Help! My dishwasher won’t drain fully. I disconnected the wash motor and the drain motor and made sure no debris was impeding their movement. I made sure nothing was blocking the drain hose. I did a thorough cleaning of the internal mesh filter. I have been reading some forums and it seems that a solenoid might be part of the problem, but I can’t figure out what this is, where it ‘lives’ on the dishwasher, and/or whether it is part of the drain pump. I am about to go out an buy a new drain pump but thought I’d get some advice first! Thank you so much in advance.
Did you check the flapper valve (black piece) in the drain pump outlet (on the left side)?
Gene.
Hi Gene. Thank you for this response! I am not sure what you mean by "check" the flapper valve. I have noticed that there is a flapper valve and have cleaned it off and poked it with my finger a bit. Is there more I can do to see if it is doing its job? For example, should it be loose (easy to poke open) or stiff (hard to poke open)? Mine is quite loose…
The purpose of this valve is to prevent a dirty water from coming back into the dishwasher, so it should open one way only under the pressure created by the pump. If it does not open all the way or it’s not closed while the pump is off, the pump has to be replaced.
Gene.
Hi again Gene. I installed a new drain pump and the machine works better than it has in years. I think this was a smaller problem that got bigger over time, because with the new pump the inside of the machine is super clean at the end of a wash, whereas before it was always a bit dirty/grimy in there and then lately of course I had a few inches of water left over at then end of a wash. Anyway, a HUGE thank you to you for your guidance!!! I am thrilled with this helpful forum.
You are welcome. I’m glad it’s up and running.
Gene.