GSD900 with interesting failure mode

Now that appliances from the 1980's are in their late 20's-30's I suppose it makes sense that some of the fatigue failures one reads about on high-use items are starting to creep in. Still, I've never seen this one before, not even on GE Dishwashers from the late '50s.

About four years ago, a friend's Potscrubber suddenly stopped working. She called a repair shop (I was in Germany at the time) and they diagnosed the door switch. They told her at the time that it was far too old to be worth fixing, but she insisted (the 900 was a quite good machine) so they banged in a new door switch.

Monday, this week (with nearly 20 people coming to Thanksgiving) she called me in panic - the Potscrubber had died and nothing would wake it up again! I didn't have time to look into what was certain to be a major overhaul, so we checked inventories (and decided for the umpteenth time that Lowe's has the worst database frontend on the planet) and found precisely two dishwashers available in Southern Wyoming.

Got the MOL Amana (yes, dahlinks, I know), set it up and hauled the still warm corpse of the 900 off for a later postmortem.

So - what done her in? Was she pushed or did she fall?

She was pushed! The repair in-duh-vi-dual (insert my usual terminology which is too salty for the refined air of the PANK forum) had drawn the L₁ tight against the frame below the door, looped it inside the enclosure by the door switch and thus created a strain, leading to fatigue, leading to first an intermittent failure and then complete failure when the black wire broke clean through.

Well, given that the harness is nearly 40 years old, I'm going to replace all seven wires. Now, the interesting thing is, of course, this is one of the oldest tricks in the business. Just surprised me to see it done with such clear intent.

If anybody is interested, I can post some pictures this weekend. I'd like to give the 1200 and the Twenty-Eight Hundred a rest. After a 14 month break, we've entertained a tremendous amount this past year and each has been run at least once and frequently twice a day, non-stop.

Oh, and the much-maligned shaded-pole motor? Running smooth as a top. No seal leaks, either.


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Post# 969640 11/24/2017 at 08:37 (2,337 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)
Checkrate/Likes 2 Now that appliances from the 1980's are in their late 20's-30's I suppose it makes sense that some of the fatigue failures one reads about on high-use items are starting to creep in. Still, I've never seen this one before, not even on GE Dishwashers from the late '50s. About four years ago, a friend's Potscrubber suddenly stopped working. She called a repair shop (I was in Germany at the time) and they diagnosed the door switch. They told her at the time that it was far too old to be worth fixing, but she insisted (the 900 was a quite good machine) so they banged in a new door switch. Monday, this week (with nearly 20 people coming to Thanksgiving) she called me in panic - the Potscrubber had died and nothing would wake it up again! I didn't have time to look into what was certain to be a major overhaul, so we checked inventories (and decided for the umpteenth time that Lowe's has the worst database frontend on the planet) and found precisely two dishwashers available in Southern Wyoming. Got the MOL Amana (yes, dahlinks, I know), set it up and hauled the still warm corpse of the 900 off for a later postmortem. So - what done her in? Was she pushed or did she fall? She was pushed! The repair in-duh-vi-dual (insert my usual terminology which is too salty for the refined air of the PANK forum) had drawn the L₁ tight against the frame below the door, looped it inside the enclosure by the door switch and thus created a strain, leading to fatigue, leading to first an intermittent failure and then complete failure when the black wire broke clean through. Well, given that the harness is nearly 40 years old, I'm going to replace all seven wires. Now, the interesting thing is, of course, this is one of the oldest tricks in the business. Just surprised me to see it done with such clear intent. If anybody is interested, I can post some pictures this weekend. I'd like to give the 1200 and the Twenty-Eight Hundred a rest. After a 14 month break, we've entertained a tremendous amount this past year and each has been run at least once and frequently twice a day, non-stop. Oh, and the much-maligned shaded-pole motor? Running smooth as a top. No seal leaks, either.

Post# 969650 , Reply# 1 11/24/2017 at 10:14 (2,337 days old) by mayken4now (Panama City, Florida)
Checkrate/Likes 4 Kevin, He was mad because she wanted it fixed, and thought "i'll show you woman". Bet that is how it went down.

Post# 969659 , Reply# 2 11/24/2017 at 12:11 (2,337 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)
Checkrate/Likes 4 They shouldn't even call themselves repairmen. They're nothing more than replacement advisors anymore.

Post# 969660 , Reply# 3 11/24/2017 at 12:19 (2,337 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)
Checkrate/Likes *It was intentional* We got three refrigerators in a row from this company which failed just at a few weeks past the warranty. I think they do this to drum up business.

Post# 969700 , Reply# 4 11/24/2017 at 17:55 (2,337 days old) by chetlaham (United States)
Checkrate/Likes 2 *1983 to 1990 Permatuffs* Were the longest lasting dishwasher ever built. I still see them in condos from the 80s in 2017, and I've seen these first hand being thrown out with nothing wrong (landlord deeming luxury apartment "dated") Post pics, but I am willing to wager strain is what did it- or bad connection from the start. If the original door switch failed from a poor spade connector, you would need to replace both, not just the switch. Heated up spade would do the same on the new switch. Panthera- thanks for keeping these dishwashers alive. They are true engineering marvels and are what made GE, GE.

Post# 969701 , Reply# 5 11/24/2017 at 17:57 (2,337 days old) by chetlaham (United States)
Checkrate/Likes *Harness replacement* Hey Panthera, what wire do you use for the replacement. I think I need something better than #14 THHN.

Post# 969742 , Reply# 6 11/24/2017 at 20:14 (2,337 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)
Checkrate/Likes *I have a few good harnesses in storage. Ge rated these for* 105�C. Seems a bit low? I'll check in the morning and post.

Post# 969752 , Reply# 7 11/24/2017 at 21:28 (2,337 days old) by chetlaham (United States)
Checkrate/Likes 1 A few good harnesses? Any to spare? ;) 105C would be fine for me. I mean even if the water reaches 212F, that is still below 100*C, and most parts of the machine have air moving about. But all in all I have tremendous respect that you are keeping real machines in service.

Post# 969945 , Reply# 8 11/25/2017 at 17:20 (2,336 days old) by jeff_adelphi (Adelphi, Maryland, USA)
Checkrate/Likes 2 GE DW's had a lot of broken wire problems in the hinge area after many years of use. I have rewired many for customers over the years.

Post# 970176 , Reply# 9 11/26/2017 at 23:53 (2,335 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)
Checkrate/Likes *Chetlaham,* I do have an extra lying around in a storage bin. Will be there early in December. Which model timer or GSD number do you have? If it's not an exact match, you'll have to do some splicing. Let me know!

Post# 970192 , Reply# 10 11/27/2017 at 02:52 (2,335 days old) by johnrk (BP TX)
Checkrate/Likes *This Is A Time* when Endora could come to the rescue!

Post# 970786 , Reply# 11 11/30/2017 at 13:22 (2,331 days old) by Spacedogb (Lafayette, LA)
Checkrate/Likes Panthera, Would it it happen to have a good black panel insert you�re willing to part with?

Post# 970839 , Reply# 12 11/30/2017 at 19:14 (2,331 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)
Checkrate/Likes *SpacedogB* I'll have to take a look. I believe the upper and lower black panels to be in good condition, but will have to pull them and really give it a gander. If they're good, they're yours for the price of packing and shipping. However - I've often made panels for GE Potscrubbers out of plexiglass which I painted on the rear with Krylon. Looks fantastic. I'll let you know, be in the storage area this weekend checking out harnesses anyway.