Whirlpool (WDF560SAFM2) dishwasher not circulating water

"Hi @brea224 ,

Do the spray arms move at all when the dishwasher has been started?

Place both the arms in a remembered position and then turn on the dishwasher.

After it has filled etc can you hear if the circulation pump (part #15) is operating? It really shouldn’t spend too much time heating the water at the start of the wash cycle unless hotter temperature options have been selected as the water supply to the washer should be at 120 deg. F. (49 C). The heater element in the dishwasher is only turned on for hotter washes, rinses and drying etc.

After a short while open the door to stop the cycle and check if the arms have moved from the position that you left them in.

If not it may be the circulation pump motor or the power supply to the pump motor. Check if there is voltage being applied to the pump or not when there should be. Be safety aware as the pump operates at mains supply voltage.

It may be safer to check the pump motor windings for continuity with an Ohmmeter first. Disconnect the power from the dishwasher when using an Ohmmeter.

Also check behind the kick panel (toe panel?) of the dishwasher to see if the tech sheet is there in a plastic sleeve. This will show you how to run the diagnostic tests for the dishwasher which may be of further help. If there is no tech sheet there, I found the part number for the tech sheet - W10904612 - but unfortunately I can’t find a download for one online. You may have better luck."

For posterity: filling, draining, but not washing can be as simple as a loose connection. My dishwasher (KitchenAid KDTE104ESS4) had the same symptoms as the OP’s, so after some research, I bought a replacement diverter valve as the cheaper and more likely of the solutions. When that didn’t affect the behavior, I took apart the circulation pump. Seeing no obvious issues, I measured the voltage being delivered to the pump during the wash cycle: 53 volts mostly, with brief increases to 112. I measured 10 ohms of resistance across the motor connections. Not seeing anything obviously wrong, I then plugged the pump back in while the wash cycle was running, and as I was plugging it in, the motor started running. Some fiddling revealed that the connection between the wires and the motor was loose. Even though the plastic connector on the wires was firmly clicked into the receiver on the motor. After facepalming a bit, I worked at the connection to get it to stay put. Moral of the story: check all connections first!