66515914000 Kenmore Dishwasher - Instructions

When the top rack stopped cleaning, I tracked down the problem to the food shredder/chopping blade, and then to the impeller that drives the blade. The knob on the impeller had sheared/broken off. That meant removing the motor, and replacing the impeller. Four hours, a band-aid, and a trip to Home Depot later, here are my suggestions

1. Look for videos – this site is awesome, but they don’t have a video on this particular repair. I found 4 that got me close to knowing what I was doing.
2. Do all the “remove internal stuff” - you had to anyway to find the issue with the shredder/cutting blade
3. Take pictures as you move along, you’ll need them when you have to remember the placement of the water line, drainage hose, wired connections etc.
4. You need a 1/4 inch socket set. A 3/8 drive will NOT work (it won’t fit between the shroud and the base). Don’t start working on the repair, unless you have a 1/4 in socket with about a 6" extension
5. Someone at Kitchenaid should be shot for having the waterline connection facing the back of the unit. Use a short adjustable wrench
6. The order comes with a washer, but when you take the impeller off this model, you’ll see you don’t need it.
7. Placement is everything – there was zero clearance between the bottom of the unit and the floor. Placement of the water line, drain hose, and power line was critical – had to re-position the unit about 7 times to get it to “play nice”.
8. Hindsight – only needed to remove the wire harness for the motor (take pictures)
9. Hindsight – gloves are a great idea – sheet metal is unforgiving

First I shut off the breaker for the dishwasher. I had to remove the 6 screws that hold the top part of the dishwasher door to find the panel with the fuse. Then following the instructions that came with the new fuse I cut the wires from the old fuse to remove it. Next I installed the new fuse and attached the wires and then replaced the screws. Turned the breaker back on and everything worked great.

I removed the old gasket simply by pulling on it. I compared its length to the length of the new gasket, figuring there would be some trimming to do -- there wasn't. The replacement was exactly the same.
I placed a mark on the center of the new gasket, and marked the center of the mounting groove. I aligned the two marks, and pushed the new gasket into the groove, starting at the center, and worked my way out towards the two ends. After getting a majority of the new gasket to seat by hand, I GENTLY used the tip of a slotted screwdriver to ensure that the New Gasket was completely snapped into place.
The fit was perfect, and no more leaks. This repair was so simple, I'm embarressed for putting it off for so long. ;)

You need to pull the unit out to get access to the spring connected to the rear leg frame. Use the everything in the kit. The rollers are upgraded and will guid the cable better.

Replaced the pump drain as one complete assembly. Couldn't do it from under the front panel as there is a small lug that you have to depress on the top of the assembly before you can twist the assembly counter-clockwise by hand. I tried but I couln't get the leverage. Had to take dishwasher out from under the unit and tip it on its side. The rest was very straightforward. If you can remove the dishwasher from under the unit easily I would suggest you don't even bother trying to change the pump drain while the dishwasher is in place. It's not worth the hassle.

A Mouse friend had seen fit to chew through the original drain line. I used my Model Number, and was able to order the correct part . It arrived the next day. The job itself is fairly straight forward. You will need to access the rear of the machine. This may include shutting off, and disconnecting the water supply line. (Adjustable wrench). Mine is under the sink, on the "Hot" side. You may also need to un-plug the unit. (recommended) . A pair of (Pliers) will be needed for the spring clamp.

Removed drain hose to ensure no blockage in drain. No blockage, then removed drain pump cap (where drain hose attaches to drain pump) with allen wrench. Push tab in on drain pump and twist counterclockwise, drain pump came off. Reversed to attach new pump and it works.

pull out the dishwasher
lay it on its side
use a 1/4" drive socket with extension and a universal joint to undo the the hidden bolt,
twist the motor 1/4 turn. this is the hard part you have to pull fairly hard and rock the motor around a little to get the o-ring to let the motor slide out.
lube up the new motor with jet dry or soap and insert back it, turn it back 1/4 turn, install the bolt and plug the motor control wires back in, then reinstall it back under the counter

I took out the old one and started in the lower left corner and threaded it all around the edge to make sure the placement and length was correct. Then I came back around with a plastic spatula to firmly seat the gasket into the groove. Worked perfectly and havent had any trouble since!

Checked the house circuit breaker, verified AC to the box under the dishwasher, removed the screws around the inside door cover, and removed the cover. Removed the outer circuit board cover. Used a multi-meter to verify AC to the door latch, and to verify the latch switch was working. Verified AC to the thermal fuse above the circuit board when the door latch was closed. Verified no AC on the other side of the thermal fuse. Removed the thermal fuse connections with pliers. Used thin flat blade screw driver to unsnap the thermal fuse assembly. Used multi-meter to verify no continuity through the fuse. Ordered the fuse assembly and replaced. Reconnected the thermal fuse connections. Manually closed door switch and saw lights on the display panel, and dishwasher started. Replaced all covers and works great.

First research then troubleshoot
Removed
1 Upper rack
2 Lower rack
3 Lower Wash Arm and Strainer Parts
4 Upper Wash and Rinse Parts
5 Accumulator assy.
6 Motor shield
7 Inlet protector (most difficult)
Noticed blade was broken off chopper assy.
Replaced chopper assy.
Runs and cleans like new.
Most difficult step was to remove Inlet protector
After removing two torx screws (#15) used small pry bar to lift inlet protector from position. Not easy to accomplish with hands alone. Inlet protector fits tightly into position.

The part snaps on using two plastic retainers (included). You have to pull down gently on the feed tube at the top of the dishwasher to set the top retainer. After that it's a piece of cake.

I removed the dishwasher from under the counter. This took the bulk of the repair time along with disconnecting the water supply and electrical connection. I had enough slack in drain hoses that I could turn the dishwasher over to replace the motor. I was surprised that there was only one bolt that held the motor in place. I put the motor on, turned the dishwasher upright and slide it back unde the counter and began the long process ofreconnecting everything. I am sureit could have gone faster if I were younger and did not need glasses for close work. Start to finish took me four hours. This was the fourth time I have replaced motors in dishwashers of various makes.

Removed back of door to access the screws holding on the air inlet. The top of the door with the controls does not need to be removed, I found out--only the bottom part. Accessing the 5 screws was difficult as there was no space to get the socket onto the screws at a 90 degree angle. Also, there are two plastic shields that fall off when you remove the inlet that need to be replaced, with difficulty because of the accessibility to the area.

PartSelect site is excellent and finding the correct part was relatively simple, although I was not absolutely sure I ordered the right part until it arrived--only one day after ordering, although I paid for the least S&H option.

After replacing broken door cables I had a small leak at the door corner. I replaced door seal with that not fixing the leak and found that the door hinges were bent a little from the cables being broke for awile. Installed new hinges and leak is fixed now. A little difficult but once unit was pulled out about 6 inches the hinges were not bad to replace