Kenmore 665.13833K601 Ultra Wash QuietGuard Deluxe dishwasher will not drain (again)

[LMHmedchem]

Hello again,

After just getting the oven fixed, now the dishwasher will not drain. This is a Kenmore 665.13833K601 from 2007, so I am not all that surprised if it need some repairs at this point.

This has happened before and was posted about here,

Dishwasher will not drain

Last time I posted in the plumbing forum but it seems like there are more posts about dishwashers here. Let me know if this is not the best place.

In the previous case, I believe that the issue was a blockage right at the garbage disposal. There was nothing in the hose, but there was food in the tube that the hose connects to. I took the whole thing apart and cleaned everything but I think that the blockage at the disposal was the issue.

In this case, there is no blockage in the hose which was confirmed by disconnecting both ends of the drain hose and pouring water through. There is no blockage at the disposal which was confirmed by putting a tubing cleaner through the plastic pipe that the hose connects to.

The manual drain does not do anything. When I look underneath, I can hear the pump buzzing/humming but it doesn't seem to be doing anything. The pump is also very hot. I burnt my finger touching the metal fins on the outside, which I assume are a heat sink. Tomorrow, I will take the inside apart and clean it and try to make sure that there is nothing jamming or obstructing the pump.

What can I do to confirm whether or not the pump is still working?

Thanks,

LMHmedchem

 

[LMHmedchem]

This morning I took apart the inside and cleaned everything out down to the macerator blade. There was some debris in there that I removed but nothing significant.

When I was finished, I poured some clean water in the bottom and hit the manual drain button. Like before, there was a humming sound at the pump but no water moving. I took a pair of pliers and tapped on the side of the pump and it came on and drained the water right away. I repeated this two more times and it drained without any additional tapping on the pump.

What should I make of this?

Does this imply that I have a loose wire? If the pump wasn't getting power because of a loose connection than why was it humming? Also, I didn't touch the wire harness but just tapped on the pump housing.

Does this imply that there is some obstruction in the pump itself the came loose when I tapped it? Was there some scale or other buildup.

Does this imply that the pump is on the way out and like an old fan, you can sometimes start it by spinning the blade or hitting the motor housing?

Should I remove the pump to clean it and investigate further?
Should I order a new pump in case it quits for good?

Suggestions would be appreciated,

LMHmedchem

 

[Tailgunner]

if it is humming, it is getting power. More than likely, the pump needs replacing.