Bosch dishwasher fault

ToneControl

our 5.5 year old dishwasher has failed
there is a leak detector in the base, which raises a polystyrene disc against a microswitch
In our one, it seems to leak about 2 desert spoons full of water over several washes, then stops working and shows "Error code E:15)

if you tip it up, a tiny bit of water runs out, then it works again for 2-3 days

The repair man sais it's probably the main pump, and not economical to repair. Mind you, I think his criteria was "is it a leaky pipe I can see or not".

Should I just scrap it, or try another approach?

strtdv

You could glue down or remove the polystyrene disc. Obviously you won't have leak detection then

CeeJay

Keep tipping it up every 2 days and buy a new guitar 

sw67

Scrap it - spent £180 fitting a new pump and still had it tripping mains 2 weeks later. Ours was slightly different as the heating element failed first and the tiny leak started 2 weeks after repair. The guy we used who i trust said he could spend weeks looking for a leak that tripped the mains but he couldn't find when called out. bosch pump alone was £130

I only went with repair as it was integrated and i thought it would save me some hassle. I now use a hotpoint.

Emp_Fab

It's a WATER LEAK FFS!  Get your screwdrivers out and fix it.  Even if it's the pump, it will only be the plastic housing and impeller - it won't be the motor (the expensive bit).  If you aren't any good at basic repairs then ask a mate who is.  It's very likely to be an easy fix and well below the 'uneconomical to repair' threshold.

sw67

The bosch pump is a sealed unit including heating element - Its not that hard to change and its only one of a few things it can be. The biggest issue i had was the tiny amount of water req to trip mains but by the time you get to investigate the heat from the dishwasher evaporates any sign of a leak. Tried everything inc paper under pipework. 

axisus

I fixed our dishwasher that had a similar problem (different brand). I looked up online and it was suggested that there was a blockage in the system that caused the problem. I took the whole thing outside and pulled off the side panel. I basically got to this thing (see pic - ours was a bit more complex), disconnected it and pulled it out. I then spent quite a while trying to get the blocked gunk out, not easy as you can't actually get to it with anything. Mostly I think it was putting boiling water in and shaking vigorously. Anyway, eventually cleaned it, reassembled and it's been working no prob for the past 10 months.

You need to be fairly handy, I had to disassemble the plastic bits that held the float, and then remember how to reassemble it again. An intelligent person would probably film disassembly but I didn't think of that at the time! Once you get to the bit in the pic it actually comes off very easily, ours was just pushed into the seals with no other attachments, so it just lifted off.

strtdv said:

You could glue down or remove the polystyrene disc. Obviously you won't have leak detection then

so ..... stop the bit working that saves you from being electrocuted to death?

boogieman

Seeing as a new one is £350ish I’d be tempted to get rid and buy a new one. A repair isn’t going to be far short of that 

Emp_Fab

How can you claim that without knowing what the actual fault is!

SteveRobinson

axisus said:

I fixed our dishwasher that had a similar problem (different brand). I looked up online and it was suggested that there was a blockage in the system that caused the problem. I took the whole thing outside and pulled off the side panel. I basically got to this thing (see pic - ours was a bit more complex), disconnected it and pulled it out. I then spent quite a while trying to get the blocked gunk out, not easy as you can't actually get to it with anything. Mostly I think it was putting boiling water in and shaking vigorously. Anyway, eventually cleaned it, reassembled and it's been working no prob for the past 10 months.

You need to be fairly handy, I had to disassemble the plastic bits that held the float, and then remember how to reassemble it again. An intelligent person would probably film disassembly but I didn't think of that at the time! Once you get to the bit in the pic it actually comes off very easily, ours was just pushed into the seals with no other attachments, so it just lifted off.

strtdv said:

You could glue down or remove the polystyrene disc. Obviously you won't have leak detection then

so ..... stop the bit working that saves you from being electrocuted to death?

I've cleaned those white plastic bits out a few times on our Bosch dishwashers

CHRISB50

We had the same code. 

With ours we were told it was an issue with the seal around the base. The base in ours was made from plastic so it eventually degraded and warped. 

The repair man fixed it in 15 mins using silicon resealing the base. 

I think moisture had got elsewhere though as we as we used it twice and the control board fried. 

I’d scrap it. 

shrinkwrap

My old Neff did that, it would work for a few weeks and then I'd have to reach under and drain it using a cloth (power off at mains switch, yah worriers). I'd have had a go at it but the machine was wedged in tight. Got a replacement Bosch two years ago and watched the guy struggle to get the old one out.

Then the pump in the Bosch got gummed up with muck. It was just still under guarantee so they fixed the pump, but the engineer told me off for not keeping the salt and rinse-aid topped up.

mattdavis

Literally what mine did today! Error 015. Our plumber person said just get a new one. 

boogieman

CHRISB50 said:

We had the same code. 

With ours we were told it was an issue with the seal around the base. The base in ours was made from plastic so it eventually degraded and warped. 

The repair man fixed it in 15 mins using silica gel resealing the base. 

I think moisture had got elsewhere though as we as we used it twice and the control board fried. 

I’d scrap it. 

There’s your problem. Silicon might’ve worked better. 

boogieman

Emp_Fab said:

How can you claim that without knowing what the actual fault is!

Well I’m guessing that the pump/heater bit is leaking. Which seems to be a sealed unit on later Bosch models, so in the region of £130 just for the parts, possibly more depending on the model. Add labour and VAT on and you’re getting near £250 I’d imagine. 

Roland

Been there twice at least. Dishwashers are designed to last just past the guarantee period. If you like mending things, and you have the time to do so, then it’s worth taking it apart.

CHRISB50

boogieman said:

CHRISB50 said:

We had the same code. 

With ours we were told it was an issue with the seal around the base. The base in ours was made from plastic so it eventually degraded and warped. 

The repair man fixed it in 15 mins using silica gel resealing the base. 

I think moisture had got elsewhere though as we as we used it twice and the control board fried. 

I’d scrap it. 

There’s your problem. Silicon might’ve worked better. 

Lol. Oops.  Maybe you’re right. 

fields5069

ToneControl said:

our 5.5 year old dishwasher has failed
there is a leak detector in the base, which raises a polystyrene disc against a microswitch
In our one, it seems to leak about 2 desert spoons full of water over several washes, then stops working and shows "Error code E:15)

if you tip it up, a tiny bit of water runs out, then it works again for 2-3 days

The repair man sais it's probably the main pump, and not economical to repair. Mind you, I think his criteria was "is it a leaky pipe I can see or not".

Should I just scrap it, or try another approach?

We had exactly this fault, but then I compounded it by taking the door cover off and the electronics went fubar.

If I hadn't have done that, I may have taken a couple of days trawling YT to try to fix it. Apparently there is a more in-depth maintenance procedure you can do - strip it, do something to the polystyrene disc, it's on YT.

Then again we had ours for 11 years so I didn't feel too bad replacing it.

ToneControl

fields5069 said:

ToneControl said:

our 5.5 year old dishwasher has failed
there is a leak detector in the base, which raises a polystyrene disc against a microswitch
In our one, it seems to leak about 2 desert spoons full of water over several washes, then stops working and shows "Error code E:15)

if you tip it up, a tiny bit of water runs out, then it works again for 2-3 days

The repair man sais it's probably the main pump, and not economical to repair. Mind you, I think his criteria was "is it a leaky pipe I can see or not".

Should I just scrap it, or try another approach?

We had exactly this fault, but then I compounded it by taking the door cover off and the electronics went fubar.

If I hadn't have done that, I may have taken a couple of days trawling YT to try to fix it. Apparently there is a more in-depth maintenance procedure you can do - strip it, do something to the polystyrene disc, it's on YT.

Then again we had ours for 11 years so I didn't feel too bad replacing it.

yes, my first action was YT when this failed on  CHRISTMAS EVE:
you can take the disc out, but then it is inviting electrocution when the leak gets worse in the future

FarleyUK

ToneControl said:

our 5.5 year old dishwasher has failed
there is a leak detector in the base, which raises a polystyrene disc against a microswitch
In our one, it seems to leak about 2 desert spoons full of water over several washes, then stops working and shows "Error code E:15)

if you tip it up, a tiny bit of water runs out, then it works again for 2-3 days

The repair man sais it's probably the main pump, and not economical to repair. Mind you, I think his criteria was "is it a leaky pipe I can see or not".

Should I just scrap it, or try another approach?

We had this issue with ours as well. I found that if you turned off the mains and left it for a while, it would work again; however, in the end we called BOSCH and they sent an engineer.

It took 3 visits to fix, and they replaced about 4 parts, but only cost us £100 in the end - they gave several parts and installation fees for free, which was decent of them. Dishwasher is around 6 years old.

Did you speak to BOSCH directly?

ToneControl

FarleyUK said:

ToneControl said:

our 5.5 year old dishwasher has failed
there is a leak detector in the base, which raises a polystyrene disc against a microswitch
In our one, it seems to leak about 2 desert spoons full of water over several washes, then stops working and shows "Error code E:15)

if you tip it up, a tiny bit of water runs out, then it works again for 2-3 days

The repair man sais it's probably the main pump, and not economical to repair. Mind you, I think his criteria was "is it a leaky pipe I can see or not".

Should I just scrap it, or try another approach?

We had this issue with ours as well. I found that if you turned off the mains and left it for a while, it would work again; however, in the end we called BOSCH and they sent an engineer.

It took 3 visits to fix, and they replaced about 4 parts, but only cost us £100 in the end - they gave several parts and installation fees for free, which was decent of them. Dishwasher is around 6 years old.

Did you speak to BOSCH directly?

good idea, will try