The short answer
A Bertazzoni DW dishwasher that will not start is more often not being allowed to start than unable to. On this family the door latch, a control lock left on, a delayed-start setting and the household supply account for most of it before any component is suspected.
What an owner actually sees
- Completely dark, no response to any button — A supply question rather than an appliance question. Breaker, under-sink switch, or the connection itself.
- Lights on but no response to Start — The machine has power and is declining. Control lock, delayed start, or a door it does not consider closed.
- A beep or a blink when Start is pressed, then nothing — It is refusing deliberately, usually because of the door latch or a lock. That acknowledgement is useful evidence.
- NEAR MISS — it starts but never completes — A machine that begins and then stalls has a cycle or drainage fault, not a start fault.
What it usually turns out to be, in order
- Door not latching, or the latch switch not making — First on this family. The latch has to satisfy a switch before anything runs, and a door that feels shut can still be short of the switch — particularly if a rack is overloaded or an item is proud of the front.
- Control lock or delayed start active — Second, and free. Both are easy to set by accident, both make the machine look dead to Start, and both clear with a button hold the owner has never needed before.
- No power at the machine — Third. The breaker, the under-sink switch, or a connection disturbed by other work. This is the cause that resolves in seconds and is skipped because it feels too simple.
- Water supply shut off or the inlet valve failed — Fourth. The machine starts, finds no water and gives up, which many owners read as a failure to start. The tell is a hum or a click rather than silence.
Check in this order, and why
- 1. Press hard on the door while pressing Start — If it fires, the latch or its switch is your fault and nothing else matters.
- 2. Check the breaker and the under-sink switch — Both, and in that order.
- 3. Hold the control-lock button and clear any delayed start — Consult the panel legend rather than guessing, and watch for the acknowledgement beep or blink that confirms the lock was on.
Read this before touching the appliance
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel. A capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. A standard US household branch circuit is 15 A or 20 A at 120 V; a large appliance circuit is typically 30 A or higher at 240 V — if this machine trips its breaker every time it is switched on, stop there and call, because a repeated trip is the protection working rather than a nuisance.
Models in the DW family — The model numbers this page covers.
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| DW11UBT32D129 | bertazzoni:dishwasher:dw |
| DW18PR | bertazzoni:dishwasher:dw |
| DW18S2IPV | bertazzoni:dishwasher:dw |
| DW18S2IXV | bertazzoni:dishwasher:dw |
| DW24PR | bertazzoni:dishwasher:dw |
| DW24S2IPB | bertazzoni:dishwasher:dw |
| DW24S3IPV | bertazzoni:dishwasher:dw |
| DW24T2IPB | bertazzoni:dishwasher:dw |
| DW24T2IXB | bertazzoni:dishwasher:dw |
| DW24T31PT/26 | bertazzoni:dishwasher:dw |
| DW24T31XT/26 | bertazzoni:dishwasher:dw |
| DW24T3IPT | bertazzoni:dishwasher:dw |
| DW24T3IPT/26 | bertazzoni:dishwasher:dw |
| DW24T3IPV | bertazzoni:dishwasher:dw |
| DW24T3IXT | bertazzoni:dishwasher:dw |
| DW24T3IXT/26 | bertazzoni:dishwasher:dw |
| DW24T3IXV | bertazzoni:dishwasher:dw |
| DW24XT | bertazzoni:dishwasher:dw |
| DW24XV | bertazzoni:dishwasher:dw |
| DW60BI/24 | bertazzoni:dishwasher:dw |
Owner fix or service call
Call when the door latches properly, no lock or delay is set, the breaker and under-sink switch are both on and the machine is still dark, because at that point you are into the terminal block, the door-switch assembly and the control board. Call immediately and stop testing if the machine trips a breaker, if you find scorching anywhere, or if the panel is warm to the touch. Everything before that is free and needs no tools.
Nearby pages for these models
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
