Frigidaire Dishwasher Drain Pump Test – Guide

The Frigidaire dishwasher is an important appliance and a ‘must-have’ for every household, especially large families. The dishwasher is high quality and user-friendly, making dishwashing easier and faster. 

Using this product can be difficult when there is a fault, like a faulty drain pump. Hence, the need to carry out a drain pump test on your Frigidaire dishwasher is very important.

Frigidaire Dishwasher Drain Pump Test

The drain pump test helps you determine if your drain pump is working or in good condition.

Below is the full guide to carrying out the Frigidaire dishwasher drain pump test.

Read on!

Drain Pump Test On Your Frigidaire Dishwasher?

Before you can carry out any of the tests on your Frigidaire dishwasher, there are some precautionary measures you must strictly adhere to ensure a successful outcome.

  1. It would help if you got yourself an appliance parts dealer. This is because you might need to change a few parts by yourself. Some of these art dealers will try to make you think the task is too difficult for you. They will say this so that you will employ their services. Anyway, stay firm in your original plan. It is not so difficult.
  2. It is advisable not to use liquid detergent or regular dish soap with your dishwasher. Use powder cascades instead. 
  3. If the water in your house is hard, then be sure to get calcium buildup in your dishwasher, especially on the plastic parts. When calcium builds up in your Frigidaire dishwasher, it causes abrasion of the plastic and then leakage.

Note: Using Jet-Dry or Glass Magic from time to time will help prevent calcium buildup and filming of glass. Every three months, open up your dishwasher and clean up the air gap.

Also, running half a cup of vinegar in the dishwasher can remove this buildup. 

  1. Do well to replace rusty dish racks and any other rusty parts of your dishwasher. If you do not do this as soon as you notice the rust, you will encounter bigger issues. Comparatively, the money spent on changing these parts is so small when one talks about the money needed to fix a pump leak caused by rusty grits.
  2. Large plates or other cooking items should be loaded one after the other and carefully into the dishwasher. This way, they do not block the spray arms as they rotate or block the water jets from the spray arms. This is to ensure that all your dishes come out clean as they should be.

Tools Required

  • Frigidaire dishwasher manual
  • A screwdriver 
  • A small rag
  • A de-clogger
  • Plier
  • Some extra machine parts

How To Run A Drain Pump Test

The drain pump of the Frigidaire dishwasher is important because it takes the dirty water out of the machine.

Follow this step-by-step guide listed below on how to test the pump to ensure it is not clogged.

  1. The first step involves your nose. If a stinky smell welcomes you the moment you open your dishwasher, there is a drain pump problem. The water used to wash the last set of dishes didn’t go out completely, hence the smell. If your dishwasher doesn’t smell, but you still want to check it, follow the next steps. 
  2. Turn off the socket connected to your dishwasher. The drain pump is at the bottom of your dishwasher. Disconnect the drain pump from the main electrical panel. You should refer to your manual if you are unsure how to disconnect the hose. 
  3. Blow air through the drain pump. If the air passes through, you have a clog to fix.
  4. Use your de-clogger tool or refer to the manual.
Performing Frigidaire Dishwasher Drain Pump Test

How To Run Regular Diagnostic Tests On Your Frigidaire Dishwasher?

Running a diagnostic test on your Frigidaire dishwasher is very important as it will help you find out whatever problems your dishwasher might have. 

The diagnostic mode on your dishwasher is an inbuilt test cycle feature that will help you identify what is going wrong with your dishwasher, as aforementioned, when troubleshooting it.

Once you successfully enter this mode, a series of tests will be run for you by the test cycle on the vital parts of the Frigidaire dishwasher, such as the wash motor, the water fill, the heating element, the pump, and others.

A flashlight will be given, or an error code will be displayed.

The one that comes out for you depends on the model you have in your home and the fault the test detects on your appliance. This makes it easier for you to pick out whatever might be causing a malfunction.

Remember that the Frigidaire dishwasher will not always return an error code. It won’t display an ‘error’ after the self-diagnosis is done; no problems are found.

How, Then, Do You Run This Diagnostic Test? It is simple. Follow this step-by-step guide below.

  1. On the top of the dishwasher’s door, locate the “High temp” and the “Start or cancel” buttons.
  2. Press the buttons at the same time until the tests start.
  3. How do you know when the test starts? This indicates that the test has begun on your Frigidaire dishwasher gallery series model. For models having a display window, release your force on those buttons when you see 01 being displayed.
  4. While for models without a display window, keep your eyes on the indicator light on the top-edge door control. Let go of the buttons the moment the lights come on.

The Frigidaire Dishwasher And Error Codes

When your appliance displays an error code’ or flashes a light after you’ve started the diagnostic test and ended, consult your owner’s manual for the correct tips on fixing it.

However, try to reset the dishwasher first by following the steps below before trying to fix an error on your dishwasher as a result of troubleshooting.

Option One

In this option, you reset your dishwasher by disconnecting it from the power source for at least five minutes. Follow this step-by-step guide.

  1. Find the socket to which your machine is plugged or the breaker.
  2. Please turn it off and unplug it if you like
  3. Wait for five minutes. 
  4. Plug the dishwasher back into the socket and turn it on.

Option Two

In this option, your dishwasher will reset after you use the start and cancel buttons in the following steps.

  1. Hold down the cancel button for at least three seconds. You can also hold it down until the indicator lights go off.
  2. Wait for five minutes. 
  3. Restart the dishwasher by pressing the start button for three seconds at most.

Things You Should Know

  • The five minutes wait is important in both options because your Frigidaire dishwasher needs enough time to rest and restore factory default.
  • Resetting your Frigidaire dishwasher might correct all the errors it previously had. If it doesn’t fix everything, you can refer to your manual or call for repair.
  • Not all Frigidaire dishwashers have a diagnostic mode. Check your tech sheet to ensure your model offers this mode before you carry out the test.
  • However, if your model does not support this mode, carry out a reset straight away. 

Conclusion

The Frigidaire dishwasher is a simple appliance that should be treated with care. It shouldn’t be overworked, and it also shouldn’t be disassembled every time there is a problem.

Maintaining this dishwasher is not difficult because Frigidaire dishwashers normally clean themselves during regular cycles.

We hope this article has been of help to you.

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I am a professional appliance repair expert and write articles that help average users diagnose and troubleshoot their kitchen gadgets, like microwaves, dishwashers, etc. I’m a foodie by heart and love reviewing food recipes, ingredients, and the cookware products used in them for meal preparation.