The short answer
Before anything is opened on a SPS dishwasher that refuses to run, establish whether it has power, whether the door is latched and whether a lock is set. The table below carries a single model code for this family, so everything on this page describes one build: the panel layout and the part positions do not shift under you.
What you observe on these models
- The panel is completely dark and nothing responds — No power reaching the machine: breaker, the outlet under the sink, or the junction box connection behind the toe-kick.
- Some panel buttons respond and others do nothing — A failing touch panel or membrane. It is the one symptom on this list that points at a part rather than a setting.
- The door will not latch firmly, or the handle feels slack — A latch that does not pull the door in stops the cycle for safety reasons, and it is very often a strike plate or an alignment issue rather than a switch.
- NEAR MISS — the cycle starts and then aborts part way with water in the tub — That is a drain fault, not a start fault. The drainage page for this family covers it.
Causes, most likely first on the SPS family
- The control lock or a delay start is set — First on a new installation, where the lock and delay features are least familiar.
- The door is not latching, or the latch switch is not making — Second. Push the door firmly at the handle and listen for a positive click.
- No power is reaching the machine — Ranked here because a dark panel has exactly one meaning, and because on a recent installation an unseated plug or an unswitched outlet is more likely than a failed part.
- The touch panel or its ribbon has failed — Below the settings and the power checks, because a panel that responds to some presses and not others is the only symptom that really points at it.
- The control board has failed — Last, and by elimination only. On units this young a board failure is unusual, and diagnosing it means measuring, not guessing.
Check in this order, and why
- Press start and watch the panel, not the machine — Dark panel, lit panel with no cycle, or a cycle that begins and stalls — those three outcomes split this list into three branches, and you get the answer in one press.
- Clear any lock and any delay — Hold the marked lock button for several seconds, and cancel a delay start if one is counting.
- Close the door hard and listen for the latch — A positive click is what the control is waiting for. Check that no rack, no baking sheet and no oversized plate is holding the door a fraction open at the top.
- Open the supply valve fully — If the cycle starts and then waits with a dry tub, the water is the fault.
- Stop at the junction box — If the panel stays dark with a good breaker and a good outlet, the next check is the wiring behind the toe-kick, and that is where the owner-side list ends.
Models in the SPS family — One code stands for this family, so the table is a single line and there is nothing to cross-check beyond it.
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| SPS6IKI01A | bosch:dishwasher:sps |
Before you open anything
Safety
Switch off the breaker before the toe-kick comes off or any connector is touched; a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. If the breaker has tripped, reset it once and no more — a breaker that trips again is reporting a fault in the appliance or the circuit, and repeated resets turn a repair into a fire risk.
When to call a technician
Settings, the door, the breaker and the supply valve are owner checks on these models. Call when the machine has power and still refuses, when only some buttons respond, or when the breaker trips every time a cycle is selected — that last one is a fault being reported, and resetting it repeatedly is unsafe.
Sources — The symptom-report corpus recorded in this snapshot is what put this symptom on the page for this brand and appliance.
Documented- amazon-reviews — amazon-reviews, fetched 2026-09-02
Other symptoms covered for this family
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
