Burning smell coming from dishwasher caustic to nose. GE Potscrubber 900. Nothing on element upon inspection. Smell more at beginning of wash cycle or when using the pot scrubber button

a good clean cycle might be overdue, you can buy FINISH DISWASHER cleaner, Wallmarts has it.

Had the same issue with a 903sa. Strong burning smell. Continued to run for a while then just died. Opened the control panel (4 screws holding the plastic part at the top of the door on - open the door to access).

Mains feed into the controller was totally fried. Case was all melted. Very nasty. There was nothing obvious on the Board other than a mains resistor that looked like it had been pretty hot at some stage. The three pin mains connector (at least I think it was 3 pins) was just a big, charred bit of goop.

There are several areas to check..

The wierd smell.. you didn't exactly describe it. If it is a rotten smell or an electrical or burning smell etc.

Also you did not mention where it leaked.. front or back...or under sink..

However I suspect you may have a clogged drain or the dishwasher drain hose was installed AFTER the trap under the sink..or improperly installed lacking a "high loop".. check the manual and inspect the drain hose to ensure it is installed correctly. If it was installed after the trap instead of before you could have sewer gas coming back into the dishwasher.. not good to say the least.

You can also pull the dishwasher out to inspect the drain hose connection on the back of the unit. However that is a pretty unusual occurence.

You can also check the drain inside the dishwasher for debris blockage.. I have also seen unrelated items cause bad smells.. like a plastic lid or untensil that melted onto the drying element.. .so Remove the dish racks and carefully inpsect both drain and element.

Remember the element may be hot if the dishwasher has just finished that cycle.. so be careful!

Check the float.. it has a hood on it.. make sure it moves freely up and down.

A few other areas to examine.. the door and counter top. If the door is hard to close or rubs the couter top underneath you may not be getting a good seal.

Also check the colour of the door gasket.. if grey.. examine the corners.. you may need a kit or replacement parts for this. Go to the GE website for those and the instructions.

Also check the holes in the spray arm for blockage.. even a little bit of buildup can cause them to spray against the front door.. the door is actually more of a water resistant barrier than a totally watertight one.. beleive it or not.

Lastly excess sudsing can cause several problems.. use the reccomended rinse agent and detergents.

Dishwashers make all manner of sounds.. things can shift around during the wash cycles and become struck by the spray arm..

If the plumbing is not done correctly you will need to assess your comfort vs skill levels to correct. If it's just a clogged drain.. you can attempt unclogging up to a degree.. then call in a professional to snake it or even use a device (little camera)to inspect it.

Good Luck!

there is nothing that can smell like burning such as a slipping belt in dishwashers, but there is a heating element (the metal element loop at the bottom of the machine (inside where the dishes go). Check to see if a plastic item got stuck to this element. If not, then you need a professional to check the underside of machine for bad connections. Good luck, Macgivor.

Normally, the last part of any cycle involves using the heater element inside, and at the bottom of, the dishwasher to give dishes a final hot rinse. Possibly some small plastic-type material has become melted and stuck to the element - which will remain hot even after all water is discharged. Hence the smell.

Both problems sound like motor has failed or is failing.

Most washers do not fill they spray the dishes. When enough water has accumulated in the bottom a float switch shuts off the water and turns on the pump to remove the water. If the pump motor does not remove the water the cycle will not continue but the timer will. There may be something clogging the pump and resulting in an overload condition for the motor. This would account for the smell. A pump may turn freely when you spin it by hand because you cannot spin it fast enough by hand to determine if the pump is obstructed. Does the cycle drain the water? If the cycle stops and there is water in the bottom not being pumped out then you should look at the pump and the motor to determine problem.

Visually inspect the heating element to make sure there is nothing on it, like plastic residue or something like that. You might also want to clean the dishwasher with vinegar, CLR, or Dishwasher Magic ( http://www.appliancepartspros.com/accessories.aspx?part_id=2675393&cat=62&rdr=%2faccessories.aspx%3fcat%3d62 ) Hope this helps, APP Tech http://www.AppliancePartsPros.com