My GE Dishwasher Stops During Cycle

One of the most vexing problems with home appliances has to be issues with power. If your GE dishwasher starts then shuts off during a cycle, there are a number of possible causes. Some of these problems are serious repair issues, such as trouble with the motor, but other causes may be less serious and might even be easy to fix.

If the GE dishwasher stops working, look to see if other appliances in the home have lost power as well. If so, there may be a household-wide power failure.

Wait for the power to come back on, and then select "Stop/Cancel" to clear any previous programs that remained stored in the dishwasher. Make a new cycle selection and select "Start." The power cord should also be plugged firmly into a power outlet and may have become loose if the dishwasher had power but stopped suddenly.

If it's only the dishwasher that stopped working, check the breaker box. If your dishwasher is on a dedicated circuit breaker, it may have tripped because of a power surge. If this is the case, turn the breaker switch to the "on" position to restore power to your dishwasher. Select "Stop/Cancel" to clear any stored programs, and then select "Start" for the dishwasher to begin a new cycle.

When other appliances in the home have power except the dishwasher, or the dishwasher shows a "PF" error code, power was interrupted to the dishwasher, causing it to stop. Select a new cycle and any other wash options, and then select "Start" to resume operation.

Replacing the household fuse or resetting the circuit breaker may be necessary if the dishwasher stopped due to a household-wide power outage or there was another problem with the fuse or breaker. If the dishwasher was recently installed, turn off the breaker, wait 30 seconds and then restore power to perform a reset.

If your dishwasher shuts off after a few minutes, check to make sure the dishwasher door was not opened suddenly during the wash cycle and then not closed completely to restart the cycle. The dishwasher will not run if the door is open, so push the door closed firmly.

Another possible reason why a GE dishwasher may stop suddenly is if the motor overheats for some reason. Keep the space in front of the dishwasher clear of objects that might block airflow and cause the unit to overheat. The dishwasher should restart automatically. If it doesn't, unplug the unit and contact GE for service.

Some GE dishwasher models have a leak protection feature that shuts off the dishwasher if it detects a leak. The control panel will display "LEAK DETECTED" and the appliance will stop the current cycle and pump out the water inside to prevent further leaking. If this is why your dishwasher stopped during a cycle, you'll have to call a repair technician to fix the problem.