand. If the electro-mechanical timer dial is advanced over each drain point (i.e. drain after wash and after rinse) to the next part of the cycle then the machine resumes until it reaches the next drain point or the end of the cycle.

Fill, cold douse, heat and wash is is OK, it just stops at the first drain. Drying is done passively, on residual heat from the wash and dry cycle, so no problem there.

Its a counter-top compact unit, model SKT2052 GB/03. I think - can't say definitely as manufacturers inked-on identification label has been obliterated by the detergent.

Purchased 2004. Use once a day since then. It was repaired in 2006 by Bosch - I think it was the main motor. Always use the program that starts at 3 O'clock on the dial i.e. sub 60 C.

I've dissasembled it. All the passageways and tubes are crystal . However, there appears to have been a small leak of washer water which has got past the impeller o-ring that separates the wet side of the impeller from the motor that sits on the LHS of the underside of the machine as you look at it. Also, some salts have solidified on the motor casing. This pollution does not appeared to have penetrated to the sections of the inner motor i.e windings which are visible through the large slots in the motor case. The impeller is fully intact and turns with a slight resistance and squeak - in operation the drain cycle has, occasionally, been making a hell of an intermittment squealing noise, but this started not long after the last repair 3 years ago and was also a feature of the original machine.

I'm going with the idea that it is this motor that has gone, but that seems a little premature for that on the basis that the motor was only replaced two years ago. Have I got a duff machine or do they all have such short times between failure nowadays ?

Also, I'm a little confused as the Bosch schematic on their Uk website shows another smaller motor on the RHS underside of the machine which appears to be connected to the mechanical level monitor. I've looked but can't find the smaller one on my machine. Does anyone know if this model has a second motor and what function it performs. As the big motor is £98 + VAT? to replace, I want to be sure that its this component that does the drain function - I understand that on most machines the main motor reverses to perform wash, and rinse spray and drain.

Nick

My (full sized) Bosch dishwasher refused to drain leaving the box full of dirty water. It has separate drain and wash motors - the drain motor is a small PM rotor type which fits on a bayonet into the sump so you can change it from the front.

After a bit of messing around I discovered that there is a one way flap valve on the drain outlet in the sump which presumably stops the contents of the waste pipe falling back into the machine when the drain motor stops. This flap valve had broken and the rubber flap was stuck in the pipe - hence no drain.

Surgery was in order and as it's a fully built in machine I threaded a small bore stiff tube through the outlet and retrieved the rubber flap from the sump by pushing it out.

Normal operation restored - the machine is no different without it.

Bosch have a good website with all the diagrams and part numbers but I was too mean to buy a new rubber flap as it works OK without and can't break off again. These are not the easiest machines to work on and the spares aren't cheap.

rotodiesel.

Glad that you're fix was easy.

I think fixing mine is going to be a lot more costly.

On closer examination, found the drain pump on the other side of the sump. Visually that appears OK - no leaks and the impeller is OK. But I noticed that the plastic manifold leading from and integral with the sump, on which the big motor sits, has a chip out of its leading edge -courtesy of the last Bosch repair ? This could be breaking the seal with the motor and causing the leak.

Also there's a fair amount of salt residue on the machine's galvanised undertray. And the o-ring seals on the spur manifold running out of the back of the sump, which houses the water heater and temp sensor, don't appear to be a good fit (Shrinkage ?).

Anyway, having established the situation, I re-assembled and tested. Now, it won't fill and I get no washer/rinse action, but the drain works ! Oh cr*p. I'll check to make sure that there are no air locks, but suspect that all along the fault was in the big motor and that this has now that has fully mainfested itself.

So, worst case it could be a new motor + sump + seals - that could be £180 inc VAT if I do it myself and probably £260 if Bosch do a home visit.

This machine is now 6 years old and although Bosch's moto is "Invented for Life" , I suspect that the current machine is approaching, if not passed, the upper limit of its design life. Perhaps they were referring to the life span of a hamster !?

I think the design is flawed in several respects, especially mounting the big motor (which draws the most current) at the bottom of the cabinet, where any leak will guarentee, that that its the first component to be inundated and go pop ! They''v'e obviously done that to avoid the extra pennies chargeable to production costs of installing high pressure piping that would be needed if the pump were mounted higher up in the cabinet (there's bags of space to do this). And the fact that the motor is unsealed, with trucking great cooling slots in the side doesn't help it resist water penetration. You would have thought . . . .

New machine is £290. Hmmm ?

And, the current model on sale, looks externally the same as my one. Same cr*ppy old electro mechanical timer (Come back Noah, all is forgiven), but the go faster stripe across the door is in a different position ! Knowing the Germans, the design inside won't have changed - (Sad memories of the leaking cylinder gasket on the number one pot of VW golfs Mk 1-3 -20 years of production, and nothing done to fix the fault)

White goods are Cr*p !

Sadly though, I doubt that Sir Alan will be telling Bosch's CEO were he can find his next pay check - he's big enough to retaliate.

Cash flow wise, it will have to wait till next month .

Nick

Hmm, pity. You can't mount an impeller pump anywhere other than in the bottom of the machine as it needs to be fully submerged in order to prime - just like a car water pump.

Don't knock mechanical timers. Mine is fully electronic and I have had to repair similar microprocessor controlled Bosch machines which have failed due to solder fatigue in the controller joints - just like some of the crappy electronics fitted to VAG cars. It's time the Germans realised that solder has no fatigue strength (relay 109 anyone?).

It's time the Japanese started to make white goods.

rotodiesel.

Hmm, pity. You can't mount an impeller pump anywhere other than in the bottom of the machine as it needs to be fully submerged in order to prime - just like a car water pump.

rotodiesel.

Ok. Provide separate header reservoir or non- return valve or extended flexible drive, or simply mount the motor in the vertical plane instead of horizontal. Replace critical solder joints with spring-loaded traps

Sorted.

The level of protection for the wiring in the the lower part of the machine is IMHO very poor - worse than most cars.Lucar connectors without any sheathing, no cable management. Cheap, nasty, shoddy. But someone in government gave it an import licence and someone else gave it electrical approval.

The whole design of domestic DWs is cr*p. The cleaning power is in the high strength chemicals that are used, not in cleaning process. IMHO the process should be designed around HP water/steam with no moving parts, except for say one pump to charge a HP water/steam reservoir.

What current design regime is all about, IMHO, is keeping product life cycle short, maintenance requirements high, and middle management incomes outrageous.

Nick

I agree these machines are poor, but they are very much built down to a price. I challenge you to do better for the same money. Any of the mods you propose would add hugely to the cost and particularly the assembly time. The Japanese know how to assemble electronic components without locked in stress.

Buy a Meile machine if you don't want to have to fix it so often - better start saving...

Sorry, no magic solutions.

rotodiesel.

our bosch one stopped draining the water out a coupleof days before christmas. it was just still in warranty (thank goodness) and the repair guy found a broken piece of wineglass had jammed something inside the pumping bit that gets rid of the water. replaced it and all fine so far.