Whirlpool energy smart water heater control board bypass

Q: How do I unlock my Whirlpool Energy Smart?

Unlock the water heaters user interface (if it is locked). To do so, touch the lock button for at least 5 seconds. The Lock icon will disappear from the screen.

Introduction

This guide shows how to modify a Whirlpool DWH B00 W dishwasher (Ikea) for use with a hot water supply bypassing the heater unit of tbe dishwasher.

Table of Contents Show

Introduction
How do I convert my smart water heater to ordinary water heater?
How do I unlock my Whirlpool Energy Smart?
What is Energy Smart mode on water heater?

I was urged to do this as my heater unit was defect leading to blow the fuse whenever the device tried to heaten the water. Furthermore you can save energy as the use of a hot water supply (e.g. heated by oil or gas) is much more efficient than using electric water heaters.

This guide shows how to disable the heater unit and cheat the thermo sensor of the control circuit to accept this modification without aborting the washing program. So no replacement parts are required for this hack.

The good thing is that you can very simply undo the modification in the case when you like to reuse your heater unit (or you replaced the defect heater unit).

Unplug the power supply of the dishwasher before disassembling the unit.
Close the water stopcock.
Open the front door of the unit and loosen the 4 screws marked in red. Do not screw them fully out.
Shut the door carefully holding the front door handle.
Lower the front door about 4 cm. Then you can remove the front shield.

Open front door.
Fully unscrew the red marked screws.
Close the front door.
Carefully detach the upper white plastic part containing the control board.

Plug off connector HEW.
I recommend to insulate the cable end with some tape.

This step is necessary as the dishwasher will otherwise abort its program after about 25 minutes thereby beeping and showing blinking pattern no. 3. After putting the 10 kOhm resistor in parallel to the NTC (having ca. 50 kOhm at 20 degree Celsius) the control circuit suspects a much higher water temperature (about 80 degree Celsius).
Unplug the NTC connector which is shown highlighted.
Bend the connections of the resistor and insert it into the hole at the NTC connector. Wrap the resistors wire so that it will be connected in parallel to the NTC (I promise to add a photo for this soon). Use the tweezer for that.
Plug in the NTC connector thereby building a connection with the resistor.

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

How do I convert my smart water heater to ordinary water heater?

To convert: remove the thermistors, add ordinary thermostat, and re-wire for non-simultaneous operation. Cut back foam insulation with wallpaper knife/ wear eye protection. Use same elements that come with tank. Yellow and blue wires going to upper elements from top of tank do not need to be replaced.

How do I unlock my Whirlpool Energy Smart?

Unlock the water heater's user interface (if it is locked). To do so, touch the lock button for at least 5 seconds. The Lock icon will disappear from the screen.

What is Energy Smart mode on water heater?

Energy Smart® Module. Control Operation Via 3 Modes: Normal, Energy Smart®, and Vacation. The Energy Smart® mode automatically adjusts water tem- perature according to consumer hot water use patterns to reduce standby heat loss and save money.

whirlpool energy smart water heater control board bypass