Frigidaire dishwasher - no heat coming on to dry the dishes

when opened during dry cycle, do you feel heat?

Most dishes in any dishwasher are still wet when cycle is finished. The heat built up in the dishes during the washing cycle is what causes the water to evaporate when the machine stops.
If you want to accelerate the evaporation, simply open the door very slightly so that as the hot air escapes it causes the dishes to dry quicker.

Check the heating element.

Make sure you have the heated dry setting selected, use rinse aid at all times, and make sure the unit is getting hot. If it is not, or there is no steam generated when you open the unit after cycle - have a professional diagnose the heating element.

Hi,
Check your heating element..
A bad heating element causes many problems in dishwashers...

Dishwasher Problems The Heating Element not Working
How to Replace the Dishwasher Heating Element
Dishwasher Maintenance

heatman101

Asker's Testimonial " explanation very clear. will give it a go and seehow simple it was. thanks Ronnie " - ronnieshomes

Bad odor is caused by something besides wet dishes.

When the water finishes it's part and is exhausted, does a fan come on and run for a long time? If not, the drying fan is bad, usually mounted on the side and runs after all the water is removed. Also, after the water stops, are the dishes and inside HOT? You have to have HOT water to make a dishwasher function properly, will also take care of some of that odor. When a dishwasher cycles, it washes and then heats the inside of the washer, then it runs a fan to remove the water and dry the dishes.

Make sure your dishwasher is hooked to the HOT water line and also check to be sure it can heat it's own water, put it on pot's and pans and it should heat the water quite hot, even if it has hot water coming in, it will heat it up some more.

If the dishes are made of plastic they will be wet , they don't retain heat when in the drying cycle!

If the dry cycle has a problem, check these:

Heating element
Drying fan
Thermostat
Heating element Your dishwasher has an electrical heating element that helps to dry the dishes. If the element is burned out, the dishes won't dry properly, and you need to replace the element.

Drying fan Many high-priced dishwashers have a small fan that blows air or heated air into the dishwasher to speed up the drying process. If the fan is defective, you need to replace it.

Thermostat Some dishwashers have a thermostat that monitors the drying temperature. If the thermostat is defective, the heating element may not cycle on or off properly. If that's the problem, you need to replace the thermostat

check the heating elemt circut and make sure that heated dry has been selected it the machine allows to need the model of the machine for more help

How old is the dishwasher? Check the front control panel for a AIR DRY / HEAT DRY switch. Perhaps the switch is in the AIR DRY position. If so and you really want to HEAT DRY your dishes, set the switch for HEAT DRY. Otherwise: Second, it is not a bad thing to let your dishes AIR DRY. It saves money! Just open the Dish Washer door after the last rinse cycle has finished and let the dishes AIR DRY manually. In a hour or so they can usually be put away. Works for me :)