--- title: "Dishwasher will not start" description: "GE dishwasher will not start: before anybody quotes a control board — and this appliance gets a board quoted more often than any other in the kitchen — there…" url: "https://gemiami.support/symptoms/dishwasher-will-not-start/" date_modified: "2026-08-31" Appliance type: "Dishwashers" --- # GE dishwasher will not start ### Look for a number followed by H GE lists 1H, 2H and so on as the delay start counting down — the machine is waiting that many hours before it begins, and it is doing exactly what it was asked to do. A dishwasher that 'will not start' is on delay start more often than anybody admits. Press CANCEL and start the cycle you actually want. ### Why the board gets blamed Because a dishwasher that does nothing looks like a dishwasher with no brain. In practice the interlock, the delay start and the cup reminder account for a large share of these calls, and each of them is either free or a small part. Measuring what the board is being told comes before replacing the board. Delay start, running as intended GE's nH display. Free to rule out and embarrassing to pay for. The door latch and its interlock The interlock has to confirm the door is closed before anything runs. A worn latch that no longer presses it stops the whole appliance, and it is a small part. The detergent cup reminder GE's Cup Open message: the cycle will not start until the cup is latched, and it can be overridden by pressing start again. A power interruption it has not been told about The PF code. Select the cycle and press start, and it runs normally. The control board, genuinely Last, and only after the above. A board acting on a bad door switch is behaving correctly. Read the display carefully 1H, 2H, PF and Cup Open all look like problems and are not. Press the door firmly and try again If it starts, the latch is not engaging properly and that is your repair. Power it down at the breaker for thirty seconds GE asks for this on several codes and it clears a surprising number of them. Check the household breaker A dishwasher that is completely dead — no lights at all — is a supply problem before it is an appliance problem. The lights are on but nothing happens What it usually means Panel lights up but the cycle never begins A number followed by H on the display It hums or beeps and stops Look for a number followed by H GE lists 1H, 2H and so on as the delay start counting down — the machine is waiting that many hours before it begins, and it is doing exactly what it was asked to do. A dishwasher that 'will not start' is on delay start more often than anybody admits. Press CANCEL and start the cycle you actually want. Why the board gets blamed Because a dishwasher that does nothing looks like a dishwasher with no brain. In practice the interlock, the delay start and the cup reminder account for a large share of these calls, and each of them is either free or a small part. Measuring what the board is being told comes before replacing the board. ### It beeps and will not run. Note the pattern and how many beeps. GE's dishwashers report by pattern as well as by code, and it means something. ### It worked yesterday. Then check for a power interruption overnight — PF — and check the door latch. Sudden total stops are usually one of those two. --- **[Read full article: Dishwasher will not start](https://gemiami.support/symptoms/dishwasher-will-not-start/)**