2 year old GE Dishwasher Will Not Drain

Dishwasher Repair
1

Hi all,
I have a 2 year old GE PDW8600 series that is no longer draining properly.

I followed the very good instructions by [COLOR=“Navy”]ABADFISH66[/COLOR] (Great Job), but I found no real obstruction, and the food and junk I did find is now gone.

While working on it, I was able to clear the sump on occasion. In otherwords, after letting the water fill I’d let the rinse action start then I would hit the “Reset” button and it would drain into the garbage disposal as it should.

However, after I put it all back together, it would act up again. When it doesn’t drain, it is very obvious that the pump is not physically being turned on. (Relay, Switch?)

Tonight when I tried running it through the rinse cycle and hit the “Reset” button to force it to drain, not only did the pump not run, but the “Reset” LED would blink for awhile. (Does the blinking LED mean anything of use?)

I’m ready to pull the whole thing out from under the sink to start replacing parts, but I’m hoping that I could get some advise regarding where I should start.

[COLOR=“Navy”]ABADFISH66[/COLOR], if you are around–I’d appreciate your input. I’m a fellow Arizonian (Flagstaff) and was especially impressed with your instructions regarding this issue on another post.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

2

While working on my dishwasher I came across a Service Mode description tucked underneath the dishwasher.

For those of you who may need this here’s the upshot. To enter Service Mode simultaneously press and hold the “Cookware” and “Heated Dry” buttons for 3 seconds.

From there the buttons on either side of the “Start/Reset” button will turn on/off a specific function. The description of the page I found labels the buttons on the right side of “Start/Reset” as 1R, 2R, 3R and 4R (R=Right side). Of course the buttons to the left of the “Start/Reset” are labeled 1L, 2L and 3L. The 1L and 1R buttons are next to the “Start/Reset” button, then the 2L and 2R are the next buttons outward and so forth. Below is matrix.

1L - Not used
2L - Auxiliary Pump (drain pump)
3L - Main Pump and Single Rack Wash Motor

1R - Detergent Cup
2R - Water Valve and Smart Detergent Dispenser
3R - Not Used
4R - Heater

Service mode will stay on for 30 minutes max. You can exit at any time by pressing the “Start/Reset” button.

Hope this helps.