Thanks for the helpful reply. I had already opened the dishwasher at the point it gets stuck and the water seems very hot and there seems to be enough water too. I had increased the input temperature of the water from the water heater to the dishwasher to 140 degrees, which I was told is what the dishwasher works best with. But I'm not sure if the heater element in the dishwasher is working. I suppose I should dip our cooking thermometer into the water in the dishwasher at the point the machine won't advance to see if the water temperature is higher than the input temperature of 140 degrees. If it is higher, then would I be right to assume that the high temperature thermostats would be suspect? If the temperature hasn't increased from the input temperature then it's likely the heater element that's not working - right? Is there another way to check whether the heater element is working?
Ian Walters
January 2005