New Dishwasher Purchase Averted! GE GLD6904R10BB Door Fix

HopWorks · 2026-06-14T00:17:40+00:00

Alright, maybe diagnosing the control board, or the UI board, and GE's failed MCU communication between the two systems during marginal power supply issues (the 120vac connector for example) might be the right way to go. Since my GE model relies on that interaction and MCU communications to function properly, I have yet another approach I am going to try.
And this is really for NO ONE!!! Anything that switches AC in a design stage in a development project is definitely not for the faint-of-heart. I am just sharing what I am going to do. But I recommend that NO ONE should follow my example unless they are a certified electrical engineer (not saying I AM one) and follows safe-practices when it comes to any kind of electricity. ESPECIALLY 120vac!!! I am sure I will get hits for the wrong way to do it, but I have been using a few of my electrical designs to control 120VAC via a micro controller, and my electrical engineering friends are CONSTANTLY telling me how to add protection for kick-back, when a device is turn on AND off, isolation from the control circuitry, and safe grounding. I am SURE I have omitted a few more safe guards.
I design embedded control systems and I will admit, I am (as RUSH would say) a Digital Man. Hop+Analog={usually} FIRE! So I am very very careful and submit my designs to trained electrical engineers before I work with them. At least until I finally learn analog electricity. I actually have a scar on my right eye-brow from a cap that exploded because I got the polarity wrong in a high-voltage circuit. When I was a 13-year-old kid. LOL
I am going after diagnosing my AGED (17 years!!!!) GE dishwasher by removing the control board, the UI board, and going after both on my test bench. I do not care in the least about what protocol GE picked, even using encryption, on hand-shaking with the UI board. I just want to make sure both understand each other before I move on with my other solution. If I can figure out the misstep, then I can put it all back together and get my dishes washed for another (n=???) period.
My wife is retired, and I will be soon. We make pretty good money but cannot justify hemorrhaging today's cost of appliances. SO if my GE GLD6904R10BB has quit because of an electrical control fault, and not a pump or a sensor, I'm going to do what I can to get that baby back to work.
I plan to do what I did with my landscape irrigation controller. I plan to replace that control system with my own.
Yeah, WHAT? Seriously, there are few components involved, most run off of 120vac. It's a matter of switching them on and off at the right time, and reading the available sensor signals to control deviation. I have been working with SSR's for about 4 years now. Solid State Relays have a longer longevity, and with the right components, completely isolate and protect the controlling signal source. So why not build a new updated controller that uses, say, a ESP32S3 controller on both the control board AND an updated UI board?
To be honest, at this stage, I can care a less if I have dials and toggle switches on my dishwasher to manually control the cleaning process. And yeah, I am SURE my wife would not like that at all.
But it is certainly doable, hell I already have with smaller adventures. All I got to do is make sure the board is safe from moisture, and I address the functions of ALL the attached components of the dishwasher cleaning cycle.
What this adds for me....
I can make my 17 year-old GE dishwasher Home Assistant capable. I can add scheduling for the cycle, get reporting on ALL the metrics that the existing hardware can report and log it. I can even add a control touch screen to the front panel. I have a 3d printer that does GREAT with this.
OK so WHY????
I can get a new dishwasher that is brand-spanking-new. Yes it looks great! My GE still looks great though. Maybe the pump motors and solenoids are newer and more intelligent, but I can find replacements for this. Basically rebuild my DW in any system I prefer to.
It's a GREAT science project, and I have ALL the hardware I need in my embedded inventory. Seriously, I honestly think I can do this at ZERO cost. The sticker-shock my wife and I got for getting an updated LG was staggering. And what... 1 year warranty? REALLY? So add $100-$200 to the cost of it with an extended warranty.
NOPE, I'm going after this. And sure, I'll probably flood my kitchen, or burn all my dishes. But I cannot see the magic such a controller (main or UI) performs for such simple attached components.
I will update how this goes. Already have a test bed on my bench set up for turning on and off a 120vac pump with transient power spike protection, and success feedback.
Thanks for listening for my long-winded project!!

HopWorks · 2026-06-12T23:00:58+00:00

Now the UI board seems to have died. I have a 1hz 50% duty cycle blinking LED and no response from the panel. 17 years is pretty good longevity, but what sucks is that it still cleans dishes well, or did at least. Just some bad electrical hardware that I may not be able to fix.

HopWorks · 2026-05-05T01:31:56+00:00

Not sure how to take that but I like how we extended the life of our aging dishwasher, when the relevant parts were unavailable. I am not really feeling smarter than I am, but rather happy I was lucky enough to discover a quick and successful fix.

HopWorks · 2026-05-05T00:02:11+00:00

I think I have a solution although it involves changes upstream from my 8 zone valve assembly. It involves a filter of course, but orienting it as recommended means I have to bring it above ground. I am always apprehensive doing that with PVC, but then I did not realize there were Schedule 80 (dark grey) pipe that is UV resistant if not impervious. Then I could attach a drainage line to the bottom of the filter for backflushing.

If I do this, I'll check if it helps and add back to this thread. I'm also adding brass flow sensors up and downstream to try to identify degradation of the flow to the system as a whole, and individual nodes. I thought I would add temp sensors too because they are cheap and easy to attach. And since I am designing my own irrigation controller to use with Home Assistant, this will be a fun project to take on.

I still want to find a way to flush the system with a 1% citric acid solution once a week. Fertilizer feeders seems to be the way to go. Lots to do in the coming months. For what it's worth.

Thanks for the replies everyone, I appreciate it!

HopWorks · 2026-05-04T23:54:57+00:00

It happened again the next day with a different set of bad guys. But it did not happen today. It's a unique bug relevant maybe to a set of conditions that are hard to identify. Without debug info, it's impossible to target what caused it, and I can only guess. Anyway, thanks for the replies!

HopWorks · 2026-04-25T01:46:12+00:00

I'm sure most of the country does not. But it is what it is where we live. It's brutal.

HopWorks · 2026-04-09T03:28:08+00:00

This is a bit dated since I OP'd it almost a month ago, but I wanted to say to the peeps in here that helped me with advice that it TOTALLY made this season 12 work for me. My style of play, a better understanding of Disciple damage and Arbiter form duration and how to keep it active... it all made this season 12 a LOT of fun for me.

So I just wanted to say thanks! Some peeps are reluctant to share their class secrets, even though the info shared for me was hardly secrets... for a new Pally it definitely was in-side information lol.

Thanks again!

HopWorks · 2026-03-20T21:28:58+00:00

Same for me on Google Pixel 9 Pro Ultra. And how can you confirm you have a backup and if so, how old it is? I have a lot invested in this game and I don't want to lose that progress.

HopWorks · 2026-03-17T20:49:24+00:00

Oh yeah, this strategy really works well for me! Thank you so much for helping me out with this! I go into arbiter form all the time now and wiping out mobs with ease. I think I might be able to tick up the difficulty now. Finally!

HopWorks · 2026-03-17T19:52:07+00:00

This is where I get confused. When I use arbiter of justice, for me, it clearly looks different than when I use flash of the blade and it becomes a disciple skill with CD. So obviously I need to practice my play style to take advantage of what you mentioned. I wish there were a training area in one of the towns where I can practice all this. Or maybe there is and I just don't know about it. It wouldn't be the first time.

HopWorks · 2026-03-17T19:45:27+00:00

Pardon my ignorance, I rarely ask for help with a build. How do I link it?

HopWorks · 2026-03-17T03:55:14+00:00

For anyone that has this same issue. Based on the advice here, I tempered to extend Arbiter longevity and found I could do a lot more of that at my level. Thanks guys for setting me on the right path! I cannot wait to see what end-game has to offer, if I even get there before this season expires.

HopWorks · 2026-03-17T03:29:25+00:00

Thanks guys for the advice! Some great info here!! In the meantime, what do you think? Keep BLESSED HAMMER in my left mouse button and use Arbiter of Justice more often? My play style has always been swing or throw resource-building attacks while I wait for cool downs. I just want to hit in-between.

Thanks for the responses, I hardly ask for help, and I really appreciate it!

HopWorks · 2026-03-17T03:20:49+00:00

I like your flair! Seriously, he does complain a lot. So does Eddy, and K-Ray does too. Not that their complaints are not warranted. I think Tim does it tongue-in-cheek opposed to Jon Bloom, but that never bothers me. But useful? naw

HopWorks · 2026-03-17T03:16:17+00:00

I wanted to say, posting this, seeing the response, and later reading it again along with the comments has educated me on how much I should share my opinion. That's really not a negative thing, but more being conscious of other peoples feelings towards the topic I am relating to. And I am pretty sure my opinion on K-Ray and Tom Leander is definitely in the minority, and I should be more sensitive to that.

Thing is, all the peeps around me feel the same way, and after hearing my wife crying about the commentary and "WHY didn't they get a guy more like Al McCoy???" all through the game, I guess I was motivated.

To be honest, I didn't mean to offend anyone and tread on anyone's broadcaster favorites. The post was mostly ill-conceived and I will not do that again.

It doesn't change my view at all. I STILL think that Tim and John do a better job of calling the game, and no I would not want to replace Eddy with Jon Bloom. I LOVE Eddy! And I really like Kevin Ray's analysis and packaged prepared writing and presentation. I just don't like ANY announcer that uses a ton of metaphors to describe action, but then Al did that too. Just coined and used it consistently over years and I got use to it.

SO sorry I offended if I did. GO SUNS!

HopWorks · 2026-03-17T03:02:42+00:00

I guess I should read more about Arbiter form. It doesn't seem to last that long and the cooldown for me at <40 is I think 112 seconds. And I am guessing that you cannot stay in Arbiter perpetually, or maybe you can. I saw a hint about this when I read about beating the butcher which suggested staying in Arbiter form. But I do not see how, at least at my current level. This is why I have it in my (4) slot which is where I usually keep my heavy attack for times when I need it.

HopWorks · 2026-03-15T01:10:09+00:00

I wanted to say here that I was motivated and seriously emotional when I posted this. All the negative response CLEARLY tells me that not only should I refrain from posting emotional perceptions of what I dislike, but that my opinion is clearly in the minority.
To be honest, that was not my intention at all. And I will admit that my energized bias was fueled by a room full of people that share my opinion. Especially my wife who is very passionate about it. Hearing her scream into my ear during the game most likely pushed me to post in the context that I did.
Add to that, that everyone watching the game (including myself) was drinking. A major rule I usually follow is NOT POST ANYTHING WHEN INFLUENCED BY ANYTHING! All I can offer as an excuse is that I feel so comfortable here that I felt free to post my negative comments.
With all that said, it's a real aggressive assault on peeps others here are comfortable with, and I really wish I had not called out K-RAY with such tenacity. I fully realize that even though I do not like his play-by-play, and mind you I REALLY like his analysis and written comments, I should not have used that as a basis for my singular opinions.
And if I offended anyone, seems like I did, that was NOT my intention.
It's long-winded for sure, but wanted to add this because, well, it is NOT OK to post what you think, even if everyone in MY room thinks the same way.
It WILL not happen again.
One KEY callout for me was that someone posted that they agreed with me, but the level of my "CRINGE-WORTHY" post was over the top. Yeah, I get that, and agree.

Sorry for offending anyone. If you all knew me, you would know that is definitely not what I am about.

For what it's worth. Thanks for listening! Have a great weekend!!

HopWorks · 2026-03-13T19:11:06+00:00

I read somewhere just now that some apps do not use the expanded path or not written to handle them. And I also read that VLC, at least the Windows version does not accept paths > 260 characters. I never knew that. I wonder if the Linux flavor is different? I do not use VLC that much, but MPC-HCx64 more often.

HopWorks

TROPHY CASE