How to Tell If Your Drain Pump is Faulty in Your Dishwasher

When your dishwasher finishes its cycle, the water is safely ferried down the drain at the bottom of your appliance and down the sink drain, the hose is attached to. However, while gravity does a bit of the work, the water is forced down the drain using pressure from a drain pump. This means if you open your dishwasher after a cycle and find standing water still in the bottom, it could mean that your drain pump has gone faulty. However, a failed drain pump isn’t the only cause of this issue. It could be a blocked filter, broken impeller, or even a clogged hose somewhere. So how do you know the drain pump is specifically at fault?

Unfortunately, when your dishwasher will not drain, it is very much a problem you need to troubleshoot to solve. You essentially need to go down the list of potential problems from most accessible to the least accessible and test them. A drain pump can be pretty far down that list. You will obviously want to check for clogs first because they are easier to check.

However, when it comes to checking the drain pump itself, the one concrete way to check it is with a multimeter. Unfortunately, this means more time for disassembly. Some drain pumps have access under the filter, but many others require uninstalling the dishwasher and accessing it’s on the underside. Once you do have access, you can check resistance based on what the wiring schematic calls for at specific contacts on the pump. If there is none, then it is the drain pump you must replace to fix this issue.

If you are having issues with your dishwasher or any other appliance, we can help. Contact us today to see what Central Valley Appliance Repair can do to help you get all your valuable appliances fixed up quickly so you can get back to using them.