The error code F05 on some Hotpoint (and some Indesit) washing machines means, the pressure switch has “jammed” on. Note that this error is wrongly reported on many other websites as being, “there’s a problem with emptying the water”. But whilst this may sometimes be the cause, it is only one possibility. You need to fully understand the proper explanation to troubleshoot this error.
The pressure switch’s job is to signal when the drum has water inside, and when it does not. So if the switch is jammed on, the washing machine will think it is full of water when it should be empty. It then refuses to spin, and may abort the cycle. Sometimes this is caused because there is a problem with draining the water. If it is, then it should be an easy fix. But sometimes the water has successfully pumped away, and you still get the F05 error. If so, you need to understand how the pressure system works.
Pressure switch jammed on
Before a washing machine kicks into a spin, it needs a signal that the water has pumped away successfully. The last thing it wants to do is spin with the drum full of water. The water would be thrown out through the soap dispenser and various other places. So it waits for a signal from the pressure switch so that it knows it’s safe to spin. The error F05 indicates that for various possible reasons it’s not getting that signal.
There are three main explanations for a pressure switch still being on when the washing machine thinks it has pumped all the water away. Firstly, the pressure switch could be jammed on, literally. That is, the water has pumped away, but the switch is stuck in the on position. Secondly, the water might have successfully pumped out, but a blockage in the pressure system is trapping the air pressure that holds the pressure switch on. Finally, it could just be being held on because the water has not pumped away at all, and the volume of water is still activating the switch. For more information on this, read — how does washing machine control water levels?
Simple F05 error explanation
So a simple explanation for this error code is that the software controlling the washing machine thinks it has just pumped all the water away, but the pressure switch is still on.
Pressure switch jammed, or being held on?
The first thing to check is simple. Is the washing machine still full, or partially full, of water? If you can see that there is water in the drum, and you can clearly see that it hasn’t pumped away properly, then this is the fault. This issue can be caused by a pump fault, or blockage somewhere. If so, follow this guide for a washing machine stuck full of water.
If there is no water left inside the drum (apart from the obviously very soggy laundry that has not been properly spun) then F05 could be caused by a faulty pressure switch (this is rare), or a blocked pressure system.
A blockage in the pressure system can trap air pressure in the tube, keeping the pressure switch on. In this case, pulling off the small tube at the base of the pressure switch should result in an audible click as the pressure is released, and the pressure switch springs back to off (unplug machine first!). Bear in mind that if looking at the machine some time after the fault, trapped air in the pressure system could have slowly seeped out over time. For more details and help about faulty pressure switch or blocked pressure system, check this article faults on pressure system.
More causes of F05 error
Other faults listed as possible causes for this error are, faulty connections, and even the PCB, which I wouldn’t advise replacing speculatively. If you have error F05 and can see the washing machine is full of water, then you may be able to fix it by following this guide for a washing machine stuck full of water. Otherwise, you would probably be better calling an engineer – book an engineer.
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Thanks for this thread. Had similar problem. I ran an empty cycle so I could see the water level and was clear it was not going down…..So checked the outlet hose and found that where it was connected to the sink was 99% blocked with limescale (and 1% with a sweet wrapper!): solved (with quite a lot of mopping up
Another thing to look out for! I changed the u bend and it came with an appliance outlet on the trap what I did not notice was the outlet was not pre drilled with a hole
Thanks Gary, yes that’s a rare cause but I’ve seen it a few times. I cover it in the first article linked to in my article above under, “Watch out for new plumbing installations, particularly at new houses”.
F5 flashing checked all pipes ,pump all fine but noticed on wash cycle machine not filling with water,water tap is on but wmud 942 is not drawing water what can be wrong
Hello Rohit. As my article describes, error F05 means the washing machine thinks it is full of water so I would expect that it wouldn’t take more water in.If the washing machine does not have water stuck inside then this error is likely to mean a problem with the pressure system. If the article above doesn’t help it would be best to get an engineer in to look at it.
Great advice. First thing I checked was the waste pipe. Fully bunged up with hair, gunge and a pebble. Works fine now! Thanks, saved me a fortune!