What does the heating element do for the dishwasher? The dishwasher should still work with cold water, however, the dishwasher does not work at all.

It heats up the water for sanitation, hotter than your house water. It may not work with just cold water.

Here are some manuals for the dishwasher: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8010163/Whirlpool_Kenmore%20Dishwashers.zip