Short in dishwasher???

The obvious problem would seem to point to a problem with the dishwasher...
But looking things up online seem to point to a fiberglass lined hot water heater that maybe faulty inside..

I was always taught that the pipes are earth ground...it seems the lining on a hot water heater can interupt earth ground....

just thinking it is always best to not assume its a dishwasher problem and keep an open mind..

http://www.diyforums.net/electrical-shock-a-plumbing-problem-4629325.html

knarf wrote:

booniebeast wrote:

elvis44102 wrote:online sources seem to relate any shock from water faucet at fauly hot water heater/grounding

]http://ecmweb.com/grounding/electric_shocking_truth_grounding/

Interesting article and have no idea what it said to do, better call a professional!

Mrgolf stated it only happened when the DW was running. Most DW are fed water from under the faucet area. The water is trying to complete a circuit from the DW which could happen if another ground source was actually touched. eg, would be an electrical outlet plate. Just touching the plate alone would do it.

If I was mrgolf and didnt want a really funky hairdo, I would not touch the plate!

by booniebeast Today at 8:13

""If I was mrgolf and didnt want a really funky hairdo, I would not touch the plate""

I would not fool around with this problem myself, either....
just the little bit of reading I did, seems to point to it as a kinda strange problem but not unknown...

The is Earht ground which is zero .....and another thing that seems to take into account 3 phase power and something refered to as "relative ground"....there may be a voltage potential between the two (relative and earth) this could produce a "small: shock....

Right after reading that, I would say its time for professional service....

An old story along these lines. We rented an old, really old farmhouse back in the late 80;s/early 90's. The deal was, it was $200/month but we were responsible for anything that went wrong outside of the structure or roof etc. Well it had the old glass screw in breakers in the circuit breaker box. They kept blowing out. A good friend was a licensed electrician and offered to replace it for free (steaks and beer required though). So we did. He was hooking up the main line to the house when he was done and it was raining like crazy with high winds and all. I told him to stop as we'd be OK with no electricity until tomorrow when things got better. But, "Crazy" Doug was gonna finish. He got hit by a surge from a 220 line on the ladder hooking it up. Went in, hit right shoulder and out his right ear lobe. He still finished the job. After, drinking a cold one, he said that was the best one ever. We had a good time and he did a great job and I think he is still nuts!

The repairman came out today. Good News-Bad news. Bad news first. He looked under the dishwasher for the reason for the short. Very, very dirty. Lots of mice and rat droppings. He wouldn't work on it until it was cleaned up under there. That is going to be Jose's first job here when he comes here for his work-rent exchange.

The good news is that he cleaned out the dishwasher and it works better than it ever has. Dishes came out sparkling clean tonight

I would say, the good news is, them thar rodents didn't chew thru the plumbing and the electicity when they were hanging out under there. Your house and you guys could have been just a memory. They might have chewed thru enough wire insulation to create the problem you have now tho.

OK, here is where we are today. We pulled the dishwasher out, turned the power off and cleaned underneath the dishwasher. It was beyond filthy. Huge pile of crap including mice/rate feces.

Jose found some wires that were knawed thru by the rats/mices. We replaced that wire. Pushed the dishwasher back in and turned on the power. Hit the start button and...........NOTHING. No lights are coming on the front of the dishwasher. Turned the power back off and Jose checked the connections to be sure they were correct. Still nothing.

When I went down to Home Depot I took the old piece of wire. It must have been 25 years old. I forgot the name the guy called it but they don't carry it. The wire he gave me had a ground wire in it and the old one didn't. Could that be the problem.

Looks like we might be hand washing the dishes for awhile

Where did this wire go too? A junction box, or directly to the breaker box?
I need a point A to a Point B on the wire you removed.

EDIT: The ground wire is not going to make it not run, BUT!! it does need to be hooked up.

I'd much rather see you call someone in. You could lose your house, and LIVES if this is not done right.

mrgolf wrote:OK, here is where we are today. We pulled the dishwasher out, turned the power off and cleaned underneath the dishwasher. It was beyond filthy. Huge pile of crap including mice/rate feces.

Jose found some wires that were knawed thru by the rats/mices. We replaced that wire. Pushed the dishwasher back in and turned on the power. Hit the start button and...........NOTHING. No lights are coming on the front of the dishwasher. Turned the power back off and Jose checked the connections to be sure they were correct. Still nothing.

When I went down to Home Depot I took the old piece of wire. It must have been 25 years old. I forgot the name the guy called it but they don't carry it. The wire he gave me had a ground wire in it and the old one didn't. Could that be the problem.

Looks like we might be hand washing the dishes for awhile

Check your breakerbox?