- “Water left in the tub at the end”
- “C1, C2, C3 or FTD on the display”
- “Started after a new disposer was fitted”
Symptom
GE dishwasher not draining
The most common dishwasher call, and GE's own troubleshooting starts outside the machine: the air gap, the drain hose and the disposer. The single most frequent cause in a house with a recently installed disposer is a plastic plug that was never knocked out — which is not a dishwasher repair at all.
- From $95 diagnostic, credited to the repair
- 59 cities and neighborhoods covered
- OEM parts available on order
- In writing the price, before anything is opened
Five ordinary causes
What this usually turns out to be
Cheapest and commonest first, which is also the order we check them in. They sit hundreds of dollars apart, and only the unit settles which one is yours.
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A disposer inlet plug that was never removed
The commonest cause after a kitchen change, and not a repair to the appliance at all.
Dishwasher drain repair from $155 -
The drain hose and its high loop
A hose that has slipped down siphons water back. GE asks to replace or reposition it before anything else.
Dishwasher drain repair from $155 -
A blocked air gap
On sinks that have one. GE lists cleaning it first for the C1 code.
Dishwasher drain repair from $155 -
The filter and the sump
Glass, seeds and labels collect there and stop the pump doing its job without breaking it.
Dishwasher drain repair from $155 -
The drain pump itself
Last, and tested for current and obstruction before it is condemned. A pump straining against a blockage is not a failed pump.
Dishwasher pump replacement from $245
In five minutes
Before you call anybody
None of it needs tools, and all of it makes the visit shorter.
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01
Look for a code on the panel
C1, C2, C3 and FTD are all drain codes and each has its own steps in GE's table. Photograph it before cutting power.
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02
Run the disposer, then run the dishwasher
GE's own advice. A disposer full of waste blocks the shared drain.
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03
Look under the sink at the hose
It should rise to a high loop before it drops to the drain. A hose lying flat siphons.
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04
Clear the filter at the bottom of the tub
Most GE dishwashers have one that lifts out, and what is in it is often the whole story.
How it shows up
What people describe when they call
A shortcut
Narrow it down before anybody arrives
A description of the behaviour leaves a few possible causes. A code names the subsystem before anybody opens anything, which is why it is worth photographing before it clears.
If there is no code at all
The data plate is inside the cabinet, upper left wall or behind the grille. All models
In more detail
About GE dishwasher not draining
If a disposer was fitted recently, check its plug
A disposer arrives with a moulded plug closing the dishwasher inlet, and it has to be knocked out during installation. When it is missed, the dishwasher cannot drain into it and holds water every single cycle from the day the disposer was fitted. GE names the disposer in their own list for these codes. It costs nothing to check and it is a five-minute fix.
Most of this repair is not in the dishwasher
The air gap, the disposer, the hose and the house drain are all upstream of the pump, and between them they account for most of the water left standing in a tub. That is why an honest visit starts under the sink rather than under the machine, and why this repair is priced below a pump replacement.
The codes actually help here
GE gives a solution column for dishwasher codes, which most of their tables do not. C1 points at the air gap, the hose and the disposer; C3 asks for a thirty-second power cycle before service. Telling us the code on the phone means we arrive with the right parts.
This article is based on:
- Official manufacturer documentation
- Internal repair procedures
- Technician repair history
- Company quality standards
Before you book
Questions about GE dishwasher not draining
There is a code but the manual is long gone.
Tell us the letters and numbers and we will tell you what GE's table says. C1 through C8 all mean specific things and several of them have free fixes.
Is it worth repairing an old dishwasher?
For a drain problem, almost always — the causes are cheap. It is the pump and the control board where that question becomes real, and we will raise it before ordering anything.
Where we do it
Across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach
Same terms everywhere we go: an on-site diagnostic first, the price agreed in writing, and the exact figure confirmed once we have seen the unit.
Neighborhoods people ask for by name