MDBH980AWW0 Maytag Dishwasher - Instructions

took screws our of side trim and top trim, decreased height on leveler legs and pulled dishwasher from the cabinet, replaced cables and springs from both sides on the door, lubed door hinges cleaned everything under dishwasher re-inserted and re-installed trim screws. took around an hour with clean up.

We followed the instructions in the video online to replace the latch assembly. Removing the electric wires from the old latch assembly was difficult; I read that others had trouble with that too. Two of us worked together. I inserted a screwdriver between the plastic box shaped thing holding the wires and the old latch assembly --- between the two metal pieces that extended from the latch into the plastic box shaped thing. I pushed the screwdriver thru until I could hold both ends. I held tightly while my partner pulled the latch assembly off of the wires. Repeat for the wires on the other side. Pretty easy. So happy to have fixed it ourselves.

First, we removed all of the screws around the perimeter of the interior door panel and lifted it up. (we didn't take it completely off because that would have required disconnecting wires so we just held it up out of the way.)

Second, the plastic on the latch assembly was broken so that part came out fairly easily. The hard part was disconnecting the metal prongs that plug it in to the door control wires. We tried everything--prying, pulling--and finally got all three of us in there. One pulled on the latch end of the prongs, the other pulled on the door wiring end of the prongs, and I squeezed the prongs in-between with needle nose pliers. This broke the prongs on the latch side, which was fine since we were replacing the entire latch (the directions in the service manual we downloaded didn't give any indication that disconnecting the prongs would be difficult--I feel like there must be a trick to it, but breaking the prongs worked fine too!)

Third, we plugged in the prongs of the new latch--went in easily!--and popped the new latch into place in the door. It wasn't held securely, probably because of the broken plastic, but we replaced the inner door and screwed it in place, and when we shut the door it worked.

I removed eight screws and installed the new parts. The replacement factory parts are better then the originals and the latch handle should not break again. Had I called for service it would have cost $149 (not incuding parts) just for them to show up to look at it and tell me that they need to order these same parts. Plus, I would have had to wait an addtional two weeks for them to order the parts and come back to do the repair since most service companies do not carry parts with them. Their parts are marked up and would have cost 30% more for the same factory parts I order from you. The parts including shipping were $36.30 and I had the repair completed in three days, including standard shipping time. Quite a savings! and very easy to complete the repair.

Thank you!

If you have already figured out what the problem and the part number is, and have gotten this far, then you probably already know how to fix it and do not need instructions. But if you do, I took the following steps:

1) Use a #T20 star bit to remove the screws from the inner door panel. [Note: I would use a manual screw driver as opposed to a drill/driver, because you are less likely to accidentally strip the threads in the screw holes];

2) Lift the panel up and detach the wire harnesses from the metal receptacles attached to the old assembly.

3) Remove the old latch assembly, and then press the wire harnesses into the metal receptacles on the new assembly. [Note: You may have trouble getting the wiring harnesses out. If you pull hard enough you can get them off, but if you truly cannot, simply detach the metal receptacles from both the new and old latch assemblies and place the old metal receptacles on the new assembly with the wire harnesses still attached. If you choose this method, be careful with the little plastic retainer bars that secure the metal receptacles, they are pretty easy to break.];

3) Put the new latch assembly in its seating and re-secure the inner door panel. If you used a drill/driver before, I would really switch to a manual driver at this point.

4) Take the dishes out of your bathtub, and place them in the dishwasher.

5) Close the door back.

6) Stare.

Disconnect the power,open panel and remove screws with the exception of the two bottom ones. This allows the panel cover to be opened far enough to pull latch assembly clear.
Remove electrical contacts (2) and put defective unit aside. Connect new latch unit to both wire saddles,line up unit with proper holes and install two screws. Once fixed in place,install all other screws and switch power back on.Do a short test run to check for any leaks

1 - Disconnect the electrical power
2 - Open the dishwasher door
3 - Use Allan wrench to remove the screws from the inside door panel
4 - Separate the inside pane from the door
5 - Remove the latch assembly
6 - Use a screw driver or pliers to remove the electrical connectors from the broken latch assembly
7 - Connect the electrical connectors to the replacement latch assembly
8 - Place the replacement latch assemble in the door
9 - Replace the inside door panel
10 - Replace the screws to secure the inside door panel
11 – Reconnect the electrical power

Read the Q & A, watched the videos and tried not to drop any screws into the wash tub. Walter from Tucson, AZ made a great point about not overtightening any screws that bed into plastic.

Received the entire latch/switch assembly rather than just the plastic latch handle. This was a pleasant surprise, especially for the price. The latch assembly was clearly a better designed and more robust assembly than the original.
Removed the inside panel of the door by removing the dozen or so TORX screws.
Pulled the inside panel away from the outside door panel (gently, cables attached) to gain access to the latch/switch assembly. A second set of hands was helpful for this and some following steps.
At that point the latch assembly was free mechanically from the door, but there were two wiring harnesses attached to the latch assembly via plug connectors to the two microswitches on the latch assembly. It looked like it was going to be easy to unplug the harness from the switches, but I could not do it. Never did figure out how to do it.
Removed the two microswitches (with harnesses attached) from the 'old' latch assembly by pulling back the plastic tab that holds each switch in place. At that point the rest of the latch assembly was completely free from the machine.
Removed the two microswitches from the 'new' latch assembly using the same method as above. This step requires care as the plastic parts and switches can be damaged.
Put in place the two 'old' microswitches with wiring harnesses attached on each side of the 'new' latch assembly. These snap in place. This requires care, as above, and the second set of hands to hold away the inside door panel.
Put the latch/switch assembly in place in the door, and put the inside door panel back in place.
Re-installed the TORX screws holding the inside door panel - and latch assembly - to the door.
I kept the 'new' microswitches because one day the 'old' switches may fail. If that happens and I want to replace the microswitches, I still don't know how I will remove the switches from the wiring harness. I guess I'll figure that out if the time comes.
Except for the difficulties disconnecting the microswitches from the harnesses, this was an easy and straightforward job. The latching of the door seems more positive, now, and the machine is working fine.

A common theme you'll see thoughout the repair stories;

1. many broken handles at the hinge
2. TURN THE POWER OFF.

This assembly comes with the microswitches (which is not a bad idea to replace since they are electromechanical and will eventually fail). My only recommendation is to buy a couple of these handle assemblies because they WILL fail. I'm on my 3rd!

I followed the directions in the dishwasher manual how to remove the top rack of the dishwasher, basically removing the stops on each side, and I set the rack on the counter. I replaced both sides even though one had not yet broken. To replace the part, 5 screws had to be removed; I used an allen wrench. The replacement location of the part was pretty obvious once the screws were removed. The inside of the plastic piece that was opened in the process of removing the defective part was dirty so I took some time to clean that out before attaching the new part. The actual unscrewing and attaching the new part probably took 10 or 15 minutes per side. It took a few tries to get the height adjusting lever to move freely before I tightened the screws. The rack works great now.

Snapped out the old retainer, snapped in the new. Then snapped in the washer arm. Done. Works great.

Unplug the power cable. Remove 11 torx fasteners holding the inner door panel. Remove two sets of wires from old opener and install the new door opener assembly. Replace all the screws. About 10 minutes with a power driver.

Removed the bottom tray. Removed the two clips in the top tray guides and removed the top tray. Removed the top spray arm and transfer tube by unclipping it from the top and at the back and then rotated it down and out. Removed the six screws around the upper pump housing and removed it along with the bottom spray arm. Removed the three screws holding the filter protector plate and removed it. Removed the two screws holding the accumulator / flow plate and removed it. Put it back together in reverse order careful to not over tighten the screws.

After noticing that the nozzles in the washer arms seemed clogged, I ordered replacements from PartSelect.com. Installing them was a breeze. The upper arm had a torx screw in it and the bottom just required a nut driver to get off. I replaced the arms and ran some DishWasher Magic through it and now my dishes are clean again!