Lights on control will not work,water in tub, no power

I've had this problem. There is in control panel circuit area, a thermal cutoff device. It is like a fuse, but creates an open circuit when it gets too hot. You can't reset it, you have to replace it. It looks like a resistor with a cone shape at one end and is often installed in a small plastic housing the size of a scrabble tile. It usually goes in series with the switch that detects whether the dishwasher door is open or closed. It is often a replaceable item set in a little plastic holder. ($17 at our local appliance store) or if you're experience in doing minor appliance repairs, you can buy the termal cut off device at Radio Shack for less than $2 and then remove the old old one from the plastic holder and solder in a new one. (Solder to the two connectors in the plastic housing) You have to use some sort of heat sink on the leads of the thermal cut off while soldering it in, otherwise it will 'open' the thermal device because of the heat of the soldering iron. I use a pair of pliers with an elastic around the grip area to keep it holding tight to the thrermal cut out leads.

If you buy this device from Radio Shack you have to know what temperature you want it to 'open' at. You can find this in the manual for your washer, or look it up online. Mine was 110 degrees farenheit and I was able to replace it with a 128 degree termal cut out from Radio Shack.