Start here
On a Fisher & Paykel dishwasher the ranking below starts where it does for a reason: the most common finding is debris in the filter, sump or chopper area, and the next is water hammer at the inlet valve. Dishwasher noise is usually something loose in the machine or something touching a spray arm, and the phase of the cycle it happens in identifies which.
What you observe
- A grinding noise during the drain step — Something in the drain pump or the chopper area.
- A loud hum with poor washing — A wash pump struggling, or a machine running with a blocked circuit.
- One drawer works and the other does not, or a code appears on the drawer panel — A double-drawer machine is effectively two machines, and that comparison is the best diagnostic tool on the appliance.
- NEAR MISS — a hum with no water movement at all — That is a pump jam and belongs on the drainage page.
Likely causes in order
- Debris in the filter, sump or chopper area — Ranked first on a Fisher & Paykel dishwasher because the filter stack is designed to be owner-serviced and is the first mechanical thing to look at. A fruit stone or a fragment of glass rattles in the sump and grinds in the drain pump.
- Water hammer at the inlet valve — Second here: this platform reports itself — a displayed code is real information, and reading it before touching anything is the fastest route on this brand.
- An item in the basket catching a spray arm — A tall glass, a handle or a serving spoon hanging through a rack stops or slows an arm and knocks once per revolution.
Where to start, and why there
- First: Remove the filter and look into the sump with a torch and gloves. — It sits first because the filter stack is designed to be owner-serviced and is the first mechanical thing to look at.
- Second: Note whether the noise is a single bang exactly at the end of a fill. — Next, and it needs no tool.
- Third: Spin each arm by hand with the racks loaded, exactly as you would run it. — Only once the checks above are clean.
Steps you can take yourself
- Compare the two drawers, and read the code the machine is showing — On a double DishDrawer the working drawer is a control experiment: it shares the supply and the drain but not the pump pod or the lid seal, so the difference between them localises the fault immediately.
About 15 min
- Check the mounting brackets and the contact points — A machine that is loose in its opening rattles the whole run of units.
Tools: screwdriverAbout 20 min
- Level the machine in its enclosure — Even in both directions; a twisted machine rattles and leaks together.
Tools: spirit level, spannerAbout 20 min
- STOP before removing the sump or the pump assembly — Sharp debris in a wet enclosure with live components.
Safety first
Safety
Unplug the machine or switch off its breaker before removing any panel or reaching into the sump — a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Wear gloves in the sump area: broken glass is the most common thing found there. Let a machine that has just finished a hot cycle cool before reaching inside.
When to call a technician
Call a technician when the noise is a grinding in the drain pump, when the wash pump has become steadily louder while cleaning has got worse, or when the noise survives clearing the sump and checking the mountings. Call sooner if you can hear something hard circulating, because glass fragments in the circuit damage the pump.
Other pages in this set
What is deliberately not here
This page is generalized across the Fisher & Paykel dishwasher range — written for the appliance class, not for one family or model line, and no family- or model-specific page has been published beneath it yet. When one is, it will be the more specific answer and it will be linked here; until then the closest pages are listed below.
Links: - [Common F & P Dishwasher Problems](/blog/f-p-dishwasher-problems) - [F & P Dishwasher: Does Not Clean or Dry](/blog/f-p-dishwasher-cleaning-performance) - [F & P Dishwasher: Controls, Display or Error Code](/blog/f-p-dishwasher-control-fault)
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
