My Dishwasher Is Frozen

Frozen Seals

• If you don't use your dishwasher for a long time, sometimes the motor seal and pump seal freeze together. If this happens, the dishwasher itself appears stuck. It fills with water, hums but doesn't do anything further. Turn the power off to your dishwasher before troubleshooting this problem. Remove the access panel and turn the cooling fan blade with your hand. Take your hand away from the blade, put the access panel back and restore power. If the dishwasher continues sticking, call a service technician.

Keypad Interface

• If you have a dishwasher with electronic controls, the dishwasher may freeze in the "locked" position due to a problem with the keypad interface. Hold the “lock/unlock” button down for 30 seconds and see if the dishwasher unlocks. If the dishwasher does not unlock, there's a problem with the interface, and you may need to call for service to get it replaced.

Resetting Interface

• You may be able to uninstall and reinstall the interface yourself rather than calling a technician for help. Disconnect the power from the dishwasher before attempting this repair. Open the control panel and disconnect the interface ribbon. After one to two minutes, reinstall the ribbon and close the control panel. Restore power and turn on the dishwasher to see if it unlocks.

Warning

• Always disconnect the power before performing any troubleshooting steps on the dishwasher. You risk injuring or electrocuting yourself if the power is not disconnected. It's especially important to double check that the power is turned off before working with moving parts, such as the fan blade.