I have an old ge dishwasher, a pot scrubber. When I turn it on the water goes in it but nothing else happens. The water spraying thingy does not turn, but it continues to go through the entire cycle including the drying cycle, but all the water is still in the bottom of the dryer. What could be wrong with it? The dyer was installed in 1991

It could be several problems. One problem could be the timer. More likely though, it sounds like the motor/pump is ceased or has gone bad. The water is filled through a separate valve and has nothing to do with the motor. The motor "sprays" the water through the cycle and then a solenoid kicks and switches it to drain mode, again using the motor. This sounds like it's your problem since it won't wash or drain the water.

Have you gone an extended period without using the dishwasher? Does it make any noise (a humming noise)? There are a couple things you can do to try and fix it before replacing it. If it is the motor, they typically run $120.00 + for the GE dishwashers.

I ran into similar problem and the drain line was pluged with crud and I took the front kick plate off, shut off power to unit and hand turned the motor as it had seized. Put it all back together and been running fine since