# Amana dishwasher won't drain



## cghill

So my Amana dishwasher (model adb1200aws) isn't fully draining water at the end of the cycle.  It certainly appears water is being drained, just not all of it, as the water isn't up to the float assembly.  The dishwasher is capable of draining, its simply not draining all the water.  At the end of the cycle, I just hit "Stop/Cancel" and it reactivates the drain pump to fully drain the rest of the water.  I've checked a lot of the basic things.  Here's what I know:



The drain tube is clear, and not the problem.
I do not drain into a garbage disposal, so there's no issues related to that.
The drain hookup also doesn't use an air gap (basically the drain tube just rests  in an open ended vertical pvc pipe)
I've disassembled the drain basket and made sure there was no food clogging any of the screens leading up to the drain pump.
I've replaced the drain pump.
When I "Stop/Cancel" at the end of the a cycle (when water is still left) it runs for the appropriate amount of time (2 minutes).
Any ideas or suggestions for what else could be wrong would be appreciated.  Thanks!


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## jeff1

Hi,



> The drain tube is clear, and not the problem



Checked all the way from the d/w to the house drain?



> Any ideas or suggestions for what else could be wrong would be appreciated



Draining is still slow/restricted? Over filling? Drain cycle is to short ( during the wash cycle, not the drain and off cycle )? Fill valve weeping in some water all of the time? Water is accidentally going backwards into the d/w through the drain hose?

jeff.


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## cghill

The only part of the drain tube I couldn't see is where it loops up, but everything else is perfectly clear.

As far as draining slow/restricted, unfortunately I don't know what a "normal" speed would be.  I didn't really pay attention to how fast it pumped before.  Is there a way I can measure this.

As far as overfilling, same as above.  I don't know how full its supposed to be.  I've made sure the float assembly can move up and down.

I'll run a full cycle tomorrow and see how long the drain cycle is at the very end during a regular cycle.  I'll also check to see if the water is empty in the dishwasher right after draining.  This should tell me whether or not water is leaking in.

Thanks!


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## jeff1

Can't upload it here ( won't let me )....wire diagram has timing chart for when things occur and for how long. I will try from home later.

jeff.


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## jeff1

jeff1 said:


> Can't upload it here ( won't let me )....wire diagram has timing chart for when things occur and for how long. I will try from home later.



http://www.applianceaid.com/pdf/adb1200aws.pdf

jeff.


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## cghill

I ran a quick wash today.  Some very interesting things.  Everything ran fine up through the heated wash on the diagram.  Then the dishwasher only drained for 1 minute instead of 2.  It then moved on to the heated rinse just fine, but went for like 25 minutes or so (I'm assuming it combined the heated rinse and rinse? Not sure what Rinse and Disp is).  At the end, it only drained from 1 minute again instead of 2.  Then, when it should have been done it went back to washing.  That's when I stopped it.  

What could be causing it to do this?


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## jeff1

Only 2 things that I am aware of that can/will add or subtract to the cycle times is the turbidity sensor and control board...






Sensor, turbidity Manufacturer Number 99002650





Electronic control board Manufacturer Number 12002709

They work together.

jeff.


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## cghill

I ordered the turbidity sensor you linked here, but when I went to install it I realized that the electrical connection on the current turbidity sensor is different than the one on the new one.  I have no way to hook this up that I can see.  Any thoughts?


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## jeff1

How is it different?
Looked up by the model# posted ADB1200AWS





Sensor, turbidity Manufacturer Number 99002650

Unless the parts breakdown is wrong?

Diagram shows the wiring to it...
http://www.applianceaid.com/pdf/adb1200aws.pdf

jeff.


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## cghill

Ugh...this issue just won't die.  So, I ordered the control board thinking that it might be the problem instead.  When it arrived, I realized it was the wrong part too.  It turns out I had the wrong model number for my dishwasher (it is ADB1600AWS, not ADB1200AWS).  This is why the turbidity sensor didn't fit right either.

Regardless, while going through the documentation I found some information for the existing control board.  It had a diagnostic test you could run, and I ran it.  Everything took the correct amount of time, and I paid specific attention to the two 1:00 minute drain cycles (they were back to back).  I heard the drain motor turn on, and could hear water draining from the line into the drain, but after the two minutes there was still a lot of water in the bottom of the dishwasher.

I noticed that it certainly sounded as if water was draining much faster when I manually canceled and forced the drain cycle.  I'm sorry if it seems like I'm giving mixed reports here, but I can't figure it out either.  The drain cycle seems to be running the correct amount of time, but its not draining near enough water.  Any thoughts?

The first thing I thought is maybe the drain is clogged on the side of the dishwasher where it loops up and I can't see it.  The tube I'm using is opaque, but I can visually inspect the rest and I don't see any clogs, but I can't see where it loops up besides the dishwasher.  I'm really running out of ideas here...


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## Wuzzat?

You can do
[ame]http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=%22dishwasher+won't+drain%22&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8[/ame]

but I'd ask, 
What is a normal depth for water at the end of the cycle?, or 
What is a normal volume of water at the end of the cycle?.

Regarding if the drain line is clear I guess you'd have to measure back pressure at some GPM but I've never heard of anyone doing that.


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## cghill

Part of the reason I posted here was because I tried a lot of the things I found from a simple google search.  The drain certainly didn't appear to be obstructed or clogged, I made sure the drain filter was clear, I don't use an air gap, I replaced the drain pump, etc.

As far as normal water depth, its a bit tough to judge since the bottom is all slanted down to the pump/drain at the bottom, but theres enough water that it reaches the shut-off float, though there isn't enough water to actually float the device.

The biggest problem is that the dishwasher attempts to rinse the dishes using the soapy and dirty water.  As a result, my dishes are coming out cloudy.  A simple workaround is that I run the dishwasher about halfway thru a normal cycle, til the washing should be done, then manually cancel and drain all the water, and then start another cycle with all clean water to rinse.  Its annoying, but it works for the time being.  However, I'd like to fix the dishwasher so it works properly.


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## Wuzzat?

cghill said:


> my dishes are coming out cloudy.


There may be several possible causes for this symptom and some should be listed in your manual's troubleshooting section.


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## cghill

I do recognize that there are many solutions to the problem of having cloudy dishes, however fixing that would simply be treating the symptom of the problem instead of the problem itself.  The problem is that my dishwasher is failing to drain the water during and at the end of cycles, and thus soapy water is used to rinse the dishes, which leaves a residue on them.  I would prefer to fix the problem of my water not draining instead of just fixing my cloudy dishes after each cycle.


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## nealtw

Does thing have a check valve or backflow preventer that could be stuck open?


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