Whirlpool Dishwasher stops after filling with water

"Don't go with the control board on this! It seems like that is what it should be, but in most cases - replacing the wash motor is actually the answer. Especially in the cases where the dishwasher fills, soap dispenser opens, etc...

For whatever reason - Whirlpool did not include any type of motor feedback circuit on these models. The motor has a weak/poor internal connection, and is not running when it is under a load(i.e. - full of water). Because there is no feedback circuit - the control board is still sending the voltage down, and 'thinks' that the wash motor is running. It will go through all of the other cycle functions normally, but you will obviously have dirty dishes at the end of the cycle. These cycles go for 3+ hours too -

The part that I am recommending in this case is called the 'Sump & Motor Assy'. You will also need a complete model number when you find this part! You are missing the final digit in the model number provided. Open the door and look inside at the edge of the tub on the right or left-hand side. The final digit will be a number - 0,1,2,3,4,5, or 6. These are all different versions of the same model, and the part number will vary, depending on the version. Hope this helps -"

"Putting this here hoping it may help someone not waste their money on a pump that won’t help.

All the people who are stating it’s the latch are correct, my whirlpool gold series washer started doing this and after pulling it apart I’ve come to the conclusion that what’s happening is the metal lock tab is wearing down the plastic latch in the door and it’s no longer able to depress the latch far enough down to reset the mechanism.

You can tell if this is the case on your by the ways it sounds when closing, mine started making a light thud noise, it is supposed to make a louder clack noise.

Two ways to solve this is to either buy the latch piece and install (easy peezy like half hour tops) or be cheap like me and get something small (I’m using a small star screwdriver, the kind of point used on eye glasses screw or slightly bigger) and push in lightly on the side of the latch and you should hear a click then close door and listen for the clack and start washing

Update (11/22/2018)

Forgot my model, it’s WDT720PADB2, latch for it is like $25 cad"

This was exactly the problem with our Whirlpool dishwasher. I bought the sump and assy from sears parts website and boom it works again. Same issue where it would load with water and just sit for hours sometimes before it would drain but it never would run the cycle in between with the sprayer(s). Didn’t matter what cycle I placed. I tried unplugging it, plugging it back in and no dice. So thanks for the answe cause a $750 dishwasher we bought and I replaced the piece at $120 instead of buying another dishwasher!

"OMG!!! The latch was the issue with mine too!! Yesterday I took the entire thing apart and manually checked if the motor was working, then the pump, then the drain, I even connected the motor, pump, etc. to electricity individually to make sure they weren't damaged and to my surprise they were all working. I thought it could be a fuse, but the machine was turning on, etc. fine. My only options was a technician, new machine or personally changing the motor assembly or the panel...none of these were good options.

Long story short, after putting the machine back together I found this site today and read about the latch issue and said to myself, what the heck, let me see if by closing the door like they say here the machine will actually start washing (it was filling with water and draining before but not washing). So I held up the door firmly against the latch and voila!!! it started washing again. Thank you! Thank you! I just now need to figure out how to permanently fix that %#*@ latch...

:)"

I want to tell this crazy answer. My whirlpool would fill and drain, but not wash. I was getting ready to replace the pump and motor assembly. There isn't much room to work under the machine so I thought I would try one last thing. I removed the lower dish rack, lower spray arm and filters, then I wacked the sump assembly a couple of times. I reassembled the machine, started a cycle and guess what, it started to work just fine.

I have had the exact same problem with my whirlpool gold dishwasher. It would fill with water, run through the first cycle, pop open the soap dispenser, then just sit... For hours. I replaced the door latch, then the interface (button circuit board), neither of those parts fixed it. It seemed like it had something to do with the house shifting with different seasons, and if I twisted the door Just right, it would catch again and complete all cycles. The other day I loosened the 2 screws that held it tight to the bottom of the countertop and it has worked perfectly since. My theory is that the tabs attaching to the countertop were holding the latch tongue at an angle which wasn't making good contact in the door latch switch. So now it's somewhat free floating. Maybe worth a try!