I just had the same prblem with a Faure (LVS 677) machine.
Checking various posts I found 3 possible causes:
1. Broken heater element (in the base)
2. Broken thermostat control (in the base)
3. Broken control board (top sectoin of the door)
Of course, it proved to be (3) and I started at (1), but at least now everything is running again.
I can't say which is the best order but here are the tests:
For Broken heater element:
Switch off power and disconnect from mains.
Lean unit on side so that base tray is visible. Remove base tray (may have combination of screws and clips). In my case, I was able to easily remove the 'overflow/leak float-switch) which allowed greater access to the components. I could then easily reach inside and use an ohmmeter to test the resistance of the heating element. Mine was 27 ohms (and I read that typically this is 20 - 60 ohms). If 0 or very high then likely the element is short or open circuit.
The water heater is a metal pipe/tube about 7" long and 1.5" diameter which connects into the water circuit with rubber tubes at each end. The element itself is a resistance wire wrapped around the tube with a connector carrying 2 wires to power it. The resistance is measured between these two connections.
The heater will not be too expensive (around 50pounds) to replace but I have found it quite tricky to get the rubber pipes on and off of each end (I needed mole grips to lock the clamps open).
Whilst you have access to the base, check the Thermostat.
For my unit this was easy to identify - see web sites for pictures. It needs to be in fairly close contactwith the water and in my case was pressed into the water sump at the base of the dish washer. 4 thin wires connected to it via a smaller connector. Again I tested this with a resistance meter and found that it changed resistance when in hot water. This is cheap to replace (less than 20 pounds) and easy to fit yourself.
Finally, if the main elements are working then the control board could be broken as was my case.
Again, insure the mains switch is off and plug disconnected. Access is gained by removing 6 screws at the top of the door which releases the front panel. Inside, there was a small plastic box housing the boards. I removed this for inspectoin after first noting the order of the connectors and disconnecting them. Inside the unti I found damage on the circuit board. In this case, you should consider finding someone that could replace damaged components as full replacement of the control unit is likely to be expensive (100 pounds?). In my case, a bad solder joint had finally failed, so that no power could go to the heating element.
Good luck and I hope you manage to fix your dishwasher.
Graham, October 2009
