The short answer
A Costway FP Dishwasher that takes a button press and then does nothing is almost always failing at the door switch or at the user-lock state, not at the pump or the motor. That is the difference between this page and the brand-generic one above it: there the first move is to prove the circuit, here the panel is normally alive and the fault is downstream of it.
What you see on the FP family
- The panel lights but nothing happens when you press start — The board has power and has taken the press.
- The door closes but does not feel like it latches — On these models you should feel the strike pull in and hear it seat.
- A start light blinks and then goes out — A blink-then-quit is the board starting a cycle and losing a permissive straight away — usually the latch switch opening again as the door relaxes.
- The machine is completely dark — No panel at all means the question is the outlet, the breaker and the junction box under the sink, in that order.
Causes, most likely first on the FP family
- Door latch and its interlock switch — Ranked first on the FP family — this is the part of a dishwasher that gets worked every single cycle and is the one most likely to be why these models will not start. The latch assembly carries a microswitch the control has to see closed. The plastic hook wears, the strike drifts as the door settles on its hinges, and the switch ends up marginal long before the door looks wrong.
- Control lock or delayed start left engaged — Second — worth a look before any tool comes out, because it is free to rule out and it mimics a board failure exactly. A held button sets the lock on most panels, and a bumped pad can set a delay.
- No power at the outlet, the breaker or the junction box — Third — it explains a dark panel completely and a lit panel not at all, so the panel state sorts it in seconds. A dishwasher is usually hard-wired or plugged into a switched outlet under the sink, and the connection lives in a damp cabinet.
- Thermal fuse or main control board — Fourth — and deliberately so: it is the least common cause and the only one that is not a homeowner check. A thermal fuse on the board opens after a heat event and kills the machine outright.
- Body: With only 3 codes in the FP family the ranking below is taken over a short roster rather than over everything the brand sells, which is why the top of this list is not where the brand-generic article puts it.
Check in this order, and why
- 1. Look at the panel before you touch anything — Lit or dark decides the entire rest of the sequence, and it costs nothing.
- 2. Clear the control lock and any delayed start — Hold the lock pad until the icon clears, then cancel and drain.
- 3. Work the door latch by hand with the door open — You are feeling and listening for the switch to click.
- Body: The 3 codes in the FP family are close enough in layout that the order below holds across all of them; check the plate on your own unit against the table before you order anything.
Before you open anything
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel — a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. The supply connection for a dishwasher sits in the cabinet under the sink alongside the water lines, so treat everything in that cabinet as live until the breaker is off and stays off.
Models in the FP family
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| FP10217 | costway:dishwasher:fp |
| FP10851 | costway:dishwasher:fp |
| FP10852 | costway:dishwasher:fp |
When to call a technician
Call once the panel is dark and the supply at the under-sink connection has been proved good, because the fault is then inside the machine and behind its lower access panel. Call straight away if you can smell scorched plastic at the door or see browning at the latch: on these models that means heat at the switch terminals, and that is a fire question rather than a start-button question.
Other FP dishwasher pages
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
