Delay Start

If you can manually advance the timer but it will only advance on its own every half hour or so, it is not broken. This is the normal operating procedure when the “delay start” option has been selected. This feature causes the timer to advance in increments, with some increments being a half hour. In fact, you can encounter 30 minute interval increments with the “normal wash,” “hot start” and “dry” cycles as well. GE recommends only being concerned about a broken timer if the timer does not move for a period greater than 30 minutes.

Blocked Detergent Cup

The timer will not advance if the detergent cup cannot open. One of the things that can cause the detergent cup to not open is that it is blocked. This can occur when you overload the dishwasher or place something large in the front of the dishwasher that leans on the detergent cup when the door is closed. You need to stop the dishwasher so that you can open it and rearrange the items inside. This gives you the chance to remove whatever is blocking the detergent cup. Once you have done this, the timer should advance if the cause was a blocked detergent cup.

Other Detergent Cup Problems

Your detergent cup may not be blocked, but still not opening and causing the timer to be stuck. You need to inspect the cup since something else is wrong with it. The way that the detergent cup works is that is has to be completely closed at the start of a cycle, almost completely open between the main wash and the final rinse of the cycle, and completely open at the end of the cycle. Stop the dishwasher and open it to do your inspection. Test the detergent cup by trying to open and close it while you manually rotate the timer. Once you do this, the detergent cup should open during the cycle and the timer advance properly.

Timer Bonded to Control Panel

When sticky substances get on the timer dial and and behind it, the result is that the timer will bond to the control panel. This commonly happens with substances like orange juice. The bonding makes it impossible for the timer to advance even if you are manually turning it while pushing it in. To solve this problem, you need to clean the sticky substance off the back of the timer. To do this, you must gently pull the timer knob away from the control panel so that you can clean it with a damp clean cloth. The timer knob is attached to the control panel and pulling with too much force can damage it. If you are not comfortable doing this on your own, you can call an appliance service person.