How do I check an engine PCM to see if it is damaged?

yes it will foam up unlike you have never seen before
by disassambling the door and removing the risne agent dispenser and very throughly draining the soap it may get all of it out(rinse it with only cold water since hot water promotes sudsing while cold water kills sudsing) if even a few drops remain it will suds like crazy during the rinse cycle (when the agent is dispensed) to remove all suds from the machine fill a cup of white vinegar placed in the upper rack such as if you would drink from it (not upside down) and run the d/w of a normal cycle
a better but unfortunitly more costly solution would be to replace the rinse agent dispenser

Check the incoming water quality. If water is hard and having calcium content this could happen. Use water softeners in the inlet water to the machine.

If dish washer salt compartment available fill with the special salt meant for dish washers.

Check rinse aid compartment and fill rinse aid. Or use two in one soap tablet.

Check, in which side & compartment it is happening. Clean the jet of the spray arms.

As a general check, check the incoming water flow to the machine. If the strainer at the machine end blocked clean them.

Finally check the rinse aid dispenser box. Refill if required.

Either:

1. the pump is clogged - there is water, the motor will run but no water is circulated. Check pump filters, check chopper and impeller. Disassemble and clean pump if necessary.
   
2. motor in main pump is not working - could be caused by something stuck on the impeller or chopper or could be a problem with the motor itself or control board. Check if line voltage is coming to the motor during wash/rinse cycle.

Good luck,
Vlad
First Choice Appliance

check the top of the cabinet after the unit has started to wash the water droplets is the key. if you see water droplets on the very top all over then the unit circulation pump is working. If that checks out then check the jet dry compartment. here is a trick.
open the compartment door, fill compartment until it cant hold anymore liquid,close compartment door,lower and raise the door 3 times,open compartment door check to see if you fill with more jet dry,repeat this process untill it cant take anymore.
what this does is removes the air out of the compartment. this will last for about 10-12 washes. last thing is to turn your faucet water on until it is the hottest then start your machine. use cascade soap and no tablets. when you use tabletrs with jet dry the machine over suds, the rinse aid compartment or dispenser is vidal to drying,cleaning spots and film. hope this helps.

try a few applications of jet dry DISHWASHER cleaner to remove excessive build up of calcium/hard water deposits...sounds like the water temperature is too low upon the initial fill cycle to assist in dissolving the soap.the water temp. must 125 degrees to insure soap activation/ and dissolve it.check for obstructed spray arm as well

the problem that you have is with your water temp not being right to break down the soap and clean your dishes. also you have to fill completely jet dry compartment,very very important for cleaning,drying,and the spots. turn your water on and let it get hot b4 you start the unit . once the water is hot then start the machine. you will see a big difference. send me a 4 thumbs up post if it works

here is my 4 basic steps i give to you free .all iwant is a good review in return if it works. ok!
1.make sure you turn on faucet at sink until water is hot b4 you start the dishwasher.
2.add jet dry or rinse agent completely fill this compartment. 1 trick is to to do the up down up down up down on the door.then check dispenser and refill this will allow the air to come out and the dispenser to be fully filled
3make sure toadd the correct soap.
4.once the unit starts to wash check it to see if steam comes out when you open the door. if it does then everything is correct. let me know if my suggestions works by rating me with 4 thumbs if it work .thanks

I did the same thing with my Maytag dishwasher, several times actually, before realizing I was putting blue dish soap in the rinse aid compartment which then wouldn't empty. Then my Maytag started making ominous noises during the rinse cycle (appliance guy said it was "cavitation" noise).

Appliance guy wanted to replace the whole detergent/rinse aid compartment but since he told me the noise was probably caused by the dish soap stuck in the rinse aid compartment, I decided to try to get rid of it first. Here is the method that worked for me; it took most of a day but saved me parts & labor:

1. Get some white vinegar--I used nearly a quart.
2. Fill the rinse aid compartment to brim with the vinegar (overfill) but don't put cap on
3. Raise the dishwasher door slowly until the vinegar drains into the lower part of the chamber (at least this is how my Maytag worked)
4. Agitate the contents as best you can by rapidly shaking the dishwasher door up & down.
5. I also used a small plastic medicine dropper jammed into small openings on each side of the rinse aid compartment to agitate the vinegar by squeezing air into them.
6. Drain the compartment by closing the dishwasher door (move it to full vertical)--vinegar will drain into the bottom of the dishwasher.
7. Repeat above steps a couple times, then fill again w/vinegar, put the cap on and let it stand for awhile. Then drain and repeat the whole routine several times.
8. Blue-colored vinegar will come out which is a good sign (or whatever color your dish soap was).
9. After awhile, I started pouring generous amts of very hot tap water thru the rinse aid compartment, alternating with white vinegar. (No reason you can't use hot vinegar also.)
10. Eventually, all the blue stuff came out & the see-thru levels of the rinse aid compartment were completely clear/empty.
11. Run the dishwasher (I decided to not put any rinse aid in). I got some overfoaming (from the washed out soap) the first time I ran it which I probably could have remedied by adding more vinegar & possibly salt, but the noises were gone!
I just ran the cleaned out dishwasher a 2nd time & it was back to its quiet self with no overfoaming.

Takes some patience but hey, beats a big repair bill!!