Last Updated on October 4, 2026 by Umar Farooq
Whirlpool’s published dryer code list contains four codes. Whirlpool’s own help site contains individual pages for thirty-five. The page that ranks for this search — “Error Codes in Dryers”, on Whirlpool’s Product Help site — gives you AF/F4E3, the catch-all F# E#, L2 and PF, and then signs off with “For other questions regarding Error Codes, see your Owner’s Manual.” Three clicks away, in the same help library, there is a directory with a page for every one of thirty-five codes.
Nobody is hiding anything. The short list is the consumer-facing summary and the directory is the fault tree underneath it, and Whirlpool just never links one to the other from the page people land on. The practical result is that a reader with F6 E1 on the display reads a four-row table, concludes the code is undocumented, and goes to a parts retailer.
So this page does the thing Whirlpool’s own navigation does not: it puts all thirty-five in one table, quotes what Whirlpool actually says about each, and names the fourteen where Whirlpool says nothing at all.
Fourteen of those thirty-five pages name no fault
This is the part worth knowing before you start reading code tables anywhere. Of the thirty-five individual code pages in Whirlpool’s dryer directory, fourteen contain no definition of any kind. They carry a heading, a “Possible Solutions” block, and a four-step power cycle. No system named, no component named, no cause suggested.
The fourteen are -:-- (dashes in the display), 0E, 0g, 3E, 6E, E1, E2, E3, F1 E1, F3 E4, F6E3, F6 E2, F9 E2 and FC E1. Every page for every one of them says the same thing: cut the breaker, restore it, start a timed dry cycle, watch for a minute. That is Whirlpool’s complete published guidance for forty percent of its own dryer code set.
Four more give a label and stop there — F2E1 is headed “Keypad”, F2E2 is “Keypad or Control”, F3E1 is “Exhaust Thermistor” and F3E3 is “Inlet Thermistor”, each with no sentence attached. Those four are still useful, because a noun is a direction. The other fourteen are not, and every site that supplies a confident meaning for F9 E2 on a Whirlpool dryer is supplying it from somewhere other than Whirlpool.
What the F and the E digits actually split
The F# E# convention is Whirlpool Corporation’s, it runs across washers and dryers, and it is the one structural thing worth learning because it survives the gaps in the documentation. The first number is the subsystem. The second number is the specific condition inside it.
Read the directory end to end and the subsystems resolve cleanly. F1 is the control unit and its wiring. F2 is the user interface — the touchpad and keypad. F3 is sensing: thermistors and the moisture bars. F4 is the heat and power side — the heater itself, restricted airflow, and line voltage. F6 is communication between the main board and the interface. F7 is the motor. The display alternates between the two halves, which is why Whirlpool writes it as F# E# with a space, and why a panel flicking between F4 and E3 is showing one code and not two.
That structure lets you place an undocumented code without a definition. F3 E4 has no published meaning, but it is in the sensing family, so it is a thermistor or moisture-sensor condition and not a motor problem. Whirlpool will not tell you that; the numbering does.
The full Whirlpool dryer error codes table
Quoted wording is Whirlpool’s own, read on the individual code pages and on the summary page. Rows marked no published definition are exactly that — Whirlpool’s page for them contains a power cycle and nothing else, and this table will not invent a meaning to fill the space.
| Code | Whirlpool’s published wording | What it points at |
|---|---|---|
AF / F4 E3 | “Restricted airflow. It indicates that the lint screen or vent is clogged; the vent is crushed, kinked or has too many turns. The dryer will continue to run when the is error is present.” | The lint screen first, then the duct run. The transposition in that sentence is Whirlpool’s, live on the page |
F4 E4 | “Low or No Line Voltage … there may be a problem with your home power supply, keeping the dryer’s heater from turning on” | The supply. One of two breakers, or a loose terminal screw |
L2 | “Low or no line voltage. T here may be a problem with your home power supply … NOTE: This error will only show during the initial installation.” | The same condition as F4 E4, restricted to installation. See below |
F4 E1 | “There may be a problem with the Heater or Heater Relays.” | Heat circuit. Not airflow |
F3 E1 | “Exhaust Thermistor” — heading only, no sentence | Outlet temperature sensing |
F3 E3 | “F3E3 Inlet Thermistor” — heading only, no sentence | Inlet temperature sensing |
F3 E2 / F3 E5 | “occurs when five consecutive loads are dried without registering moisture sensor data” | A counter, not a failure. See below |
F1E3 / F1 E4 / F1E5 | “indicates there may be an issue with the control unit or the associated wiring” | Main control. Whirlpool says wiring before board |
F2E4 / F2E5 | “indicates there may be an issue with the user interface or the associated wiring” | The touchpad assembly |
F2E1 | “F2E1 – Keypad” — heading only | A key reading as pressed |
F2E2 | “F2E2 – Keypad or Control” — heading only | As above, with the board not ruled out |
F6 E1 | “There may be a problem with the Main Control Board, the User Interface (Touchpad), or the associated wiring.” | The link between the two boards |
F7 E1 | “There may be a problem with the motor, control, or the associated wiring.” | Drive system |
ERR | “when the door has not been completely closed and latched; the dryer will not run unless the door is closed” | Not a fault. See below |
Loc | “indicates that the Control Lock has been enabled. When the control is locked, the dryer will not start or operate.” | Not a fault. Three-second hold to release |
PF | “Power failure. It indicates that the drying cycle has been interrupted by a power failure.” | An outage, or a key pressed too early on power-up |
F# E# (general) | “the dryer control has detected a problem that requires service” | Whirlpool’s catch-all for anything it has not listed |
-:-- 0E 0g 3E 6E E1 E2 E3 F1 E1 F3 E4 F6E3 F6 E2 F9 E2 FC E1 | No published definition. Each page carries only a power cycle | Place them by their F digit and record the cycle stage |
One quirk in that documentation is worth noting because it changes what you do. Whirlpool’s own pages give two different reset waits for codes in the same directory: one minute at the breaker for most of them, and five minutes for the undocumented group — 0E, 0g, 3E, 6E, E1, E2, E3, F1 E1 and F3 E4. Same help site, same day, two numbers. Use the longer one; a longer wait has never hurt a control board.
F3 E2 counts loads, not faults
This is the most interesting code in the Whirlpool dryer set and the one most likely to be misdiagnosed as a sensor failure, because the code arrives long after the thing that caused it. Whirlpool’s wording is specific in a way almost nothing else on the site is: “The F3E2 error code occurs when five consecutive loads are dried without registering moisture sensor data.”
That is a counter. The dryer is not reporting a broken sensor; it is reporting that five loads in a row went through without ever touching the moisture bars, and it has decided something is wrong with the arrangement. Whirlpool names two arrangements that produce it, and neither is a part. A dryer that is not level “may prevent clothes from adequately touching the moisture sensors on the inside of the dryer” — and very small loads “or single items may not make contact with the moisture sensors causing this error to occur.”
So the fix for a sensor code is frequently a load size. Whirlpool’s own suggestion is to dry larger loads, or to use an Automatic cycle rather than Timed Dry. There is a levelling note on that page too, and it is a detail you would otherwise learn the hard way: measure from the cabinet edge rather than the top panel, because “the tops of the dryer may be curved.”
F3 E5 is the same code with the same wording on a different platform. If your display shows one, read the page for the other — they are interchangeable.
AF comes with a light, and the light has a test
Whirlpool gives restricted airflow two separate presentations and most readers only ever meet one. AF or F4 E3 is the code. On certain models there is also a Check Vent indicator, which Whirlpool describes as “a feature available for Automatic Cycles only on certain models” that “will show the status of airflow through the dryer and the dryer vent system for the dryer’s life.”
The behaviour is worth knowing because it is easy to misread as a stuck light. The indicator lights during the sensing phase at the start of a cycle if low airflow is detected, then “will stay on for the entire cycle” — and it clears when the cycle finishes, when Power is touched, or when the door is opened. It comes back next cycle unless the restriction is fixed. Whirlpool is clear that the dryer keeps running throughout: “poor airflow can impact dry times and overall performance”, but nothing shuts down.
Attached to that page is the only hands-on airflow test any manufacturer in this category publishes, and it costs nothing: “Run the dryer for 5-10 minutes. Hold your hand under the outside exhaust hood to check air movement. If the air movement is less than a hair dryer on high speed, clean the lint from the entire length of the system and the exhaust hood.” A hair dryer on high is a reference everyone already owns. Whirlpool also sells a vent test kit, part #W11224254, for people who would rather have a reading than a hand. The full procedure is in how to clean a dryer vent.
L2 and F4 E4 say the same sentence about two different machines
These two codes carry nearly identical text — both are headed “Low or No Line Voltage”, both describe a home power supply problem “keeping the dryer’s heater from turning on”, both repeat Whirlpool’s 30-amp two-breaker paragraph and its 240 V power-cord paragraph. The difference is a single note on the L2 page, and it changes where you look.
Whirlpool writes: “NOTE: This error will only show during the initial installation.” An L2 is therefore an installation code. It points at the cord, the terminal screws, the outlet and the breaker pair, because those are what was just touched. F4 E4 on a dryer that has worked for four years points at the same components but for different reasons — a terminal screw that has worked loose, a breaker leg that has tripped, a supply that has sagged.
Whirlpool’s two-breaker explanation is worth having either way, because it explains the commonest symptom in the brand: “Electric dryers require a separate 30-amp circuit fused on both sides of the line. This means there will be 2 circuit breakers to operate the dryer. One circuit will operate the motor (turning the dryer drum), while the other circuit will operate the heating element. If one of these is tripped, the dryer may not heat.” A drum that turns and never warms is the signature of a half-tripped circuit, and a Whirlpool dryer that is not heating starts exactly there.
ERR and Loc are refusals, not failures
Two codes on Whirlpool’s list describe the dryer declining to start, and both get looked up as faults. Neither is one.
ERR is the door. Whirlpool’s wording: “You will receive the ‘ERR’ error code when the door has not been completely closed and latched; the dryer will not run unless the door is closed.” The useful part is the next line, because it accounts for the doors that look shut and are not: “Some models have an upper and lower latch. Both latches must be secure for the dryer to run.” A door pushed closed at the handle can leave the second latch unengaged, and the dryer is not being difficult.
Loc is Control Lock. “When the control is locked, the dryer will not start or operate.” Whirlpool’s release is a three-second hold of the Control Lock key, and the panel counts down 3-2-1 so you know it registered. The catch is where that key lives: it “may be a stand-alone key or a dual-function key paired with another button like Extra Rinse, Steam, etc. Press and hold that button (not the text below it) for three seconds to unlock.” Pressing the printed label rather than the key is a documented failure mode, which tells you something about how often it happens.
PF belongs in this group too. It means the cycle was interrupted by a power failure — but Whirlpool records a second cause that nothing else mentions: “if any keys were pressed before the 10-second delay interval on power-up, this could cause the PF Error Code to appear.” Touch the panel too soon after restoring power and the dryer reports an outage that already ended.
Where a Whirlpool code stops being yours and becomes an electrician’s
Most of this list is the dryer refusing to proceed. These are the lines that come before the code, and they are not negotiable.
- Any burning smell, or scorching, discolouration or heat at the plug, the outlet or the terminal block. Switch off at the breaker, not at the plug.
- A breaker that trips again after being reset. It is doing its job correctly.
L2orF4 E4on a newly installed dryer where the power cord was fitted by hand. Whirlpool’s own instruction is to check the terminal screws with the dryer unplugged, and to involve a qualified electrician if 240 V is in doubt.AFor a Check Vent light that returns after the lint screen and the entire duct run have been cleared. The restriction is inside the wall, or the duct geometry is wrong for the machine.- Any
F# E#code that returns at the same point in the cycle after one documented power cycle. Whirlpool’s own words for the general case are “requires service”, and a second reset buys nothing.
Four codes on the page, thirty-five in the building
The honest summary of Whirlpool’s dryer documentation is that it is better than it looks and worse than it should be. The directory underneath the summary page is genuinely useful — it gives you a subsystem for twenty-one codes, a load-counting mechanism for the moisture sensor, a free airflow test using a hair dryer as the benchmark, and an installation-only marker on L2 that saves a wasted afternoon.
And it leaves fourteen codes with nothing but a power cycle, splits its own reset wait between one minute and five, and never links the short list to the long one. So the position this page takes is simple: when a Whirlpool code is missing a meaning, place it by its F digit, record the stage of the cycle it appeared at, and treat any third-party definition as unsourced until someone shows you the Whirlpool page it came from. Most of the time, nobody can.
FAQ
How many error codes does a Whirlpool dryer have?
Whirlpool’s consumer summary page lists four — AF/F4E3, F# E#, L2 and PF. Its own Product Help directory holds individual pages for thirty-five, including the F1 to F7 families, ERR, Loc, 0E, 0g, 3E, 6E and the three E codes.
What does AF mean on a Whirlpool dryer?
Restricted airflow. Whirlpool’s wording is that “the lint screen or vent is clogged; the vent is crushed, kinked or has too many turns”, and the dryer keeps running with the code displayed. Clean the lint screen first, then the full duct run and the outside hood.
How do I reset a Whirlpool dryer?
Whirlpool’s documented procedure is to turn the dryer’s circuit breaker off for one minute, turn it back on, start a timed dry cycle and watch for a minute to see whether the code returns. Some of its own code pages specify five minutes instead; the longer wait is the safer one to use.
What does F3 E2 mean on a Whirlpool dryer?
That five consecutive loads were dried without the moisture sensor registering any data. Whirlpool attributes it to a dryer that is not level or to loads too small to touch the sensor bars, before any sensor replacement is considered.
Why does my Whirlpool dryer show Loc and ignore every button?
Control Lock is on. Hold the Control Lock key for three seconds and watch for the 3-2-1 countdown. If the function shares a key with another button, press the key itself rather than the text printed beneath it.
My Whirlpool code is not on any list. What then?
Read the first digit. F1 is control, F2 is the touchpad, F3 is sensing, F4 is heat and power, F6 is communication, F7 is the motor. That places the code even when Whirlpool publishes no definition for it, which it does not for fourteen of its own thirty-five.
Does a Whirlpool dryer code always mean a repair?
No. ERR, Loc and PF are conditions rather than faults, AF is maintenance, and F3 E2 is often a load-size and levelling matter. Whirlpool reserves “requires service” for the general F# E# case.
—
Four codes on the page people find, thirty-five in the library behind it, and fourteen of those with nothing but a power cycle attached. Read the F digit, write down where the cycle stopped, and distrust any site that knows more about F9 E2 than Whirlpool does.
Sources opened for this page: Whirlpool Product Help, Error Codes in Dryers · F4 E4 — Error Code — Dryer · F3 E2 — Error Code — Dryer · Loc — Error Code — Dryer. All read live on 3 October 2026, along with every other page in the dryer code directory.
