The soap isn't coming out of the soap dispenser during the wash cycle. when i open the dishwasher door the dispenser opens with all of its contents still sitting there!

Whirlpool dishwashers use a wax motor or a solinoid to release the door at a specific time during the cycle. So for proper cleaning the soap cup is nessesary . The part isn't that expensive and fairly simple repair.

I have the same dishwasher, have for about 2 years. It took me about a month to figure this out... But, you cannot run it with the flatware rack hanging on the bottom dish rack, you have to move it to hang on the door and you cannot have anything in the compartment under the soap dispenser that is tall enough to block it from opening. Annoying design for sure!

If the water to your kitchen tap is above 120 to around 145 your machine is getting hot water. If not your need to adjust your hot water heater.
It is fine to open the DW door during the wash cycle. The unit will hold the wash cycle. Open the door during the start of the wash cycle (not rinse) and see it the dispenser door is open. If not it could be the timer is not sending the proper signal to the dispenser on when to open. This would be a timer issue and you would want to replace the timer. I doubt that this is it but it is possible.
Hope this helps.

I bet your clumps of soap began with the beginning of the use of a different DW detergent powder.

Try this (trust me) Go buy a box of brand name Dishwasher powder (e.g. Electrosol or Cascade) Use it for two loads of dishes and report your results back here. OK?

Make sure that there is nothing blocking the soap door from opening fully when the dishwasher is shut. This happened to me and I also thought that the soap door was opening during the cycle when it actually only partially opened during the wash and then popped open fully when I opened the dishwasher at the end of the cycle. So some, but not all, of the soap was used.

I noticed you didn't rate out chat and saw that your problem was posted. I'm happy to continue to help you if you encountered problems or were not happy with the solution in your chat session.

its either the dispenser or the timer/pcb.

Kqon, looks like your dispenser has a wax motor. I think the first thing you have to do is remove the inner door and inspect the soap dispensor assy. See if any of the moving parts are broken. This wax motor is 120V so you can run a cheater cord to it to see if it works, but be very careful when doing this. It will expand the plunger and open the flap. If the wax motor operates with 120V applied to it then you want to see if you have power coming from the timer. It will be the tan wire # 27 on the timer harness. You also want to make sure the spring and pin are in place on the dispenser flap. Your part number for the wax motor is 902899. Catriver.

I had the same problem with my GE Adora. The dishes were getting cloudy and the soap dispenser would not open. Turns out the hard water deposits were causing the soap dispenser to stick shut. I purchased and used Dishwasher Magic which is a dishwasher cleaner designed to remove limescale, rust and buildup. I used as directed and now my dishes are sparkling and the soap dispenser pops right open.

Before taking anything to bits, check you aren't just loading the machine in such a way that something (for us, it's usually a frying pan) is stopping the soap dispenser from springing open all the way. A.