The short answer
Where the water appears sorts this out quickly. Water down the front at floor level is almost always a door that has dropped because a counterbalance cable snapped. Water under the machine that never reaches the front is a hose or sump connection, and the machine will latch its flood protection and refuse to run once it collects in the base pan. Never cut or repair the inlet hose, which carries mains wiring in its sleeve.
What you are seeing
- Water runs down the outside of the door and onto the floor at the front — Note: The door is not meeting its base seal squarely, which on this platform usually means a snapped counterbalance cable.
- A puddle appears under the machine with a dry door front — Note: A connection inside the cabinet. The machine will stop itself once the base pan fills.
- The machine starts pumping and refuses to fill — Note: Flood protection has latched on water in the base pan. The leak is upstream of that symptom.
- A wet patch under the sink at the tap connection — Note: The inlet hose head. Isolate the machine before touching it, because that head is electrically live.
- Foam escaping around the door — Note: Hand dish soap or too much rinse aid in the machine. It is a chemistry problem, not a seal one.
- Water only after a very full load — Note: A door seal that is marginal, or an overloaded upper basket deflecting spray straight at the door.
Ranked causes on this brand
- Door dropped from a snapped counterbalance cable — Why this rank: First because the cable-and-pulley door design on this platform fails this way, because the drop is abrupt, and because a low-hanging door stops pressing squarely on the seal at the bottom of the opening where water collects.
- Anti-flood inlet hose head leaking at the tap — Why this rank: Second because that head contains a solenoid and a seal, it lives under the sink where nobody looks, and it is the one component on this machine that must never be repaired or cut.
- Base seal or tub gasket displaced, worn or fouled — Why this rank: Third: these are two separate parts on this platform, the lower one takes every drip and scuff from loading, and a fragment on the sill holds the door off.
- Sump or drain hose connection weeping inside the cabinet — Why this rank: Fourth because it produces water in the base pan rather than at the front, and because the machine responds by protecting itself before the owner sees a puddle.
- Overfoaming from hand dish soap or excess rinse aid — Why this rank: Fifth because it is entirely self-inflicted, it produces foam rather than water, and it stops the moment the cause does.
- Tub corrosion or a split seam — Why this rank: Last because it is terminal, uncommon, and every other cause here is far more likely and far cheaper to correct.
What to check, in order
- Find exactly where the water appears: front of the door, under the machine, or under the sink — Why: Three locations, three different causes, and this observation does most of the work.
- Open the door halfway and let go of it — Why: A door that falls open has a broken counterbalance cable, which is the top cause of a front leak.
- Look along the base of the door opening for grit, a fragment or a distorted seal — Why: This is where a European machine leaks at the front when the door geometry is fine.
- Switch off at the isolator and inspect the inlet hose head under the sink for weeping — Why: Do this with the power off: the head contains a mains-operated solenoid.
- Remove the kick panel and look for water in the base pan — Why: Water there confirms an internal leak and explains why the machine may already have stopped running.
Checks you can do safely
- Run a short cycle with a torch and a dry sheet of kitchen paper on the floor, and note the moment and the place water first appears. — Tools: torch, kitchen paper — Time: one short cycle
- Open the door to halfway and release it, noting whether it holds, drops slowly, or falls open and twists. — Tools: none — Time: two minutes
- Wash the base seal and the sill below the door with hot water and a cloth, and remove any grit or fragment sitting on it. — Tools: cloth — Time: ten minutes
- Press any lifted section of the tub gasket back into its channel with a thumb, working from the middle of each run out to the corners. — Tools: none — Time: ten minutes
- Switch off at the isolator, then dry and inspect the inlet hose head at the tap for weeping. Do not cut, tape or dismantle it. — Tools: torch, cloth — Time: ten minutes
- Remove the kick panel and dry the base pan completely with cloths, then leave the machine off with the door ajar overnight before retesting. — Tools: screwdriver, torch, cloths — Time: half an hour plus overnight
Before you open anything
Safety
Switch off at the isolator and at the breaker before investigating any leak, and mop standing water off the floor before restoring power. Never cut, shorten, splice, tape or otherwise repair the inlet hose: it carries mains wiring inside its outer sleeve to a solenoid in the head at the tap end, and it is replaced only as a complete assembly. Do not defeat the flood protection float to make a leaking machine run. Water in a machine that has heated is hot enough to scald, so let it cool before bailing or reaching in. Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel. A capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. — Id: unplug-before-service
Where the service line falls
A counterbalance cable has snapped, because the assembly is under tension and the replacement must match the door weight the machine was built for. The inlet hose head is weeping at the tap, because that assembly is replaced complete and must never be repaired. The base pan refills after being dried, which means an internal connection is leaking and the machine should not be run in the meantime. Water appears at the front with a door that holds position, a clean sill and a seated gasket, which points at the seal itself. You find corrosion or a split in the tub, which is not repairable and moves the decision to replacement.
Nearest pages
What this page does not cover
This page is generalized across families and models on this European built-in platform and assumes a counterbalanced door, separate tub and base seals, and an anti-flood inlet hose. It does not cover a specific model family, and it does not cover freestanding or drawer-format machines, whose door and sealing arrangements are different throughout. Identify your machine from the rating plate on the edge of the door or inside the tub rim rather than from the badge, because this manufacturer supplied the same platform under several group badges and a parts desk cross-references by platform, not by name.
Links down: - [Fagor Dishwasher: Door, Latch or Seal Fault](/blog/fagor-dishwasher-door-seal) - [Fagor Dishwasher: Will Not Drain](/blog/fagor-dishwasher-drainage-failure)
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
