

Most dishwasher pumps rely on the water flow generated while running to remain cool under normal use. When I say that they burn out, I mean that the motor literally burns its wires bad enough that the electric signal no longer carries properly.
All it takes for this to happen is for the motor to run for a length of time without anything going through it, which bubbles can and do prevent happening. You will find this in nearly every single pump that pushes water: the design requires water running through it in order to maintain proper temperatures.
Dishwashers often have a single pump for water flow, so if the washer fills with bubbles and the water gets low enough, the one thing that cools the dishwasher motor can easily stop running for a couple hours, despite technically being surrounded by water.










That’s Kerry Callen’s work! She’s hilarious, and has a whole series of these. https://kerrycallen.blogspot.com/search?q=antics&m=1
My favorite is #4. https://kerrycallen.blogspot.com/2012/11/super-antics-4.html?m=1
And also #8. https://kerrycallen.blogspot.com/2016/07/super-antics-8.html?m=1