Kitchen Large Electric Appliances - dishwasher grinding noise; won't start

:wall:

My dishwasher has started to freeze-up and make a grinding noise when I start the washing cycle. The unit will not fill with water nor will it start the cycle. The unit is approximately 7 years old. Any suggestions? Should I replace it or can it be repaired. Thank you for your help.

roxanne

roxrac@yahoo.com

Without being able to actually see & hear your dishwasher its hard to determine whats going on but it seems you have more than one problem.
The grinding noise could be something stuck in the impellers of your pump or if its a GE they had a problem with the weld breaking on the fan on the motor & it will wobble on the shaft making a load racket. As for the dishwasher not filling with water, that would have nothing to do with the motor. Water valve bad, float switch inside dishwasher stuck or bad. Is the timer advancing? If not, timer might be bad. Might be time to ask Santa for a new one for Christmas. Dave

Two unrelated problems, yes. Only if in the course of the grinding (bad motor bearing?) that this tripped out the breaker downstairs, due to the load on the motor) and that is why you currently get nothing. Check the panel box and see if a 15 amp breaker is thrown. But if you reset it, be prepared for the grinding noise again.

Assuming that the motor bearings are bad, the price of a new motor & service call to replace it would probably not justify the repair on a 7 year old dishwasher. Call your serviceman with the make & model # and get an estimate first.