So there’s water where you don’t want it, and it’s coming from the dishwasher. Use this troubleshooting guide to determine where the water is overflowing and get the machine running again.

Make sure your detergent is intended for dishwashers. Do not use liquid dish soap.

If the wash arm is cracked, a stream of water can spray the door seal and cause a leak. Inspect and replace the wash arm if there is a crack. Do not fix the crack with glue as the glue will break down inside the machine. Epoxy will work as long as it can handle the internal run temperatures (120°F - 180°F).

If the wash arm is intact, check that the support screws are tight. Looseness may allow water spray between the wash arm support and the pump housing, and thus another leak.

The inlet valves allow water to enter dishwasher. When clogged or failing, either not enough water will enter the machine for a proper cleaning cycle to run, or the machine will continue filling with water until a leak or overflow occurs. If you’re experiencing these issues, the water inlet valve may be at fault.

Since the valve can fail both electrically and mechanically, check its continuity first. Continuity confirms that an electrical path is present. Unplug your machine or cut power at the main service panel. Remove the service panel, and grab a multimeter. Set the multimeter to the lowest Ohm(Ω) of resistance, or resistance with tone “o)))” setting. Touch the positive lead to one prong of the valve, and the negative to the other. If the water inlet valve continuity tests at around 1000kΩ, then it’s likely fine. If it tests Overload (OL) or off the charts, it needs replacing.

After verifying electrical continuity, turn off hot and cold water supplies to the dishwasher. Then, disconnect the water supplies to the inlet valve and hold the hoses over a sink or water basin, or bucket. Turn the water supplies on and see that water is flowing strongly at a reasonable pressure between 20-120 psi and not dribbling out. A low pressure and weak flow suggests issues with the water supply lines, or valves. If the flow is strong, remove the valve and fill hose, and replace with a new water inlet valve.

Note: Do not attempt simply cleaning and replacing a clogged valve as this part is likely to fail after disassembly.

There are many seals on a dishwasher. You can narrow the source of the leak and check the corresponding seals, and replace as necessary.

If water leaks from the door, check the door seal. If the seal looks fine, check the door hinges. Bent hinges will prevent the door from closing and allow water to leak.

If water leaks from the motor area, check the motor shaft seal. On some machines, the entire pump and motor assembly must be replaced.

If water leaks from pump area, inspect the seals for the main tub, float, heating element and blower diffuser.

If water leaks from the drain hoses, check hose clamps or cracks in the hose.

A new drain pump should only take a few minutes to remove all water from your dishwasher. Taking longer to remove the water or leaving standing water in the machine is a sign of a bad pump. Low humming or squealing noises also point to a pump problem. Pumps can fail both electrically and mechanically. Some models of dishwashers may have separate pumps to drain and circulate the water, so check both pumps. These pumps are normally on the bottom of your dishwasher.

Let’s listen to our dishwasher.

A loud buzzing noise indicates a blocked or dirty drain pump or wash pump. If the pump is jammed, remove the blockage. You may have to replace the drain pump if there are no blockages.

A squealing or droning suggests a failing wash pump. Search for blockages to the pump, and replace the wash pump.

A scraping sound suggests a damaged impeller or impeller fin scraping against the pump housing. The impeller is inside of the pump and is what moves the water through the system. Replacing the impeller instead of the whole pump may be possible. Inspect the impeller. If it’s broken, replace it.

If none of the above tones are evident, then disconnect the drain pump from the system, and test its continuity. If the measured impedance (Ohm, Ω) between terminals is around 100Ω, your drain pump is likely fine.

If the pump just hums when it should be running, the entire pump assembly might need to be replaced.

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