The dishwasher has broken. The start button no longer works and it is embedded within a control unit, the cost of which is over £180.
I dismantled it (having nothing to lose) and discovered that the switch is a surface mounted microswitch, which is activated by a flexing plastic rod (the lower two linked circles above). The plastic rod has broken from its mounting (the upper two linked circles).
So, for the sake of a small plastic mounting costing pennies, a £180+ dishwasher is junk.
However, I think I've discovered a way of activating the microswitch with a chopstick.
Marvellous.
