Samsung Washer Error Codes, Decoded

Same thing. On a Samsung washer display the digit 5 and the letter S are drawn with the same segments, so 5C, SC, 5E, and SE all render the exact same drain fault — the washer couldn't pump water out in the time it expected. The trailing letter is just a firmware generation (older machines print E, newer ones print C). So don't waste time hunting for a separate SE definition. Start at the drain pump filter (lower front access panel, customer-cleanable), then the drain hose, then the pump motor. Roughly half of these clear at the filter without a part. $89 residential diagnostic, waived with repair.

Water supply fault. The washer isn't sensing water arriving at the rate or volume it wants. Check both supply valves are fully open, check the fill hoses aren't kinked behind the machine, then check the small mesh screens where the hoses thread onto the inlet valve — sediment clogs those constantly in hard-water pockets across the Valley. About 60 percent of 4C calls clear at the hose or screen. If the inlet valve itself failed it's a $260 to $380 replacement. 4C and 4E are the same fault on different firmware.

No — CL is Child Lock, and it's a feature, not a fault. Someone held the lock button (usually a two-button combo printed under a small padlock icon) and the panel is now ignoring input on purpose. Hold the same two buttons for about 3 seconds and CL clears. Nothing is wrong with the machine. We mention this on every service page because people book a visit for CL more often than you'd think, and there's genuinely nothing to fix.

Honestly, both — and that's not us dodging. Samsung's own materials are inconsistent here across model years. Lowercase dc most often flags an unbalanced load (same family as UE), while dE and dL are door-lock faults, and some charts print an uppercase dC for the door too. Because the labeling genuinely conflicts, our techs don't guess from the letter alone — we watch what the machine actually does. If it stops during spin and shuffles the load, we chase suspension and the unbalance sensor. If it won't start a cycle at all and won't lock, we chase the door interlock. The behavior tells the truth the code doesn't.

A UE (or Ub / UR) that fires even on small, evenly loaded washes has moved past 'redistribute the laundry' into worn suspension rods, tired shock absorbers, or a failing vibration sensor. Our techs check the suspension and the sensor when the code survives a balanced load, instead of just telling you to rearrange the clothes. Suspension or shock replacement runs $440 to $640. If it only trips on genuinely lopsided loads (one comforter, three jeans on one side), that's the machine doing its job — spread the load and it'll spin.

LC (and the related 1E / LE on some models) is the water-level or leak sensor speaking up. Sometimes it's a real leak the sensor caught early — a loose hose clamp, a cracked tub-to-pump hose, a worn door boot on a front-loader. Sometimes the sensor or its hose is misreading with no actual water on the floor. These don't clear from a customer power-cycle if the fault is real, so it's an on-site check: we confirm whether there's genuine water intrusion or a sensor reading wrong before quoting anything. A leaking door boot runs $220 to $380; a sensor is less.

Universal first move: unplug the washer for about 60 seconds (or flip its breaker), restore power, and run a short rinse-and-spin to see whether the code returns. On many Samsung models you can also press and hold Start for several seconds to clear a latched code. A code that clears and stays gone for weeks was transient sensor noise and needs nothing. A code that returns within a cycle or two every time is a real hardware fault — book a visit. Leak (LC/1E), heater (tE/HE), and communication (AE) codes generally won't clear from a customer reset because they reflect a component that's actually down.

Those are heater-circuit and temperature-sensor faults (tE = thermistor/temperature, HE = heater on models with an internal water heater or a SmartCare heated cycle). They're a technician job — the diagnosis involves testing the heating element, the thermistor, and the control board's heater relay with a meter, and there's mains voltage at the element. Not a DIY reset. We carry the common Samsung thermistors and elements on the van.

Usually the main control board aging out. When a year 8-plus Samsung throws a drain code one week, an unbalance code the next, and a door code the week after, that's rarely three separate broken parts — it's the board sending false fault signals. Year 8 to 12 is the typical window. Board replacement runs $580 to $880, which at that age turns into a repair-versus-replace conversation, and we do that math with you on-site instead of just selling you a board.

90 days on SDAR labor and parts for the work we perform — if the same component fails inside 90 days we replace it free. BHGS #A49573, BBB Accredited Business, EPA 608 Universal certified #1346255700410. $89 residential diagnostic, waived when you approve the repair.