What you are actually seeing
- A loud hum during the drain with no water moving
- Water draining slowly
- The machine drains but then refills
- Dirty water backing up at the standpipe
- Not this fault: No spin with a completely empty drum
Ranked causes on a Contoure washer
- Drain hose siphoning — Ranked here because: an RV is level only when someone levels it, and several of these appliances will not work correctly out of level
- Drain hose kinked or crushed — Ranked here because: a few hundred miles of road vibration loosens connections, fasteners and plumbing joints that would never move in a house
- Standpipe or household waste restricted — Ranked here because: a coach installation is tighter than any domestic one and the venting and clearance shortcuts taken during the build show up as faults later
- Drain pump filter blocked — Ranked here because: coach appliances are used intermittently and stored for months, which produces its own fault pattern
- Drain pump failed electrically — Ranked here because: this is a wear part with a service life rather than a component that fails at random
What to check, and in what order
- Pull the machine forward and check the drain hose for kinks and crushing
- Pour a bucket of water into the standpipe and watch it clear
- Check how far the drain hose goes into the standpipe and at what height it is run
- With the drum empty, select a spin-only programme and see whether it spins
Steps you can safely do yourself
- Check how far the drain hose goes into the standpipe and at what height it is run — Tools: tape measure — Estimated time: about ten minutes
- With the drum empty, select a spin-only programme and see whether it spins — Tools: none — Estimated time: one spin
- Open the drain pump filter at the front bottom, drain into a tray and clear it — Tools: shallow tray, towels, cloth — Estimated time: about half an hour
- Cancel to a drain or spin programme and listen: hum, silence or normal pumping — Tools: none — Estimated time: a few minutes
- Pull the machine forward and check the drain hose for kinks and crushing — Tools: flashlight — Estimated time: about a quarter of an hour
Safety
Safety
unplug-before-service branch-circuit-15-20a
When to call a technician
the pump is silent during the drain phase, which means it has failed something jammed the pump that cannot be reached through the filter the machine drains fine and still refuses to spin
Nearest pages
What this page does not cover
Not this fault: the family pages for the refrigeration, cooking and laundry lines Not this fault: model-specific pages once the model and serial label is read
Links: - [Common CONTOURE Dryer Problems](/blog/contoure-dryer-problems) - [Common Contoure Microwave Problems](/blog/contoure-microwave-problems) - [Common CONTOURE Refrigerator Problems](/blog/contoure-refrigerator-problems) - [CONTOURE Washer: Abnormal Noise or Vibration](/blog/contoure-washer-abnormal-noise)
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
