What to check yourself
Step 1. Take the filter out and clear the sump under it
Start here: it ends most of these. Pull the lower rack, twist the filter assembly out, and rinse both the cylindrical mesh and the flat plate beneath it. Then look into the sump itself with a torch. Fruit stickers are the classic find, along with rice, seeds, a shard of glass or a chunk of bone sitting across the pump inlet.
Broken glass in the sump is what makes people cut their fingers here. Look before you reach in.
Step 2. Check the drain hose for a kink and for the high loop
Pull the machine forward and follow the hose all the way. Look for a crushed section behind the machine and for the rise up to counter height before it drops to the drain. That loop is what keeps sink water from running back in, and it goes missing after kitchen work more often than you would think.
Step 3. If a garbage disposal was fitted recently, check its knockout plug
This is the one that catches people out on a machine that worked perfectly last week. A new disposal ships with a plastic disc sealing the dishwasher inlet, and it has to be punched out on installation. If it was missed, the water has nowhere to go. Look at the hose spigot on the disposal; a plug still in place is obvious once you know to check.
Step 4. Clear the air gap on the sink if there is one
The small chrome cylinder beside the tap. The cap twists off and the cover lifts, and inside there is usually grey sludge. It blocks quietly and gives exactly this code.
Step 5. Think about the detergent before you buy a pump
Too much detergent, or hand dish soap in the dispenser, produces foam that slows draining enough to trip the timer. If the tub had visible suds in it, run a rinse only cycle with nothing in the dispenser and try again before going any further.
What a technician will look at
Described so you know what you are paying for, not as steps to repeat.
Test or replace the drain pump
If the plumbing is clear and the code stays, the pump or the check valve inside it is next. It is reached from underneath, which means pulling the machine out and laying it back. The part is cheap; the access is what you are paying for.
When to call a technician
When the filter is clean, the hose runs properly with a high loop, the disposal plug is out and the air gap is clear, but 5C keeps returning. From that point the fault is inside the machine rather than in the plumbing around it.
What the repair costs
| Repair | Part only | Fitted by a technician |
|---|---|---|
| Cleaning the filter and clearing the sump | - | Free |
| Punching out the disposal knockout plug | - | Free |
| Drain pump replacement | $20 to $100 | $150 to $400 |
| Diagnosis alone, if you stop there | - | $75 to $130 |
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
Questions people ask
- The display shows SC, not 5C. Is that a different fault?
- It is the same fault. Samsung's own name for it starts with an S, and a seven segment display cannot draw an S any way except as a five. Whichever you read, you are in the right place.
- It drains eventually, just slowly. Does that still count?
- Yes, and it is a useful clue. A partial blockage drains but misses the deadline. That points at the filter, the air gap or a partly kinked hose rather than a dead pump, because a dead pump does not drain at all.
- Can I just scoop the water out and run it again?
- Scoop it out before working underneath, yes. Running it again without finding the blockage just repeats the failure at the same point in the cycle.
- A cupful of water always sits in the bottom. Is that this?
- No. A small amount in the sump is normal and intentional, it keeps the seals from drying out. This code means the machine still had a tub full at the end.
Which machines this applies to
Applies to
Samsung dishwashers across the DW80, DW50 and Linear Wash ranges, front control and top control alike. The same code on a Samsung washing machine also means a drain fault, so that pairing at least is consistent.
Last checked
2026-08-10