Samsung Dishwasher Not Filling With Water

Introduction

Your Samsung dishwasher won’t fill. You may also be getting an error code like 4C or 4E

Water Supply Problems

Likely, the primary reason your Dishwasher won’t fill is a problem with the water supply. Let’s look at four common failures.

First check. Is the supply valve turned on? Usually, this is located under the sink nearby. Turn it counterclockwise to check. If it is off, turn it on.

Pro Tip: When you turn on any of the wall stop valves in your home, if they are a screw type valve, open them fully and then close them ¼ turn. This will allow you to check if the valve is open later because it will turn a little bit in the right direction. Then you will know that it isn’t just corroded and really is on. Otherwise, you might apply a lot of force trying to “break it free” and damage the valve.

The water supply hose can become kinked or clogged. Check the entire length of the hose. Look for pinched or kinked areas. If okay, go on to the next item.

The water inlet solenoid valve is a common point of failure with these dishwashers.

Do not rely only on an ohms check here because unless the valve coil has failed open, you may be dealing with a valve that has simply worn out and sticks in the closed position, even when energized.
Nonetheless, the proper resistance should be between 500 and 1,500Ω. Use a multimeter to check. Anything greater or much less than this (like 300Ω) indicates a problem. A more sure check of the inlet valve (if your dishwasher will try to operate) is described below, but you need to check some other items first to be ready to check this.
If you hear a humming from the valve when the machine is supposed to fill, but no water flows into the machine, that suggests a stuck valve. Go to Water Inlet Valve Failure below.
The valve inlet filter screen may be clogged with mineral deposits, making the machine fill slowly or not at all. Check and clean the screen. Remember that if the screen is dirty, there may also be buildup inside the valve, so you may choose to replace the valve. If the valve looks good, go on to the next item.

Water Pressure of under 20 PSI may cause the valve to malfunction and will often cause the inlet valve to not close properly. You can use a pressure gauge to check the home water supply pressure at an outside faucet.

If the water supply checks out, we move on to operating failures on the machine.

Causes

Float Switch Failure

If the float switch fails in the up or full position, the machine will not fill, and it may give an OE, oE, or OC code as the unit thinks it is over full. The float switch is mounted either inside the unit tub chamber or it may be on a large plastic part called a case break on the side of the dishwasher. If it is in the case break unit, the float chamber is generally found in the lower right-hand part of the case break. You can check to see if the float is stuck (the common failure) or if the switch portion has failed. This chamber can become dirty and cause the float to stick, so if you see sediment or dirt or what looks like algae, replace the float valve chamber. Before you do so,

Water Inlet Valve Failure

(Note: This is Common) If the float switch is operating properly, you should test the water inlet valve more completely.. Start a cycle, and then use a multimeter to measure the AC voltage supplied to the inlet valve. (Your meter should preferably have a “Low-Z” setting for AC volts, or you can be fooled by what are called “Ghost Voltages.”) This will be line or mains voltage (120VAC in the USA); you should be very careful if you check this. Use common sense and move more slowly. This measurement will give you a clue as to what is going on. Remember that the valve can receive proper voltage and not operate. Usually, it is stuck as it wears out over time. If the voltage checks ok, along with the resistance check above, but the valve doesn’t work, replace the valve. Otherwise, go on to the next item.

Door Switch Failure

If the door switch has failed, the machine won’t fill and probably won’t even show any signs of life. Here is a page that looks at this problem.

Wiring Harness Failure

Samsung dishwashers have a known problem of failure in the door wiring harness, which will cause several components to cease to function. The door switch can be affected, and possibly the water inlet valve. You should attempt to trace all the wiring to the valve. You may discover that there are other components that share a wire, and by checking to see if those components work, you can learn a lot. If the wiring looks okay, then go to the next step.

Main Control Board Failure

A final possibility, though unlikely, is the failure of the main control board. This is indicated when the valve doesn’t receive power to operate (no voltage) and there is no failure in the water level system or in the wiring to the valve. Before replacing the board, remove power from the dishwasher, unplug and re-plug all the connectors on the control board, and then test again. You are better off replacing other parts before replacing a control board, especially regarding cost.