Dishwasher drain problem

Dec 02, 2008 1 Replies

I've had this Whirlpool 1200 dishwasher for about 6 yrs now.



Every couple years it eats an impeller/chopper and I've gotten pretty good at tearing it down & replacing the thing.



A couple months ago it started a new problem. Every once in a while there would be [pretty clean] water standing in the dishwasher at the end of the cycle. [i leave them in over night- it was there in the morning]



Nothing was leaking so I figured it must be the drain pump- as the overflow was working somehow. So I got a new pump and all was well for a while.



Next time there was water standing in it I tried blowing back through the hose where the drain goes into the disposal. Bubbles came up in the dishwasher- and it drained when I hit the cancel button.



A couple weeks later it clogged again. This time I thought I'd try to suck the clog through the pipes. Hooked shop vac to drain at disposal- tried to suck for a couple minutes. It wouldn't budge. But I could still blow into that pipe with just a couple pounds pressure and clear the clog.



Now it is leaking out a little bit during the cycle. Sometimes it seems to clear itself- as I'll have a puddle, but the drain will be working by the end of the cycle.



Through all this it seems to be washing the dishes well- glasses and silverware are rarely spotted.



Any thoughts on where to look?



Thanks, Jim


Seems it was 2 problems. The intermittent clog was a little rubber flapper of a check valve that had come apart-

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number 5 on the pump and motor parts diagram [Part Number: AP3152971 ]

I tore things down to where I could see the inlets to both pumps and ran 3 cycles before it clogged again. Then I blew like hell on the drain hose back towards the dishwasher, and the little rubber disk appeared.

The leak seems to be a bad door seal. Parts about $20 apiece.

I'll know for sure next week- but I think life is good.

Jim

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