Start here
The first thing to rule out on a Fisher & Paykel dishwasher is the top cause below — a blocked filter and sump — and the second is a stuck check valve or a drain solenoid. Standing water is nearly always a blockage in the filter, the sump, the drain hose or the disposer connection, and the last of those is the one owners most often miss.
Symptoms, and the ones that mean something else
- Water standing over the filter at the end of every cycle — The drain step is not clearing the sump.
- 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 small amount of clean water in the sump between cycles — That is normal on many machines; it keeps the seals wet.
The ranking that matters
- A blocked filter and sump — 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. Food debris, labels, seeds and glass fragments accumulate here, and eventually the drain cannot pull water through.
- A stuck check valve or a drain solenoid — 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.
- A kinked, blocked or badly routed drain hose — A hose crushed behind the machine, or one without a high loop, either blocks the flow or lets sink water siphon back.
Check in this order, and why
- First: Remove the filter and look into the sump with a torch. — 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 water returns to the sump after a successful drain — that is a check valve story. — Next, and it needs no tool.
- Third: Pull the machine forward carefully and look at the whole hose route, including whether it rises to a high loop. — Only once the checks above are clean.
The owner-side checks
- 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 drain hose route and the high loop — No kinks, and the hose rising to a high loop under the counter before it drops to the waste.
Tools: torchAbout 25 min
- STOP before removing the pump or the sump housing — Wet components inside a live machine, and a job with sharp debris in it.
Read this before starting
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: broken glass in a dishwasher sump is common and cuts easily. Let the machine cool before bailing out water from a cycle that has just run hot.
The line between a fix and a call
Call a technician when the filter and sump are clean, the sink drains freely, the hose is clear and the machine still will not empty — that points at the drain pump or the check valve. Call a plumber instead when the sink itself backs up, because the machine has been reporting a plumbing fault all along.
Other pages in this set
What this page does not cover
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.
