Whirlpool Error Codes

Pick the code your Whirlpool appliance is showing. Each page explains what the code means, the most likely causes ranked by probability, and which fixes are safe to try before calling a technician.

Whirlpool Washer Codes

• F8 E1 Your Whirlpool washer isn't detecting water coming in — usually a supply problem (taps, hoses, screens) rather than anything wrong inside the machine.
• F9 E1 The washer took too long to drain — check the drain hose setup and the pump filter; the 'hose pushed too far down the standpipe' mistake causes a surprising share of these.
• F5 E2 The washer tried to lock its door and couldn't — usually an obstruction or grime in the latch, sometimes a worn lock assembly that needs replacing.
• SD Too much foam — the washer paused its cycle to break down excess suds, which almost always traces back to detergent amount or type rather than a fault.
• F7 E1 The washer couldn't get its basket to the speed the cycle demanded — overloading and forgotten shipping bolts cause the embarrassing cases, a failing speed sensor the persistent ones.
• F3 E1 The washer can't tell how much water it's holding — its pressure sensor is feeding the control board readings it can't use, and beyond a reset that's a technician's diagnosis.
• F0 E2 The washer found more foam than it can rinse or drain through and paused to fight it — virtually always a detergent quantity or type problem rather than a fault.
• F1 E1 The main control board flagged a fault inside itself — one long reset is worth trying, but a returning F1 E1 means professional diagnosis, not guesswork.
• F5 E3 The washer tried to release its door lock and couldn't — usually cleared by draining fully and cutting power, with a worn lock assembly behind the stubborn cases.
• F2 E1 Whirlpool reads F2 E1 when a button on the control panel stays active far longer than a real press — typically a physically stuck or sticky key, occasionally a touchpad that has begun to fail.
• F5 E1 F5 E1 fires when the washer senses its door or lid switch open during a cycle that needs it shut — usually a door not latched firmly, an overstuffed drum holding it ajar, or a worn switch.
• F6 E1 F6 E1 means the washer's main control board and its motor-control electronics stopped talking to each other — worth one power reset, but a code that returns is an internal wiring or board fault for a technician.
• F6 E2 F6 E2 means the washer's main control board lost its data link with the control-panel (user-interface) board — try one full power reset; if it persists, a connector or one of the two boards needs service.
• F7 E5 On Whirlpool top-load washers F7 E5 means the control cannot sense the basket turning correctly — most often the shifter actuator that engages the drive and reports rotation has failed.
• F8 E2 F8 E2 flags a fault in the washer's dispenser system — the drawer or cartridge that meters detergent and softener — usually a clogged or poorly seated dispenser rather than anything mechanical.
• F8 E3 F8 E3 is the overflow fault: the washer senses more water or foam in the tub than it should hold, often from over-sudsing or a slow drain, sometimes from an inlet valve that will not fully close.
• oL The oL code is Whirlpool's overloaded message — the washer has detected more laundry than it can handle for that cycle and pauses for you to remove or redistribute some items.
• uL uL is Whirlpool's unbalanced-load warning during the spin: the laundry has shifted to one side, so the washer slows or stops and adds water to even it out before it can spin up.
• rL rL appears when the washer detects laundry in the drum during the Clean Washer cycle, which is meant to run empty — remove everything and the cycle can continue.

Whirlpool Dishwasher Codes

• 6-1 The control board never saw water arrive after opening the fill valve — usually a supply problem under the sink rather than a failed part inside the unit.
• 8-1 The tub drained too slowly or not at all — food debris in the filter, buildup in the drain hose, or the garbage-disposal knockout plug are the usual culprits.
• 7-1 The heating circuit isn't doing its job, so water stays cold and dishes finish wet — and because everything involved is on mains power, the repair belongs to a technician.
• 9-1 The control lost track of the diverter — the rotating disc that aims water at different spray arms — usually debris interfering, a leaking diverter seal, or the diverter motor itself.
• 1-1 The control board detected one of its own relays stuck on — a long power-off clears the false alarms, while a genuinely welded relay means board-level repair.
• 3-1 The control lost a usable reading from the combined temperature-and-soil sensor in the sump, so it can no longer judge how hot or how dirty the water is — often a wiring or sensor fault, sometimes just a fouled sensor face.
• 3-3 The machine could not calibrate its soil sensor on the last run — most often because used water is siphoning back into the tub through a failed one-way valve in the drain hose, so the water never looks clean.
• 5-1 The control did not sense the door latched when the cycle tried to begin — frequently because the door was not pushed shut within a few seconds of pressing Start, and sometimes because the latch or its switches have worn out.
• 5-2 The machine expected the door to be opened and closed between one cycle and the next, did not see it happen, and is refusing to start again — usually fixed in seconds by opening the door and shutting it.
• 6-2 The control found the water inlet valve's electrical winding open, so the valve cannot be commanded to open and the tub will not fill — a failed valve is the usual answer, with a loose connector the hopeful exception.
• 6-4 The overfill float switch — the machine's anti-flood backstop — is reading open, usually because the float is stuck or obstructed, occasionally because the inlet valve is dribbling water in when it should be shut.
• 6-6 The water arriving at the dishwasher is colder than the cycle expects — around 110 to 120°F is normal at start — so the fix usually lies with your home's hot water rather than the machine.
• 7-2 The control detected the heating element staying powered when it should have switched off — usually a welded heater relay on the control board — and because a heater stuck on is a safety matter, this is a one-reset-then-technician code.
• 8-2 The control flagged an electrical fault in the drain pump circuit — an open motor winding or broken wiring — rather than the simple blockage behind the slow-drain code, so after the easy checks this usually means a new pump.
• 10-1 The control could not operate the detergent dispenser as expected, so soap may stay trapped in the cup and dishes finish poorly cleaned — often caked detergent or a jammed door, sometimes a failed dispenser.