---
title: "Whirlpool-built Kenmore dishwasher signal Control light flashing"
description: "Whirlpool-built Kenmore dishwasher signal Control light flashing — control light flashing is an indicator rather than an error."
url: "https://kenmoremiami.support/error-codes/whirlpool-dishwasher-control-light-flashing/"
date_modified: "2026-09-01"
Appliance type: "Dishwashers"
---


# Whirlpool-built Kenmore dishwasher signal Control light flashing

### Whose code this actually is

Kenmore did not write Control light flashing, because Kenmore has never built an appliance. This one is Whirlpool’s, and it appears on the dishwasher that Whirlpool built and Sears sold under the Kenmore badge. Whirlpool, Frigidaire and Bosch all built dishwashers for this badge, and their numbering overlaps enough to be convincing while meaning entirely different things.

### What the appliance is telling you

The light flashes three times when a button is pressed while the controls are locked.

This one is an indicator rather than an error. It is published in the same table as genuine problems, and treating it as one is how a working appliance gets a service call.

### Which Kenmore models can raise it

The Kenmore dishwasher whose model number begins 665 — the three digits before the period on the rating plate. Those digits are Whirlpool’s, which is why Whirlpool’s table is the one that applies to Control light flashing and no other manufacturer’s does.

### Worth trying yourself, in this order

- Hold the lock button to release it.

### Where this usually goes

The job this most often becomes is [dishwasher door latch repair](/services/dishwasher-door-latch-repair/), and that page carries a starting figure and the reasons that move it. A Kenmore dishwasher on this water scales its heater and its spray arms faster than the manual assumes, so codes about temperature and wash performance are read here with the supply in mind first. Photograph the display before you cut the power: a reset clears Control light flashing, and on a Kenmore the characters plus three digits off the plate are most of the diagnosis.

### Where this meaning came from

Whirlpool’s own documentation: *Dishwasher error codes and flashing lights — Whirlpool Product Help*. Kenmore publishes none of its own, which is why every entry on this site names the manufacturer’s document instead.

What the machine is telling you

Whose code this actually is

Kenmore did not write Control light flashing, because Kenmore has never built an appliance. This one is Whirlpool’s, and it appears on the dishwasher that Whirlpool built and Sears sold under the Kenmore badge. Whirlpool, Frigidaire and Bosch all built dishwashers for this badge, and their numbering overlaps enough to be convincing while meaning entirely different things.

What the appliance is telling you

The light flashes three times when a button is pressed while the controls are locked.

This one is an indicator rather than an error. It is published in the same table as genuine problems, and treating it as one is how a working appliance gets a service call.

Which Kenmore models can raise it

The Kenmore dishwasher whose model number begins 665 — the three digits before the period on the rating plate. Those digits are Whirlpool’s, which is why Whirlpool’s table is the one that applies to Control light flashing and no other manufacturer’s does.

Worth trying yourself, in this order

Hold the lock button to release it.

Where this usually goes

The job this most often becomes is dishwasher door latch repair, and that page carries a starting figure and the reasons that move it. A Kenmore dishwasher on this water scales its heater and its spray arms faster than the manual assumes, so codes about temperature and wash performance are read here with the supply in mind first. Photograph the display before you cut the power: a reset clears Control light flashing, and on a Kenmore the characters plus three digits off the plate are most of the diagnosis.

Where this meaning came from

Whirlpool’s own documentation: Dishwasher error codes and flashing lights — Whirlpool Product Help. Kenmore publishes none of its own, which is why every entry on this site names the manufacturer’s document instead.

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**[Read full article: Whirlpool-built Kenmore dishwasher signal Control light flashing](https://kenmoremiami.support/error-codes/whirlpool-dishwasher-control-light-flashing/)**