Dishwasher - Won't Drain

[Terry Olson]

We have a 6 year old GE Quiet Power II dishwasher. Recently I've noticed that there is standing water in the basin when the dishwasher cycle is finished.

I did some online research which revealed that possible causes include a blocked drain hose (mine leads to the disposal under the sink) or a non-functioning solenoid which determines whether the running motor is pumping water through the wash arms or draining it through the drain hose.

I find that the solenoid does function but it's anyone's guess as to whether it's cycling at the correct times. I hear water trickling down the drain when it is pumping water out of the basin. I can get the basin empty by running a "rinse and hold" cycle and tripping the valve controlled by the solenoid manually.

I believe the hose, pump, and solenoid have been ruled out as the source of the problem - any other ideas?

 

[JUSTINTIME]

Re: Dishwasher - Won't Drain

try blowing compressed air through the line
sounds like it could be clogged

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: Dishwasher - Won't Drain

Disconnect the drain line from the drain if it's easy enough and pump it into a bucket instead. If you're not getting a decent flow from it, you can pretty well rule out the timer & solenoid. In most cases this hose is just hose clamped under the kitchen sink.

If the flow is poor it can really only be caused by a few things. Check that the intake to the pump is clear all the way along. Often trouble is caused by a piece of clear packaging plastic. Check that the hose is clear. After all that, check to see if the impeller in the pump is somehow fouled or broken. That's last because it's the most amount of work to check.

I take it this is not a dish detergent bubble problem right? It won't drain if you run it with no soap?

A partly clogged intake will also cause the dishwasher not to wash very well.

You've found this already I hope:
http://www.applianceaid.com/ge-dw-pumps.html

 

[Boomyal]

Re: Dishwasher - Won't Drain

First thing I would do is to disassemble the drain grate from inside the washer tub. You could well have a bunch of goo built up in there.

 

[Terry Olson]

Re: Dishwasher - Won't Drain

My fault - I should have mentioned that I removed the drain grate and found it clear. Also, when I removed the drain line I blew it clear easily so I'm confident that's not clogged. It won't drain, soap or not. Sorry - I should have mentioned both in the original post.

I really appreciate the responses. I'll take a closer look. It's not much work to pull the unit from the counter and pull the motor so maybe the next step is to remove the pump for an inspection and likely rebuild.

Fact is my lovely bride has complained about this dishwasher for years. I'd rather buy a new one than put any real money into this one. We shopped for a new one about a year ago for just that reason, but decided to hold off.

Maybe that day is here.

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: Dishwasher - Won't Drain

They aren't exactly complicated so really there isn't much that goes wrong with them. There's little more in there than a simple centripetal pump.

New is nice though.

 

[KRS]

Re: Dishwasher - Won't Drain

Did he ever disconnect the drain hose from the disposal to be sure water (and not just air) flows forcefully from it?

Manual override doesn't rule out clogged line.... the pump can only develop so much pressure and with a clogged drain line it wouldn't drain in the proper amount of time.

Just another suggestion but it's worth undoing a hose and holding it in a bucket.

 

[Terry Olson]

Re: Dishwasher - Won't Drain

I disconnected the hose and the dishwasher pumped out about a gallon and a half in less than a minute yet water still remained in the basin.

I bought a pump rebuild kit which included an impeller and a few other parts. I removed the pump and found that the kit I had contained all the parts I needed to replace the impeller BUT the case containing most of the parts is sonically welded together. In other words, I have the parts, but the repair is not possible without breaking the case open.

No matter - the problem is the flapper valve that diverts the pump's flow from either the tower when in wash cycle or the drain hose when draining the basin. The rubber portion of that valve has curly edges and of course it's not replaceable because it's inside the same sonically welded plastic case. The valve doesn't seal so it can't pump all of the water out of the basin. So - the problem is a 5 cent rubber valve and the fix is a new $156.99 plus tax pump assembly.

This is why I quit buying American cars - designed to sell new models, not for longevity or ease of repair.

The better option is to buy a new one and that's what we did. I can't say that I know that this one is all that much better, but it's new, it's near the top of the line, and it's not a GE so we have that going for us.

Thanks again for the responses - Merry Christmas.

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: Dishwasher - Won't Drain

Got to love it, huh? Thanks for the warning, I'll make sure to avoid GE in the future.

I wonder when people are going to start to wake up to what's been going on and start insisting on minimum standards for repairablity?

 

[Terry Olson]

Re: Dishwasher - Won't Drain - REPLACED

Re: Dishwasher - Won't Drain - REPLACED

We keep buying this junk and as long as there's a market there will be be a supply.

We bought a Whirlpool dishwasher. I don't know that it isn't similarly constructed but it's fit and finish are much better than the GE model we replaced - and we spent less on the new one than the old one 6 years ago. I also noticed that it's much quieter too.

Live and learn I guess.