What to check yourself
Step 1. Cut the power at the breaker for 30 seconds
This is GE's own first step for C3, and it is worth doing before anything else: a control that latched the code after a power blip clears here and never comes back. If the code returns on the next cycle, the fault is real.
Step 2. Listen during the drain
Start a cycle and press Cancel, which forces a drain on most of these machines. A hum with no water moving is a pump or valve that is jammed. Complete silence is a solenoid, a wire or the control. This one observation is most of the diagnosis, and it is worth telling the technician.
Step 3. Bail the tub and check the sump and outlet
Sponge out the water, lift the filter and check the drain opening. Then do the outside checks: air gap, disposal inlet and knockout plug, drain hose for a kink. A fully blocked outlet gives C3 rather than C1 on some controls, so do not skip these because the code says pump.
Check for glass before reaching into the sump.
What a technician will look at
Described so you know what you are paying for, not as steps to repeat.
Test the drain solenoid
On this design a solenoid pulls the drain valve open. When its coil fails the pump runs and the water stays. It is metered at its terminals and the technician can usually see whether the plunger moves. This is the most common C3 repair on GSD and PDW machines.
Test the pump motor and the control board
If the solenoid is good and there is no drive signal to it, the control board is next. A motor that hums but does not turn is seized, usually by glass. Both are reached from underneath with the machine out.
When to call a technician
As soon as a breaker reset and a clean sump have not fixed it. The solenoid, valve and motor are all under the machine with power applied, and the useful part of the job is telling which one failed rather than replacing all three.
What the repair costs
| Repair | Part only | Fitted by a technician |
|---|---|---|
| Breaker reset and clearing the sump | - | Free |
| Diagnosis alone | - | $70 to $130 |
| Drain solenoid replacement | $25 to $60 | $150 to $325 |
| Drain pump or motor replacement | $50 to $150 | $150 to $400 |
| Control board replacement | $95 to $220 | $200 to $500 |
A new machine of the same class runs $500 to $1,500. Once a quote passes about a third of that on an older appliance, the repair stops making sense.
Codes people confuse this with
- Draining is happening, but too slowly: the pump-out ran for more than two minutes without finishing.
C1
- The machine has been trying to pump out for more than seven minutes in total, and it is beeping to tell you it gave up.
C2
- Failure to drain: the cycle ended, or stopped, with water still in the tub.
FTD
Questions people ask
- The machine is a GE Profile. Same code?
- Yes. Profile of that era used the same controls and the same C codes. The service mode entry differs by model, the meaning does not.
- Board or new machine?
- A control board at 200 to 500 on a dishwasher old enough to show C codes rarely makes sense. If the technician gets to the board, ask for the price of a new machine in the same breath.
Which machines this applies to
Applies to
Older GE, GE Profile and Hotpoint dishwashers with electronic controls: GSD, GHD, PDW, EDW, GLD and HDA model prefixes. The same fault on a current GDT or GDF machine shows as FTD.
Last checked
2026-08-28