What E12 actually means
The machine tried to take in water during the drying part of the cycle and didn't get enough within the time allowed, so it has paused with the door locked.
On washer dryers, a small amount of water is drawn in at the start of drying \u2014 partly to test the fill circuit and partly for the condenser. If the water level it's looking for isn't reached within about ten minutes, the control board stops the cycle and shows E12. The door stays shut and the drum will not move until the fault is cleared or the cycle reset.
What usually causes it
- Water tap turned off or barely open, or low mains pressure
- Kinked, trapped or blocked fill hose
- Blocked inlet valve filter screen
- Faulty water inlet (solenoid) valve
- Pressure switch, its hose or the main control board
What you can safely check yourself
Work through these in order. Anything beyond this — panels off, testing parts, anything to do with the wiring — is an engineer's job, and not one to attempt with the machine plugged in.
- Check the cold tap feeding the machine is fully open
- Look behind the machine and straighten the fill hose if it is kinked or squashed against the wall
- Run a tap elsewhere in the house to confirm you have normal water pressure
- Press Start/Pause, or cancel and restart the cycle, to clear the alarm and see if it fills
- Turn the machine off at the wall for a minute, then back on \u2014 bear in mind this code does not clear by itself on a power cut, so it will need resetting at the buttons too
When to call someone
This sometimes clears with the checks above. If it comes back, it needs looking at properly. We cover Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire, and it's £66 including VAT for an engineer to come out and diagnose it — £84 in total if it's repaired on the visit with no parts needed. Any parts needed are quoted on site before we fit them — you decide. Every repair carries a 90-day workmanship guarantee.
Outside our area? The explanation above still stands — take it to a local engineer and tell them the code. Knowing it saves them time and you money.
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