Fixed the Dishwasher, finally.
Lived without it for a couple of months and could not figure it out.
The error code when you tried to start it up was "uo". I started Googling....
I discovered that UO is supposed to be VO, which is "Vent Open" since the display could not make a V. The vent was controlled by a little solenoid, and if it can't seat properly, it won't let the dishwasher work. There were plenty of videos on how to fix your dishwasher, but the only one that showed my Frigidaire Dishwasher Model # FGHD2433KF1 did not show how to fix the vent.
I took apart the dishwasher and replaced the "vent" in the door for about $15. The vent was a static piece of plastic with no moving parts. That couldn't be right. It wasn't.
So I thought about it for a while. I would Google it from time to time, with the same results. I could find lots of places that wanted my parts business, and lots of semi-amateur videos on YouTube, but I couldn't get Google to give me anything other than the same set of hits on the first two pages and nothing of value anywhere further back. I read a lot of comment threads and gathered that the dishwasher I had was a cheap piece of trash, according to many frustrated owners, and that this problem could never be resolved by trying to repair the part, you would always have to replace it.
I called a couple of repair places and asked them if they could explain to me how to get to the vent motor. They do not give advice over the phone, and it's at least $80 to have someone show up at your house.
Finally, I decided to try some different search engines, and saw something on DuckDuckGo that jogged my memories. Find the Vent Motor, not the Vent.
I was looking at the "manual" which was simply some exploded drawings of the dishwasher and parts lists, and I noticed that the "vent motor" was listed with the "tub" not the door. The tub is the whole body of the dishwasher. Unfortunately, it did not show where the vent motor was located on the tub. Finally, I pulled out the secret instructions that are clipped inside the door of the dishwasher (you have to disassemble the door to get to them). They state that these secret instructions are very dangerous and should not be used unless you know what the heck you are doing! There was no diagram or instructions about the vent motor, but there was a description that explained that the "vent" is actually two openings in the dishwasher, an inlet and an outlet, and that the vent motor blew into the dishwasher and a fixed vent in the door allowed the air to escape. Ah ha! There are two places on the dishwasher that have vents, not just one. So then I looked at the drawing again, and it showed a "bezel" which is really just a great big plastic nut that would hold the vent motor on. This part would be visible from inside the dishwasher. I looked a few times before, but now, knowing that it was a ring shaped piece, I found it on the inside top of the dishwasher.
I pulled the dishwasher out from under the cabinet and loosened the bezel so that the vent would come free. The vent had a little electrical connection, which I disconnected.
The vent motor assembly was in my hand. This part costs $93.40. Everyone online says you can't fix it. So it's trash. So why not try to fix it?
So I took it apart and a bunch of parts fell out on the table and a spring sproinged across the table, which I caught deftly. I did not see where it came from so I know at this point that I'm in trouble.
I find the gasket which is supposed to seat nicely into the opening, and I see lots of little black plastic pieces in there. I dump them out on the table. How in the world are there broken pieces of plastic here? This is a pretty simple and gentle part and it doesn't even have any black plastic parts, much less any that are obviously broken off. So I took the gasket and scrubbed the hard water deposits off of it and put the little vent motor assembly back together. I even figured out where the spring went.
I reinstalled it, put the dishwasher back together, and turned it on. It worked.
When I was cleaning up, I went over to the table to pick up the pieces of black plastic. Before I swept them away, I took another look and recognized them for what they really were. Mouse droppings. We had a little visitor sitting on top of our dishwasher using the vent like his own personal outhouse. One of the little nuggets wedged itself into the vent and held it open. I can't believe this insignificant mouse dropping almost cost me hundreds of dollars.
But I am glad I figured it out.
