The short answer
This page takes the partial case: the tub does empty, but slowly, or it empties and then refills. That points at restriction and at the geometry of the drain line rather than at a failed pump, and the ranking below is reordered around that. On a Big Chill dishwasher, that reordering puts a kinked or blocked drain hose at the top.
What you are actually seeing
- The entries at the end belong to a different fault and send you elsewhere.
- Water that drains slowly over an hour instead of in a minute.
- Dirty water backing up into the tub from the sink side.
- A humming from the pump with no water movement.
- If instead you see this: Water on the floor rather than in the tub — read the leak page.
Ranked causes on a Big Chill dishwasher
- A machine that drains slowly has a working pump by definition, so restriction and hose geometry move above component failure in the ranking. Settle one observable question before you use this ranking — retro-trimmed front versus a custom or panel-ready front: one finished front with the brand hardware fitted to it is a factory retro door, while fasteners along the inner edge of the door mean a separate panel has been added. Look at the door face and its edges.
- A kinked or blocked drain hose — Why: The hose is squeezed behind the machine, sags into a low loop that holds water, or is packed with grease.
- The drain hose is not looped high enough — Why: Without a high loop or an air gap, waste water runs back down into the tub by gravity after every cycle.
- The sink drain itself is slow — Why: A dishwasher drains into the same line as the sink.
- A clogged filter or sump — Why: Food debris, labels, seeds and glass chips collect in the filter basket and the sump below it.
- A blocked air gap — Why: The small chrome cylinder on the sink deck fills with debris and stops the drain venting, which stalls the pump and sometimes overflows onto the worktop.
- A check valve stuck open or shut — Why: Stuck shut, nothing drains; stuck open, sink water siphons back into the tub, which is why the water in the tub sometimes smells of the sink rather than of the wash.
What to check, and why in this order
- Free checks first, then the ones that need the machine opened.
- Settle the question this page is built around first: a machine that drains eventually rather than not at all.
- Then run a short cycle and listen for the drain pump.
- Then follow the hose end to end for kinks, low loops and a proper high loop or air gap.
Checks you can safely do yourself
- Stop at the first step that would need a meter on live terminals.
- If the machine drains into a disposer, run the disposer for a moment, then check that the dishwasher inlet plug on it was removed at installation. — Number: 1 — Tools: torch — Time: under ten minutes
- Lift the cap off the air gap on the sink deck and clear any debris inside it. — Number: 2 — Tools: none — Time: under ten minutes
- Pull the machine forward if it is free-standing, or follow the hose on a portable, and remove kinks and low loops. — Number: 3 — Tools: torch — Time: under half an hour
- Fill the sink with water and let it drain. — Number: 4 — Tools: none — Time: under ten minutes
- Run a short cycle with the machine empty and listen at the drain phase, noting whether you hear a hum, a rush of water or nothing at all. — Number: 5 — Tools: none — Time: under an hour
Before you start
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel. A capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Nothing below asks you to put a meter on live terminals, and nothing below asks you to defeat a door switch or an interlock — those exist to cut power to something that would otherwise hurt you. If the plug, the cord or the outlet is warm, discoloured or smells hot, stop there and have the circuit looked at before you use the dishwasher again.
When to stop and call a technician
The line is whether the next step needs live testing, sealed-system access or a part you cannot verify. Call for anything under the trim that needs the door skin separated, and anything involving the sealed motor, or when:
the filter and hose are clear and the tub still holds water the pump hums but no water moves after the sump has been cleared water backs up into the tub from the sink side every time the sink is used
What this page does not cover
Common BIG CHILL Dishwasher Problems (big-chill-dishwasher-problems) BIG CHILL Dishwasher: Will Not Drain (big-chill-dishwasher-drainage-failure)
This page is generalized across the Big Chill dishwasher range: it is written for the brand and the fault, not for one family or one model number. It carries no model-specific code table, wiring detail or part number, and no measured failure rate, because no measured snapshot was available here. Where a family- or model-specific page exists beneath this one, the links below go down to it.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
