Dishwasher won't drain, then overflows the front tray

[cbm]

I just installed a used machine, LDS5811WW. Worked fine for a cycle then started leaking.  So I took the front panel off, checked drain hose, leveled machine better(a slight tilt to rear) and ran it again on Quick cycle. The leftover water drained and cycle seemed OK. Went downstairs to tidy up the drain hose, returned and an OE error was up. Restarted the machine but this time the leftover water did not drain, fresh water started to add and it overflowed the tray at the front. Does it seem like there is a sensor problem or a drain pump problem. It's a newer machine and lightly used from the previos owners. I thought the drain hose may be too high but instuctions say 20 - 30 inches so that's OK. The instructions also say the drain hose shouldn't be longer than 10 ft. and mine is probably closer to 18 ft. overall.


Any suggestions?




"LDS5811WW" Parts from RepairClinic.com

[PARTech]

Sounds like the float on the left side of the machine is stuck, pull it out from under the counter and take the side off, check the wire connections and that the switches work (AJ's give away meter would be nice).  then make sure the hoses are clear and there is nothing holding the floats down.  18', the biggest chance you are taking is that the backpressure could be high enough to force the backflow valve to fail and allow drained water back into the tub, yes, could be a problem.

[cbm]

Thanks for the info.

I'll get cracking on the checks right away. Ahem, I'm afraid I could use a bit more detail about those checks. I guess I'm looking for resistance across the switches, make/break stuff. And the floats, I'm looking for debris or stickiness? When I first ran the machine, and once doing checks, the drain did work. According to the program chart, the first action is to run the drain. The distance thing bugs me 'cause the machine is at the end of my counter and there isn't anything I can do to make the distance shorter. Rats.

[PARTech]

Any sort of debris that could hold the float or linkage down, and the switch should either break the circuit or have no resistance, you can use the Rx1 scale on youor meter.   As far as the length of you drain hose, running the hose up to the bottom of the counter as close to the dishwasher as possible may help, but beyond that lowering the end is all I can think of at the moment.  Perhaps someone else has another idea...

[cbm]

Whoo-hoo!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I didn't see your second message because I was crawling around on the floor but I took the side panel off; lo and behold, there in the drain tube about 1/2 way down from the top bend was a bunch of black stuff. That didn't seem right so I tapped it a few times and little bits of stuff floated free in the trapped water, plus an air bubble moved up. So I undid the ties, tapped and jiggled the tube and watched the black stuff float down the tube, plus it syphoned the rest of the water in the machine away. In the bucket was some unknown gunk and an olive pit. No wonder it wouldn't drain, the tube was completely plugged. I also checked the switches, all OK. The float chamber has some stuff on the sides but I didn't clean it out. I thought maybe some use will clean it up, if not I will get it later.


But I ran the machine through a Quick cycle and it worked PERFECTLY!!! What a great sound water running into the sink drain can be. Now it is all buttoned up, confidence is high and I really appreciate the advice that you gave me.

Sincerely,

Cam.

Ps. I always believe in rinsing dishes first but trying to push really solid food bits into a dishwasher isn't gonna work.

[PARTech]

Running white vinegar or one of the dishwasher cleaners (Affresh) will help with the build up, but I'm real glad to hear it is running now.  And yes, most techs have pulled a large assortment of 'hard' items out of dishwashers.