Hotpoint dishwasher won't drain

[OneEye]

I have a Hotpoint HDA3600 dishwasher, installed new less than two years ago, which has stopped draining.

I believe that I have followed all of the steps - checked that the drain hose is clear, watched the solenoid action, cleaned the basket - and everything looks right, but is still won't drain.

Help?

[JWWebster]

the solenoid might be working but is the solenoid flap broken? Aha!

[OneEye]

Hi, JW - Thanks for the reply!

I have actually had the dishwasher all to bits, and examined the flap in question.  It's pretty much solid.

What I have noticed is that there seems to be inadequate output pressure from the pump.  If I hold the drain hose down near floor level when the washer is draining, the water comes out in a pretty full stream.  If I lift it up to sink level, the stream reduces down to a trickle.

Would that be a problem with the pump, or the motor.  Or something else?

(Oh, also the coupler between the filter and the base spray arm is completely destroyed.  But I doubt that that has anything to do with draining.  Does it?)

Thanks for helping me think this through!

[JWWebster]

Those couplers get brittle and fall apart usually making the tower fall into the heating element and melting it down. Seen it. The way these motors work is pretty simple so it should be pretty easy to diagnose a problem. The motor runs one direction all the time. It either is slinging water into the tower and nozzles (for wash) or draining when that flap is opened by the solenoid. I wonder if the flap is in tact and the solenoid is too, could there be something jamming the flap where it does not open all the way?