Why did my dishwasher have a spark at the door hinge?

Question

This morning when my wife opened the dishwasher there was a pop and she thought she saw a flash near the bracket arm that swings the door down. I also smelt some slight burning.
What bothers me is the RCD did not trip and the fuse box in the plug is OK and the dishwasher was still powered. If this had been an electrical fault it should have blown something.
Is there normally electrics in the side panels of dishwashers?
How can I be sure if the dishwasher is safe?

Solar Mike · Accepted Answer

Are there buttons in the door panel? If so, then there are connections ie wires going through to the panel.
It may be that ine wire is broken and re-made contact with itself causing the spark that was seen. If so, this would not be detected as a fault because there was no fault.
If the broken wire touched the frame to cause a spark then that would and should have triggered a fault.
If the wires are starting to degrade / break then while it may work now it will only get worse. Start saving for a repair bill or replacement.

Ted Mittelstaedt · Answer

It's not uncommon for that to happen the wires go through that area to get to the timer and the repeated flexing of the copper work hardens it eventually leading to cracks. I've repaired a former dishwasher a few times by splicing in new wire.

Answered by Ted Mittelstaedt on June 10, 2021

Why did my dishwasher have a spark at the door hinge?

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