Kitchenaid (Hobart) KDC-21 Not draining... Sometimes... Please help!

[jimmys]

Hi, first I wanted to say "Hi" to everybody on this forum.... Long time reader, not much of a poster.

We absolutely love our vintage appliances! They typically work very well!

Recently however, I ran into a bit of a snag. Our KDC-21 that has been very good intermittently stopped draining. The timer seems to be going the full cycle.

If the tub is full of water (after a cycle where it didn't drain) and I start it on a normal wash, it doesn't fill or heat, it just starts washing.

I know the dishwasher pretty well and how it functions. This one has me scratching my head a bit. (Could it be a timer? Motor issue? connection?)

All help appreciated!

 

[stevet]

does the motor actually run in reverse?

I am sure that you know what are normal sounds that your machine should be making. It stops before any drain segment and then reverses and drains out.
So let me ask the first obvious question:
Does the motor actually stop and then reverse?
Do you hear any water going down the drain at all?
Did you install a new disposer and forget to knock out the plug that seals the dishwasher drain connection? This one gets even the most experienced installer every once in a while!

Did you check the drain hose for kinks or possible blockages at the curves or any area where the hose may have a sharp bend? With the built in disposer impeller on that machine, just about everything will get ground up and sent down the drain so if you accumulate enough stuff in the drain hose, you could find it blocked up at some point.

If those are all okay, but the motor doesn't turn on to drain, then you may want to try a new motor relay. Is there any burning smell coming from the motor? These are things we need to know before we can pinpoint it for you.