dishwasher pooling water and THEN leaking

A problem I omitted to mention is that the controls are on the top and horizontal with the counter 2mm above them! So I cant access them while the dishwasher is running.

Diagnosis sounds daunting!

This diagnosing is getting more difficult than I thought. i am not sure what a pump sounds like, where this unit is very quiet at the best of times. And I can't access the controls to turn it off while it is running if anything is amiss. So I am a bit reluctant to turn it on and let it run through a whole cycle with this leaking at the bottom! I wonder whose genius idea it was to put the controls on the top so that they can't be accessed while the unit is running IF the unit is mounted under a counter surface?

I will say that I do normally hear gurgling coming out of the sink when dirty water is being expelled from the dishwasher and I havent heard ANY gurgling recently at all. I thought this meant a blockage is preventing the pump from turning on but yes, it would also mean a non-operational pump.

I AM used to a blockage being large amounts of gunge and crud in the filter basket, so where the basket is largely empty, does that necessarily mean that the pump is not pumping?

There must be enough extra hose and wiring to let you slide it out a few inches. The installers would've needed the excess to put the machine in.

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But, it probably should not try to add water if already full,

Actually I am really grateful for these attempts to assist in getting my problem fixed but I did suspect some problem with the float when I found nothing substantial in the filter basket. Then it started leaking from an area which could be the inlet valve but which does seem to be closer to underneath the float!

Before I go further (and the unit is jammed hard up against the counter top and wont move), How do I check and clear a problem with the float? (I did try youtube but couldn't find anyone doing that)

Sorry, I should have mentioned, all i could find was people saying that float switches tend not to go wrong, listen for a click and if you can hear it, the float switch is probably OK

Well mine doesn't click!! If it is jammed, how do I unjam it? There doesn't seem to be any movement in it or play to unjam anything? Is it a piece of broken glass or similar underneath the top bit stopping it from moving?

Well, it's back to square one! I found a guy replacing the float but he wasn't doing any diagnosing. All He was doing was replacing some spindle inside the float with one that looks identical to the one he had taken out?? He didn't say why he was doing this.

But before that I noticed that there is a cover over the float in these GE units which doesn't actually move. So mine not moving doesn't necessarily mean that the float is jammed or that I need a new spindle.

Is there nothing to clean out in the float or is it ALWAYS that spindle (worn?) when a GE profile starts not draining? Is one supposed to assume it isnt the pump and just change that spindle?

Can you get to the float micro switch? Maybe you could connect the wires together to test the switch. A jumper wire with alligator clips might do the trick. Maybe you could pour a little water in the bottom for the test. It's probably best not to run the pump dry for too long.

Well things have changed somewhat, or to put it another way, so much for my initial diagnosis!

I decided to try dismantling it after I put myself hand in the basket again and found it disgustingly blocked!!

So I started dismantling and found each bit more blocked than the last,, - so badly that gunge had managed to make its way PAST the filter basket? In fact nothing is particularly difficult until I hit a brick wall when putting the filter basket back in.

Whereas it lifted straight up, it wont go back in at all and there is no video showing this exact slightly complicated basket design. There seems to be a pipe at its left which marries up to a hole in the basket and whereas the basket lifted up straight off the pipe, it wont go straight down back on it? I tried pushing, removing, re-pushing, twisting, manoeuvering to the left etc, tapping with a hammer, - nothing seems to shift it into position.

Would it help to insert a dowel in the pipe to use as a guide? Let it stick up a few inches above the basket bottom.

Might do but I am trying to figure out how the basket lifted straight up if the pipe was in the way. The basket is VERY narrow so I cant see easily maneuvering a dowel through both parts. This guy has a similar filter

It must be a problem getting it past those tabs at the sides rather than worrying about the pipe. He certainly makes it look easy!

Well let's see what happens: I discovered that I was trying to put things back out of sequence (before putting the metal tray back in)

For some reason, the basket wouldnt fit in. With tray back in, it went straight in!

So I completed and have turned on. So far all I note is that there is a lot of crackling coming from the front left corner, where the inlet valve and the float are. I'd actually be surprised if it meant anything. (Anyway, it is settling down)

Someone once told me to run the dishwasher with Affresh. I wonder how much of the gunge it would have 'dissolved'? I got this dishwasher about four years ago from my next door neighbour who used it once a month but who had bought all new appliances. I suppose it must have been 5-6 years old and I am positive it had never been cleaned.

Well, that didnt work! On the upside it has stopped leaking, on the downside, it finished its cycle with a pool of water again.

I cant seem to get it to drain by pressing START for over 3 seconds so I cant listen for the pump. But next stop is to do whatever it takes to get that float cover off and see if the microswitch will 'click' under it. THEN I'll worry about the pump having given out. ,

If it is grungy, Affresh may help. OTOH, I've used dishwashers in three houses over 56 years and have never used a cleaner. The detergent takes care of everything and the inside is as clean as the dishes.

I use Cascade platinum and a rinse aid.

So the procedure is: Turn on, leave for a minute or so until I can hear water whooshing inside, yank open the door and press on the start button (which should still be lit up) for over 3 seconds? It then either goes out or starts flashing. But I havent managed to get it to start the pump by doing this. Either the float is jammed and is preventing water in-flow or something (that jamming?) is preventing the machine from starting its cycle?

Or the pump is dead!

On the other point, the problem I am still having is that I cant find a youtube showing how to get that float valve cover off. All the ones online show a screw which holds the cover on. Mine has no screw and seems to flex in some way to get it off.

II used to agree with you but after seeing the sheer amount of grunge covering every invisible surface in that otherwise clean looking machine (which I had run with vinegar), I'm not so sure!!

Plus I used to have a Maytag and every time anyone ever called their technical support department, their telephonists had been trained with a catch-all written answer they stared at all day saying: TELL ALL USERS TO USE AFFRESH

So the procedure is: Turn on, leave for a minute or so until I can hear water whooshing inside, yank open the door and press on the start button (which should still be lit up) for over 3 seconds? It then either goes out or starts flashing. But I havent managed to get it to start the pump by doing this. Either the float is jammed and is preventing water in-flow or something (that jamming?) is preventing the machine from starting its cycle?

Or the pump is dead!

On the other point, the problem I am still having is that I cant find a youtube showing how to get that float valve cover off. All the ones online show a screw which holds the cover on. Mine has no screw and seems to flex in some way to get it off.

There are some videos here although none specific for the float cover.

You aid the dishwasher was prevously owned and used by someone else. You have no idea what they put into it besides dishes. Perhaps they washed items with adhesive labels as a lazy way to get the labels off. Just one example of what could be contributing to the gunk you're finding.