In short
A Loch that will not start is nearly always waiting on something: a latch it cannot confirm, a valve that is closed, or a lock or delay that has been set. The ranking below is ordered for this brand and the top checks are free.
What the fault looks like
- No lights and no response to any button — A dead machine, which points at the socket, the switch or the breaker rather than the appliance.
- Lights come on but pressing start does nothing — It has power and is refusing — the door, the water, or a setting it is waiting on.
- It beeps or flashes when you press start — The machine is declining and saying so, which usually means the door or a lock rather than a failure.
- NEAR MISS — it runs but leaves the dishes dirty — Then nothing is stopping it starting; the cleaning-performance page ranks those causes.
What goes wrong here, in order
- Power and water at the connection — A dishwasher needs a live socket and an open supply valve. A switch on the wall plate turned off, a breaker tripped by something else on the circuit, a plug worked loose in a cramped cupboard, or a valve closed after a repair all produce this complaint. This is the one to start with: this machine plugs into a socket and screws onto a tap, and both of those connections are disturbed every time it is used elsewhere. Loch sells countertop and portable dishwashers that connect to a kitchen tap, so the inlet adapter and the drain hose are part of the machine as far as faults are concerned.
- Standing water the machine will not start on — Many machines check the sump before they fill. Water left from an aborted cycle, or a filter the machine cannot clear, produces a refusal to start that looks exactly like an electrical fault. Second on this brand: it takes one look under the filter to eliminate.
- A lock, a delay or a control that has latched — Child lock, delay start and demonstration mode all leave a machine lit and inert. So does a control that has hung after an interrupted cycle. None of them gives an obvious sign, and all of them are cleared without tools. Third in order: it is worth a glance before anything else is opened.
- The door latch — A dishwasher will not run until its latch tells the control the door is closed. A latch worn round, a strike out of alignment, or a door held a fraction open by a tall item in the upper rack leaves the machine lit and idle. Fourth in order: it explains fewer of these here but it costs nothing to check.
Check in this order, and why
- Check the socket, its switch and the supply valve in the next cupboard — Test the socket with something else, and look for a wall switch that controls it — the commonest single answer to a dead machine.
- Look for standing water above the filter — Water in the base means the machine is refusing because it cannot drain, and the drainage page is the one to follow.
- Look for a lock symbol or a delay indicator, then power the machine down for a minute — A machine that starts normally after a minute at the breaker had latched rather than failed.
What you can do yourself
- Check the breaker, the switched socket and the supply valve — Open the adjacent cupboard and look rather than reaching blind. Check the plug is fully home.
Tools: torchAbout 15 min
- Bail out the base and clean the filter — A cup and a sponge, then the filter out and rinsed. Lock it back in place before trying again.
Tools: cup, spongeAbout 25 min
- STOP before removing the door panel or the kickplate — Live terminals sit immediately behind both. Naming the likely cause is the useful end of an owner check.
Before anything comes apart
Safety
Unplug the machine or switch off its breaker before removing a panel, and shut the water off at the valve under the sink before disturbing a connection. Let the machine cool before reaching into the tub — the element in the base holds heat well after the door is opened.
The line between a fix and a call
The owner's part stops at the door and the cupboard next door. A door switch, an inlet valve or a control board is behind a panel with live terminals, and a machine that trips a breaker should be left off until it is looked at.
Related pages on this appliance
The scope of this page
Generalized information. Written for Loch dishwashers as a class rather than one family or model line; where a family-specific page exists it is the more precise answer and is linked above. Not covered here: wiring colours, part numbers and figures that vary between families.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
