I have Kenmore Ultrawash Dishwasher( model 66517039401), purchased in 2005, but didn't install till 2007 due to belated kitchen remodel... anyway 2.5 years of use and I already have problems!! Of course all warranty coverage is expired.

Clean light began blinking, thought it might be electrical problem. Thanks to this site, found the secret to resetting computer, was able to start a cycle, but it ended less than 1/2 way through and blinking green light again.
I felt the heating element, which doesn't look like it should, rather than smooth and dark it is white and rough... is this limescale or something else? The heating element was not hot. I'm guessing it needs to be replaced. Could there be a bigger problem at play... like something with the motor?

Here's my dilemma... not wanting to spend $250 PLUS to have repaired. My husband is handy but extremely busy... I don't want to tie up bundles of his time only to find out that there are 3 more repairs necessary... I don't want to spend another $550 on a "disposable" dishwasher.
Any ideas what's going on and what the process is to fix it?

Thanks for any help and advice.

Should've asked... if I replace this unit, any recommendations?
I'm starting to think cheap, least amount of features= least amount of problems. I really don't need lots of bells and whistles but I would like one that is relatively quiet(the last cheap dishwasher I had ran louder than my lawnmower) and doesn't get the kitchen too hot when it runs.
Any ideas?

The heating element should not stop the dishwasher from working especially if you just use the normal cycles. Some dishwashers do you the heater to heat the water to a higher temp for the wash cycle but I have no idea if yours does that. It should run fine in all the normal cycles no matter if the heater is good or not. Usually the heating element is used for heated drying. That is another cycle we do not use here since it consumes too much electric and our DW dries just fine without the heat element.

You really need to dig into the problem and that is one thing I cannot do from here. It might be as simple as something caught in the pump not allowing the motor to run.

Did the green light flash constant or was there a blink code as if to indicate a special problem?

Hi
It blinks 7 times, pauses, blinks 7 times
I've found info regarding this... for some folks it seems to be an electrical glitch. There is a way to reset it, which I did. The DW did its diagnostic cycle and then I tried a normal cycle... but it stopped less than 1/2 way, back to blinking light.(according to the manual this could indicate a problem with the heating circuit)
I do not use the heated dry feature, but I was under the impression that the heating element worked to also keep the water hot during normal washing.

I decided earlier today to order the heating element since it's only $25 and seems pretty straight forward to replace. I guess we'll also tear into the thing to clean out anything that could be interfering with the motor... is there anything else I should check out while we have it in a million pieces?
Thanks

If you make sure the pump and strainer grill at the bottom of the inside of the DW is clear I know of no other problem. The element is a easy job but make sure you use the new gaskets that should come with it so you will not have any leaks. Also make sure to turn the circuit breaker off that powers the DW.

Ordered heating element from partselect.com for $25... fast shipping and flat rate shipping, saved some time and money... my husband switched element and cleaned out chopper area put it all back, reset computer and it's working like a charm. Only took about 1.5 hrs.

Glad you got it working.