What E04 actually means
The machine thinks it's taking in too much water and has shut the cycle down to stop a flood.
E04 is the overflow protection warning. The control board has seen a higher water level in the drum than the programme should ever produce, so it drains the water off and stops rather than risk a leak onto your floor. Most often the water inlet valve has stuck part-open, or its control circuit on the main board has failed, so water keeps coming in even when the machine has told it to stop.
What usually causes it
- Water inlet valve stuck open so the machine keeps filling
- Failed valve control circuit on the main board
- Faulty water level sensor giving a false high reading
- Heavy foaming from too much detergent confusing the level reading
- Drain blockage leaving water in the drum
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.
- Turn the machine off at the wall for a minute, then power it back up and see if the code returns.
- Turn off the water tap at the wall — if water keeps trickling into the drum with the machine switched off, the inlet valve is at fault and it needs an engineer.
- Clean the pump filter at the bottom front of the machine and check the drain hose isn't kinked or pushed too far down the standpipe.
- If you've been using a lot of detergent, run a short rinse-and-spin with none at all to clear any foam.
When to call someone
This one usually needs an engineer once you have tried the checks above. 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.
Other Montpellier washing machine codes
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- Montpellier E05 — The machine can't tell how hot the water is, so it has stopp…
- Montpellier E06 — The machine has lost the signal that tells it how fast the d…
- Montpellier E07 — The washing machine's control board has lost or mismatched i…
- Montpellier E08 — The machine has detected that the electricity reaching it is…
- Montpellier E09 — The machine has detected that the mains electricity reaching…