Washing Machine Will Not Fill With Water – Keeps Draining – How To Fix?

If your Washer fills with water but constantly drains out, there are a few possible reasons. Most likely the water coming into the washer through the Water Inlet Valve could be siphoned out to the drain pump and out the drain hose because of an issue with the pump or plumbing. Is your washer overfilling? Is the washer detecting an overheat error? Observe carefully as to what part of the washing cycle the water is draining out. By watching the washer as it goes through its wash cycle, you can find out which part or error is causing the Washing Machine To Not Fill With Water and Keep Draining issue.

Washing Machine Will Not Fill With Water - Keeps Draining - How To FixWashing Machine Will Not Fill With Water – Keeps Draining – How To Fix

A few faults or errors could be happening to cause the draining issue:
-Is the water coming into the washer getting immediately siphoning out – pump not running?
-Is the drain pump pumping the water out as it comes in?
-Is the stand pipe positioned correctly behind the washer?
-Is the washer overheating which could be a faulty thermostat?

The drain pump may be faulty and stuck OPEN and letting the water siphon directly out of the washer as it fills.
OR
The drain pump has a fault and is CONSTANTLY PUMPING the water out as the water comes in.
OR
The standpipe is in wrong position and creating a siphoning effect.
OR
The thermostat is faulty and overheating thus causing the washer to energize the pump and drain out water.

WATER SIPHONING OUT OF WASHER

If the water coming into your washer is not being PUMPED out by the drain pump but does DRAIN OUT than this means the pump is stuck open and draining all the time or constant draining.
HINT: The pump may be jammed up with a sock or other object that is causing it to not close properly.
-If the washer does NOT sense it is draining out the water as it fills… it can keep washing or rinsing before not having enough water.
-This then triggers more water to come in.
-Your washer may get stuck on this cycle which is called called SIPHONING.
-Siphoning happens when the end of the washer drain hose is lower than the level of the water inside the washing machine.
-Siphoning may begin by the force of gravity.
-Siphoning may begin when water is first pumped out of the machine.

NOTE: If the drain pump is running it is not siphoning.
If siphoning is occurring with your washer, first check the drain pump to make sure nothing is jammed or stuck within it or in a hose next to it.
If the drain pump is NOT in working order, replace the drain pump after testing it with a multimeter.

Clogged or Jammed Washing Machine Drain PumpClogged or Jammed Washing Machine Drain Pump

WASHER DRAIN PUMP CONSTANTLY RUNNING – OVERFILLING?

-Do you hear the drain pump running and the water is being pumped out?
-This may be an overfill issue with the washer not sensing when to shut off the water.
-If so the pump might be aborting the wash cycle or has a fault and needs to be replaced.
-If this happens usually your washing machine will display an error code to tell you what part is causing the problem.
-If you do get an error code, check our website here for error code definitions.
-Just type in “YOUR BRAND OF WASHING MACHINE” and type “Washing Machine Error Codes” after you type in your brand of washer.

Washing Machine Drain PumpWashing Machine Drain Pump

STAND PIPE INCORRECTLY POSITIONED

-The stand pipe plumbed into the washer drain hose should have a Drain Outlet Hose Hook, a U-Bend to add a hook shape to the drain hose.
-This helps keep the drain hose from falling out.
-This helps keep the drain hose from being pushed down too far.
-The length of the washer drain hose sticking out of the crook can be from 4″ to 5″.
-The washer drain hose needs to be secured so that it goes up a few inches before running down to the washer pump to prevent the siphoning issue.
-The end of the drain hose should not be lower than the water in the tub, think about gravity and how water could be siphoned.

Drain Outlet Hose HookDrain Outlet Hose Hook

Washing Machine Drain HoseWashing Machine Drain Hose

FAULTY WASHING MACHINE THERMOSTAT

-This issue can also be caused by a faulty thermostat.
-The water may start or stop then energise the pump and repeat.
-If you suspect this to be the cause of your washer issue you can test the thermostat AKA = THERMISTOR to be sure it is in working order.

Washing Machine Thermostat (Thermistor)Washing Machine Thermostat (Thermistor)

15 thoughts on “Washing Machine Will Not Fill With Water – Keeps Draining – How To Fix?”

  1. Hi,I HV an automatic LG 16kg top loader washing machine.My problem is that my hot water inlet valve would not allow water into the washing machine.The cold water is fine.We’ve checked the hose;it’s not damaged nor clogged.Also, we checked both inlet valves and neither is blocked.

  2. My washing machine 6.5 kg WF.T7519 PR
    As we were out for 2 years,it was out of use.now that when I started today it did not hold water,it was drained immediately…please guide

  3. My Samsung 10.5kg top load washer having trouble during 2nd rinse cycle with water filling up (after 1st cycle spinning) water keeps draining due to drain valve stuck in open position and a few minutes later 4E error code appeared.
    I tried to reset it (off power supply) for few minutes…then I heard the sound of the drain valve back to close position.
    This trouble only happened during 2nd rinse cycle. Is the PCB board faulty? Please advise.

  4. Maytag Bravos washing machine – has been working fine. We had the bright idea to manually fill the tube with some water we didn’t want to waste, and the machine turned itself on and drained it out, and keeps on trying to pump out water unless we unplug it. Holding the start button for three seconds does nothing, and we cannot start any cycle. No lights are on.

  5. My Kenmore top loader began doing the same thing during the rinse cycle, but today; it started doing it during the wash cycle. What did you do to fix your issue? I read up and it said that maybe the drain pump is stuck open or clogged. Also, it could be the themostat?????

  6. my maytag top load sporadically on rinse cycle only does not fill. the water will run continuous for hours while it is draining as fast as it is coming in. thank you

  7. My maytag top loading sensor washer is new. Why does it start to fill up then drain itself? It will not complete a washing cycle.

  8. I am having the exact same issue on a wa80g5.i assume it is the same machine? I think it’s the motherboard either going to be a replace board or replace chip. Will try get back to you with a solution.

  9. Samsung Diamond Drum – drain pump was faulty so I replaced it. To do that I had to place the machine on it’s side to access the bottom to remove retaining screws.The new pump runs non-stop. It is not a siphoning issues. Any ideas?

  10. WF42h5000 is draining constantly when i start my machine.
    It is not filling.
    No fault code is shown

  11. Here is what I think my problem is with top load LG Wt7200c
    Problem occurs when “Special drain feature” is triggered. It auto drains for safety if water is left in machine for x amount of time. After this happens if we turn it back on to start a load, water will pour in and drain right out until we notice. The only way to “fix” this is to force a spin cycle. There has to be a better way.

  12. Drain pump immediately starts running seconds into the cycle as the machine is filling with water

  13. DIY Help & Repair Tips

    Rusty,
    Did you check to see if it is a siphoning issue?
    Is the drain hose too far into standpipe?
    -RR

  14. My washer is filling as normal, but the drain pump is running during the fill cycle, and not letting the machine fill.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.