What does a washing machine error code mean, and how do I look mine up?
There is no universal error code list, because every manufacturer uses its own — but codes group into six families by what the machine was trying to do, and that grouping is the same everywhere.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 20 min
- Read
- 5 min
- Safety
- caution
Short answer
Codes are brand-specific, so look yours up against the full model number from the rating plate, not against a generic list. Group it first: fill, drain, heating, door, balance or motor, or control board. Fill, drain and door faults are usually owner-checkable. Heating, motor and board faults are not.
The same three characters mean different things on different machines, which is why generic error code lists cause as much confusion as they resolve. What is consistent is the underlying logic: a washing machine monitors a handful of things — water level, drain rate, temperature rise, door state, drum speed — and reports a code when one of them does not do what the programme expected in the time allowed. Knowing which of those the machine was watching tells you whether the cause is likely to be in your hands or an engineer's.
Safety
What you'll need
- The full model number, from the rating plate
- The exact code, or the blink pattern of the programme lights
- The manual, or the manufacturer's support pages (optional)
Step by step
- Write the code down exactly.E20 and E2 are not the same code. On machines with no display, the code is a blink pattern — count how many times a particular light flashes, and the pause between groups. Photograph or film it if that is easier.
- Find the full model number.The rating plate is usually inside the door aperture on the frame, behind the pump filter flap, or on the rear panel. You want the full model number, not just the brand, because codes differ between model ranges of the same brand.
- Search the model number and the code together.Not the code on its own. The manufacturer's own support pages and the manual are the reliable sources; generic code tables scraped across brands are where wrong diagnoses come from.
- Place the code in its family before you act.Fill, drain, heating, door and interlock, balance and motor, or control board. Even if you cannot find your exact code, the family tells you whether the machine failed to get water in, get water out, get warm, lock the door, turn the drum, or talk to itself.
- For a fill family code, check the tap, hose and inlet gauze.Often E1, F1, IE or 4E. All three checks are outside the machine and take ten minutes. A part-open tap and a silted gauze filter are the two commonest causes.
- For a drain family code, check the pump filter, hose and standpipe.Often E2, F2, 5E or OE. Switch off at the socket, put a tray and towels down, and open the filter at the bottom front slowly. Then check the waste hose for kinks and the standpipe for a blockage.
- For a door family code, check for trapped fabric.Often DE, dE or E4. Open and close the door firmly, look all the way round the seal with a torch, and check the child lock is not on. Do not attempt to bypass the interlock under any circumstances.
- For a balance or motor family code, redistribute and retry once.Often UE, UB, E5 or F5. If spreading the load out and running a spin-only cycle clears it, it was balance. If it recurs on a normal load, it is the motor side and it is not an owner job.
- For a heating or board family code, stop.Nothing behind those codes is accessible without opening the machine, and a heating fault in particular should not be repeatedly reset. Note the code and the model and get an engineer.
- Perform one clean reset if the code looks like a glitch.Switch off at the socket, wait a full minute, switch back on and run a short cycle. If the code returns, it is not a glitch and further resets tell you nothing.
- Keep the model number and code together when you call.It changes the call from 'my washing machine has stopped' to a diagnosis. It frequently means the engineer arrives with the part.
Tips
- Take a photograph of the rating plate now, while the machine is working and accessible. Finding it behind a filled kitchen at the moment of failure is much harder.
- Many manufacturers publish the full code list in the back of the manual, and most manuals are downloadable by model number even if yours went in the recycling years ago.
- A code that appears at exactly the same point in every cycle is a real fault. A code that appeared once and never again after a reset usually was a glitch.
Common mistakes
- Looking a code up against a generic cross-brand list — The same characters mean different things on different machines. A drain code on one brand is a heating code on another, and acting on the wrong one wastes the afternoon at best.
- Resetting repeatedly to get one more wash out of it — The machine reported that it could not complete something. Heating and motor faults in particular are exactly the ones where continuing to run risks damage or worse.
Questions people ask
How do I find out what my washing machine error code means?
Note the exact code or blink pattern, find the full model number on the rating plate — usually in the door aperture, behind the filter flap or on the back — and search or look up the two together on the manufacturer's support pages or in the manual. Do not rely on a generic list, because codes are brand-specific.
Can I just reset a washing machine error?
Once, to clear a genuine one-off. Switch off at the socket for a minute, then run a short cycle. If the code comes back, it is reporting a real condition and repeatedly clearing it is not a repair — and for heating, motor or board codes it is not safe either.
Which error codes can I fix myself?
Fill codes (tap, hose, inlet gauze filter), drain codes (pump filter, waste hose, standpipe), door codes (trapped fabric, child lock, reseating the door) and balance codes (redistribute the load). Heating, motor and control board codes need an engineer.