How to test a dishwasher's motor:

Common dishwasher motor and gasket

Use our step-by-step dishwasher repair guide to learn how to test your motor. Once you have diagnosed the problem we have the OEM replacement motor that fits your appliance.

Note:
Disconnect the power source to your dishwasher before you conduct this or any other test. Either unplug the unit from the wall outlet, remove the appropriate fuse from the fuse box, or flip the appropriate breaker in the circuit breaker panel.

Locate your dishwasher's motor. It will be found behind the lower kickplate/access panel. This panel will be held in place with either two or four screws. Remove the screws you find in order to remove the panel. It may be necessary for you to open the dishwasher door to remove the screws, but then close the door again to remove the panel.

Disconnect the motor's two wire leads from the wiring harness. Set your multimeter to the R x 1 setting. Touch each of the meter's probes to one terminal each. Your motor should show little resistance (a reading of zero, or close to zero).

Now check the ground connection. Place one probe on the bare metal housing of the motor. Place the other probe on each terminal, one at a time. You should not receive any reading on your meter from this test.

If your dishwasher's motor fails either of these tests, you will have to replace it.

For more information about dishwasher motors: