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Error codes

Samsung error codes,
and what each one costs you.

Samsung is more forthcoming than most about what has gone wrong, and the codes are worth reading rather than clearing. Two of the displays people call about most are not faults at all — one is a shop-floor demo mode and the other is a power-surge reset — and between them they account for a meaningful number of call-outs that need not have happened. The refrigerator codes are the useful ones: they name the circuit, which narrows a diagnosis to one part of the machine before anybody opens it.

Codes are not standardised between manufacturers, and they move between model years within one. Everything below is what these codes mean on the series named beside them — if your model is older or newer, treat this as a strong hint rather than a verdict, and send us a photo of the model plate when you book. That plate settles it, and it takes ten seconds.

01 — Reading it

Where the code shows up

Refrigerators display the code on the front panel, usually alternating with the temperature. Washers and dryers show it where the cycle time normally sits. If the display has gone dark but the machine is misbehaving, cutting power for five minutes and restoring it will bring back a live code — and on a few faults it clears them for good.

What the labels beside each code mean

Not a fault
The machine is working as designed. No part, no visit.
Try this first
Safe to check yourself, and often the whole answer.
Needs a technician
Testing, parts, or somewhere it is not safe to go alone.
02 — Refrigerator

Refrigerator codes

22 E / 22 C

Refrigerator
Needs a technician
What the machine is reporting
The fresh-food evaporator fan is not turning, or the control cannot confirm that it is.
What puts it there
Ice built up around the fan blade is the usual answer, which puts the real fault in the defrost circuit rather than the fan. Failing that, the fan motor itself or its wiring. A fan physically blocked by a bag of frozen food happens more often than you would think.
Before you call anyone
Empty the freezer, unplug the unit and leave it open for a few hours. If the code goes and stays gone for a fortnight, the fan is fine and the defrost circuit is the problem.
True for
RF French-door and RS side-by-side, roughly 2010 onward.

5 E / 5 C

Refrigerator
Needs a technician
What the machine is reporting
The fresh-food defrost sensor is reading out of range — open circuit or short.
What puts it there
The sensor itself, or the connector behind the rear panel corroding. On coastal units the connector is the more common of the two.
True for
RF and RS series.

88 88 / 8 8

Refrigerator
Try this first
What the machine is reporting
The control board took a power event and has not come back cleanly.
What puts it there
A surge, a brownout, or a generator changeover. Not a mechanical fault, and usually not a board failure either.
Before you call anyone
Unplug the refrigerator — from the wall, not the switch — wait five full minutes and plug it back in. This clears it outright in most cases. If it returns within days, the board is genuinely failing and that is a different conversation.
True for
Most Samsung refrigerators with a front display.

OF OF / O FF

Refrigerator
Not a fault
What the machine is reporting
Cooling is switched off. The machine is in demo mode.
What puts it there
It is the mode showrooms use to light the display without running the compressor, and it survives delivery more often than anyone at the store realises. The fridge is working perfectly and refusing to cool on purpose.
Before you call anyone
Hold Energy Saver and Fridge together for several seconds — on some models it is Power Freeze and Fridge — until it chimes. The combination is printed in the manual for your model. Nothing else needs doing.
True for
Most Samsung refrigerators. Worth checking first on any unit that has never cooled since the day it arrived.

PC ER / PC CH

Refrigerator
Needs a technician
What the machine is reporting
The display panel and the main board have stopped talking to each other.
What puts it there
The ribbon connector at the door hinge, most often — it flexes every time the door opens.
True for
French-door models with a door-mounted panel.
03 — Washer

Washer codes

4C / 4E

Washer
Try this first
What the machine is reporting
The machine did not receive the water it asked for within the expected time.
What puts it there
A closed tap, a kinked hose, or blocked inlet screens at the back of the machine. The inlet valve itself is third on that list, not first.
Before you call anyone
Check both taps are fully open, then unscrew the fill hoses at the machine end and look at the small mesh screens in the inlets. They clog with grit and they rinse clean.
True for
WF front-load and WA top-load, 2013 onward.

5C / 5E

Washer
Try this first
What the machine is reporting
The machine could not empty within the expected time.
What puts it there
The pump filter, and it is an obstruction rather than a failure almost every time — coins, hair clips, underwire. Then the pump, then the drain hose or the standpipe it goes into.
Before you call anyone
Small hatch, bottom front. Put a towel and a shallow tray down first because there will be water. Unscrew the filter, clear it, refit it firmly.
True for
WF front-load washers.

dC / DC

Washer
Try this first
What the machine is reporting
The door is not registering as closed.
What puts it there
Laundry caught in the seal, or the door latch. If the door shuts firmly and the code stands, it is the latch or its switch.
Before you call anyone
Open it, clear the seal, close it deliberately.
True for
Front-load washers.

UB / UE / Ub

Washer
Try this first
What the machine is reporting
The load will not balance well enough to spin safely.
What puts it there
A genuinely uneven load first — one towel, one duvet, one bath mat. Then a machine that is not level on its feet. Then the suspension rods, and on older machines the tub bearing.
Before you call anyone
Redistribute the load and run a spin on its own. Then check the machine does not rock when you push a corner — the feet adjust.
True for
Front-load and top-load washers.

LC / LE / 1C

Washer
Needs a technician
What the machine is reporting
Water has been detected where it should not be, and the machine has stopped.
What puts it there
A leak at a hose, the bellows, or the pump seal. Occasionally the sensor itself has got damp and is over-reporting.
True for
Front-load washers with leak detection.

3E / 3C

Washer
Needs a technician
What the machine is reporting
The motor hall sensor is not reporting drum speed correctly.
What puts it there
The sensor or its connector, rather than the motor. A drum that has been jammed by an object wedged between drum and tub will also produce it.
True for
Direct-drive washers.
04 — Washer / Dryer

Washer / Dryer codes

HE / HC / hE

Washer / Dryer
Needs a technician
What the machine is reporting
The heater circuit is not behaving — no heat, or heat that will not stop.
What puts it there
On a dryer, the heating element or a thermostat, and on a gas machine the igniter or flame sensor. On a washer, the element or its thermistor. On dryers a restricted vent frequently sits behind it.
True for
Samsung laundry with a heating circuit.
The brand

What we open a Samsung for

The most-called brand in the trade, and the ice maker behind it.

Other brands

Codes for everything else we work on

LGWhirlpoolGEMaytagKitchenAidFrigidaireElectroluxBoschKenmore
CoastPro

Got a Samsung code you cannot clear?

Tell us the code and the model number when you book — it decides what comes on the van. Same-day appointments across Orange County.

$150 minimum service call — quick fixes included