my dishwasher is about 18 months old and won't work, it just keeps flashing the prewash light when i try to start any programme. hotpoint say to empty the water from the tray underneath, done this and it worked once.
anyone have any ideas?

Sally Sheppard, November 2005

Just want to say thanks for the advice, saved us a packet.

Nick, February 2016

You guys saved us an evening of washing up!!! Thank you so much... FDW20 prewash light was flashing just like everyone else's story and we layed out towels on the kitchen floor, knocked it back & forth a couple times, kitchen flooded, but the dishwasher is now happily buzzing beside me!! Happy days!! Thanks soooo much!!

Jane, June 2014

Thank you soo much. Tipped it up to empty water, turned back on and working fine.

Eve, April 2014

My thanks also - lower arm had come off plus a load of water in the bottom somewhere.

Seems to be fine now that it has had some attention.

Angus, February 2014

Thank you very much Kevsk, my daughter's dishwasher had the prewash flashing light problem and by reading your blog I was able to fix the problem. Not a great deal of water came out when I tipped the machine so I did what you suggested and removed the bottom plate, cleaned the inside and drilled a holes around the float switch.
Machine now working fine. Thanks again

Baz Harris, November 2013

hotpoint dfw20 etc.. just tipping the machine back will empty the water & reset the float safety switch & it will make the machine work. you may also find if your lucky that the lower spray arm fitting is loose - hence water filing the float sensor bowl. the sensor is located on the main outer housing at the bottom of the machine & is not inside the actual working system - this is why sucking water out the drain hose doesnt work.
i've found that if the fault wasnt a leakiy lower spray arm you will struggle to find where that small amount of excess water is leaking from & eventually it will bring the fault back !!
final solution -
1. turn the power off
2. tip machine on its side
3. remove the 6 screw holding the base plate on
4. take the base off & drill 3 or 4 small holes around the float switch - 8mm should do.
DO NOT blind drill holes into the base or you may wind up creating a bigger problem.
what does all this do ? it prevents that tiny leak accumulating & tripping the float sensor.
now, oviously once youve put it back together & tested it you will have to keep an eye on it for a few days & if you notice a big puddle under the machine you WILL have to pull it appart & try to find the source of the leak but generally speaking most ofthe issues with the thing is cause by a gradual build up of water rather than a sudden massive torrent..
hope this sorted you all out once & for all. ;)

kevsk, October 2013

You are my hero, my prewash light was flashing and it was trying to empty but it was already empty inside. Pulled it out and tipped in back and fore and water came out (enough to soak a towel).

Why would it need emptying like this? Is there anything i can do to stop it happening in the future as I thought I was going to have to unload and wash manually which really do NOT want to start doing again lol

debs501uk, September 2013

just followed instructions ,job done,money saved.thanx

odee, July 2013

I found the lower spray arm loose in the bottom of the machine, tightened it up but then got the same flashing pre wash code as everyone else has mentioned.
Have just followed the advice, tipped machine and lots of water came out underneath. Now it's working perfectly. Thanks. Saved me a call charge.

Angela, February 2013

I have spent hours and two attempts to get the water out tipping from one side to the other as not much water came out of the hose but still the prewash light flashes and my bottom arm is tight. Don't know what to do now and I got a nasty cut on my finger from the metal rim at the top back of the dishwasher so be careful. Any suggestions.

Sarah H, December 2012

Hotpoint Aquarius fdw20 stuck in prewash. Tightened up the bottom spray arm, dragged the machine out and tipped it up to drain every last drop of water. fixed and working perfectly again. Great advice thanks. You will need to tip the machine up though, as sucking water out the base with a hose did not remove enough water to reset the machine.

superdad, October 2012

Followed the instructions above and bingo the problem solved. My daughter thinks I am brilliant as she will not have to wash the dishes and my wife thinks I am the man!!

AM, August 2012

Hotpoint FDW20. Came home from work 1030 pm - Houston, we have a problem the dishwasher's broken! OMG !!! Changed out of uniform, Googled and got to this page. Genius! Dishwasher happily working away. Many thanks all.

Janet, February 2011

HOTPOINT AQUARIUS FDW20
Flashing prewash light.
Mine seamed to be stuck in a prewash regardless of program and it wouldn't reset.
After reading these other comments I to dicovered the lower spray arm was ALSO LOOSE. the white plastic coupler needed twisting to tighten. just like a lampshade fixing.
Done, but same problem remained? Prewash only.
So, I pulled it from under counter. removed shelves, draintray, filters and bottom arm. Tipped on an angle, to see a litre of water go over the floor. Bah.
BUT, THEN IN WORKED. reassembled it, loaded it, turned it on, dried the floor, and posted on this site.
THEN FETCHED A CIDER!
Good luck all. hope this helps someone.

Henry HewittsCider, January 2011

thanks so much to all who have posted solutions to this page. I also had the prewash light flashing and it sounded as if the water was not pumping through to the machine. one thing that i had notice was when i had last used my machine,on completion of the cycle i noticed that at the bottom of the machine the cycle washer arm had become stuck under a protruding part of the filter and had unwound itself loose. i tightened the arm back but still had problems with the flashing light. i checked all the pipework and cleaned out the filter and then closed the door and tilted the washer to get any excess water out of the machine. after mopping away all water and switching back the machine on at the mains, i have just put the washer onto a cycle and it is working perfectly. Once again thanks to all who have posted to this site. I am going to book this to one of my favourites in case of future need.

Ruth Lee, December 2010

I had 'prewash' and 'wash' flashing. Turned it off, emptied all the water (I used my vax to suck all the water out). Plugged it back in and its now happily running a wash. John, you just saved me a fortune. If I could buy you a pint I would. Cheers!

MarkG, October 2010

This worked for my FDW20. The lower spray needed tightening, but the prewash light continued flashing in spite of the repair. I had to empty every last drop of water out of the machine (even mopping the remnants under the filter!) before it started working again. Thanks for your detailed instructions, John.

Patrick Bentham, September 2010

Wow it works! My bottom spray arm was also loose, so check that as well. Thanks John & Mike.

Jo, February 2010

John u are a diamond! Thought I was gonna have to fork out for a new machine. But just followed ur instructions step by step and we r back up & running! Well chuffed!

Dutchio, January 2010

hi every one where is the drain tray your all talking about? i had my dishwasher passed down to me 2nd hand so ive got no instructions at all. Thanks in advance for any help Emma x

Emma, August 2009

I had a similiar problem with flashing prewash light. Different cause however.

I drained the water from the base as described, and this allowed me to do one wash but then the problem returned.

So, I had to resort to the hotpoint engineer, who found that the bottom water spray arm was loose and allowing water into the base. He just tightened it with a wrench. Solution took 30 seconds ... and some dollars :(

Mike, August 2009

Thanks for this advice, I had tried draining it to no avail. Followed instructions and it worked perfectly.
Had problems with door lock. Quoted £110 from Hotpoint ordered the door lock on line for £6.99 + postage simple job to unscrew door and re fit. Hope this helps someone.

Roy - Ramsgate, July 2009

Just had the same problem on a FDW20 and after following your instructions the dishwasher is now working fine! Many thanks for saving me lots of time and money!

Phil Aird - Camberley, June 2009

Followed you're instructions working fine now

Alan Ridley, March 2009

tried ur above fix it but still full of water when finished with both prewash and wash light flashing

john baron, January 2009

Thanks John
I had similar problem with my Hotpoint FDW20 and was about to call an engineer probably at no small expense but followed your advice.Machine is now working! Took about 15mins to do the joband saved a few quid Cheers!

Andy, September 2007

Nowhere have I found the answer... until now !!! Dont spend £90 on an engineer.... do the following and spread the word. My Aquarius DWF40 had a fault code ( not in the manual) of bothy the No 1 ( prewash) and No 2 ( wash) lights flashing.
You need the control panel to reset before anything else can happen. To do this TURN OFF THE PLUG SOCKET FIRST AND UNPLUG. Then you need to drain ALL the water from the machine. Turn off the water supply feed and place the wastage pipe as low to the floor as poss ( 1-2" off floor). Water will gush out so use a large shallow tray and keep emptying the tray. Tilt the dishwasher over slightly to make sure all the water is out.
This will allow the control panel to reset itself which wouldn't normally happen if the base of the dishwasher was holding even a small amount of water.
Re connect the water, plug back in , select the RESET setting on the dial and close the door and switch on.
Leave for about 20 seconds and then turn off.
Rotate the selector switch to "A" Intensive wash and switch on.
It worked for me !!!
PS regularly run a cleaning program with no pots in and a Dishwasher cleaning product. Cheers John.

John Rogers, March 2007

MY DISHWASHER DOES NOT OUT THE WASTE WATER?
I CLEAN THE FILTER AND STILL NOT CHANGE?

JAMA, December 2006