Whirlpool Gold dishwasher runs in short cycle but not normal cycle

The problem is with the turbity sensor located at the drain area inside the dishwasher . The sensor might be dirty. Remove the debris capture cup and clean the sensor thoroughly with a small brush with dishwashing soap . Also add in WHITE vinegar and try. Should work. Worked for me!

Center Wash Arm Assembly

Lower Wash Arm -Upper Wash Arm Assembly

The center wash arm circulates water to the dishes in the upper rack. If water can’t flow properly through the center wash arm, the dishes in the upper rack won’t be cleaned properly. Over time, food particles can get trapped in the tiny holes in the wash arm. If your dishes are coming out dirty, the wash arm might be clogged. To unclog the center wash arm, remove the wash arm and dislodge any debris from the holes. If the wash arm is extremely clogged, replace it. In addition, make sure that the center wash arm assembly is mating properly with the water supply nozzle.

Pump and Motor Assembly

The motor drives an impeller to force water up through the wash arms. If the motor is defective, the pump impeller is broken, or some part of the pump is clogged, dishes won’t be cleaned properly. Make sure that power is getting to the circulation pump and motor. If power is getting to the pump and motor assembly but it still won’t run, replace the pump and motor assembly.

We also have this problem, the normal (3 hour) cycle just sits with no action and no cleaning. The 1hour cycle cleans like a champ. Spent $500 or so for it and we have paid $350 to have it fixed once. Now it has this same problem. Does anyone have a suggestion for a quality machine?

I am detailing here my full experience, including what I think has fixed the problem (I asked the forum a few months ago and had been struggling since).

Again, I have a Kenmore 665.13222N412 (made by Whirlpool) that started with not fully washing the dishes about 6 months ago. We will see soap residue/foam at the end of the cycle both at the bottom and on the dishes. Initially, we thought it was the dishwasher capsules and got a new brand. But the problem continued.

At some point (4 months ago), we could basically tell that something was wrong as we couldn’t hear the water sloshing around, but could hear the clicks. We found a turnaround by starting washing with 1-hour wash. This worked for a while (about a month), and then the 1-hour wash stopped working as well.

I did a lot of reading and found out that you could reset the control panel after pressing the three buttons fast and repeating the whole thing 3 times (3x3=9 times you have to press the buttons altogether).

The dishwasher would start working again after each reset but only for a few times. After a few washes it would display the same problems again. We lived like this for a couple of months. Eventually, even this method stopped working. Meaning, it wouldn’t work even after I would reset the control panel. It was obvious there was an underlying cause. I read a bunch again, and decided to try replacing the Pump and Motor Assembly as suggested above. This is part I purchased: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0743S...

There are videos on Youtube how to change it. I am not very handy, so it took me the best part of Saturday to do it. My main problem is that I didn’t have something called ‘clamp pinch plier’. You would need this to tighten a hose. I basically had to drive to Home Depot and buy one for like $10.

So. far it has been working (for about 2 weeks). Fingers crossed. The problem seems to be that even though Whirlpool says these dishwashers are American Made, all the major components at the bottom are Made in China. Not that I have a problem with Made in China, but I imagine they shop around vendors to build these pumps and components and go with the cheapest one. Terrible process that assumes some 5-10% of dishwashers going bad in the first 3 years is ‘acceptable’. Nevermind the stress and anguish of the customer. But the CEO gets to tell Wall Street how good their cost savings have been this quarter.

If it sounds like the unit is running through the cycle but the motor is not running you probably need the motor. There is an off chance you it can be the board however with these Whirlpools the motor is more likely. I do agree that is is strange it runs the motor in one hour cycle and not normal, that doesn’t normally happen. There are t15 screws on the inside of the door if you remove those the front panel should come loose but there are tabs on the hinge that will keep it from falling. There are two plastic covers over the wires coming out of the board, once you remove those you will be able to access the wires. There are two light blue wires nest to the largest connector that power the motor. You can test from the backside of this connector with needle probes or take this connector out and test the prongs on the board. you will need to let the dishwasher fill and be in the part of the cycle when the motor should be running. If there is 120v there you need the motor, if not you need the board. You can find videos on replacing the motor it is one of the easier motors to replace as long as you get the whole motor/sump assembly.

For those who will search for the same problem later: you should carefully read troubleshooting page for Whirlpool dishwashers. For example, Whirlpool WDF520PADM user manual on page #14 has an information that there is special optical sensor installed in dishwasher which also detects water temperature while cycle is running. Even short cycle could be longer because of not adjusted sensor. You should adjust it during the first wash after installation.

We had the same problems with our 7-year-old Whirlpool WDT720PADM.  Arms wouldn’t spin on sensor cycle but worked fine on one hour cycle.  Error codes F7E1 and F8E2.  After reading through these answers and comments, I was about to replace the turbidity sensor when I observed that another commenter simply cleaned theirs and it worked.  I inspected ours and it was very dirty and had deposits accumulated on it.  I used Dawn and a brush to clean it.  I loaded the dishwasher full of dirty dishes,  ran the sensor cycle last night and the dishes look as good as they did on the first day that we used the machine!  Just remove the filters and clean the turbidity sensor at the bottom with dish soap and a brush.  It’s worth a try!  Thank you to all who shared their helpful advice!