Samsung washing machines can display an error code 5E. This means the washing machine has a, “water drain error”. It’s basically timed out on empty. So it’s tried draining out the water for 10 minutes and the water level still hasn’t fallen below a specified level (or at least it thinks it hasn’t).
This error should be able to be reset by pressing the Start/Pause button. But if there is a fault, it will need fixing or the error will just return.
What can cause this error?
A washing machine not emptying the water can have various causes. So has a washing machine thinking it hasn’t drained the water when it has. It’s necessary to work out which fault is causing the 5E error.
Is the water not pumping out, and clearly still inside the drum? Or does it appear to have drained away most of the water but then stopped with the error? Did you hear the water going down the drain ok or did you hear nothing being pumped out?
To troubleshoot this problem the first thing to check is the pump filter, which could be blocked. Obviously don’t bother looking at the pump filter if the water is being pumped away. This is only likely to be relevant if you have the 5E error and you can clearly see that most of the water is stuck inside the machine. I have extensive advice on diagnosing pump faults here Washing machine won’t drain water (stuck full of water)
Another possible cause could be if there is a fault on the pressure system so that the water is being pumped out ok but the control board is not getting a signal that the water has gone. So it still thinks there is water inside which causes the error when it gets to a spin. This is more complex, but some advice is in this article – Faults on pressure system
If you can’t find anything using this advice I’d call an appliance engineer out.
Repairs
Fixed-price repairs, Pay monthly, Repair & protect your whole appliance..
Spares
Ransom Spares is a family company with over 1 million spare parts. Next day delivery available, friendly company with over 5000 reviews on Trust Pilot - Buy your appliance spare part
Price match promise: "If you find the exact same part cheaper, we’ll not only match it, we’ll beat it!"
Several Which? Trial Offers available. Research future purchases & potentially save more money than it costs
The small emergency drain hose must attach to the pump. You’ll probably need to look underneath or take the kick strip panel off to get to it.
I now have the dreaded 5E problem
I get it when washing and also drying
When drying the machine has spun the washing and in theory removed most of the water, however when the 5E comes up and machine stops in DRY mode when the ‘hot’ symbol has gone out, the bowl is half full of water :(
I have blown down the extraction hose and the hose was clear, the debris filter was clean and the emergency drain was clear.
I have removed the drain hose from the back of the machine and it is clear and no obstructions.
This machine is unusable now as 5E is now happening in wash mode :(
Thanking you in advance
Hello Paul. The 5E fault is usually only caused by either failing to empty the water out properly or by a fault on the pressure system preventing the machine from getting the water-has-gone signal. Both faults have links to further help in this article and those articles contain further links covering everything relevant that I could think of.
If you get the error and can see water in the drum it’s got to be something preventing the water pumping out. If the error happens and there’s no water in the drum it has to be a fault on the pressure system. If it happens only on tumble dry mode there’s a possibility water could be getting stuck in the condenser chamber. Water runs into a plastic container at the back and mixes with steam from the drying process. This water should run out of the bottom of the chamber and into the tub to be pumped out but could get blocked.
Could you get the same problem error code if the pump was broken. I have taken out the filter removed the hose and no blockage so I’m wondering if it the pump???
Yes Natalie. The pump is the main suspect. You need to read the section “If the pump isn’t running” towards the bottom of the article that’s linked to with the first link in this article.
My initial problem was the program completing, but the clothes were hot and wet – I cleaned out the filters and when that didn’t work, checked the condenser – it was fowled terribly with fluff and lint, which i cleared – I then found that the valve feeding the condensor was misbehaving (the solenoid had a crazy high resistance and the coil was cracked) and replaced this.
Now I have the 5E problem. I thought I might have not securely reconnected the hoses, causing a pressure switch problem, but I have now checked this.
The confusing thing is – the 5E Error only happens when the unit is on a drying cycle – the machine can properly complete any wash program, but if drying is included, it fails with 5E.
Any ideas on where to go next? I have found your articles very helpful so far!
Hi Ian. All the advice I could think of is in the article. However, it doesn’t make sense the error only occurring with the drying cycle set because the two faults it implicates should be equally affected on the wash cycle. The only thing I can suggest is to try it on a drying cycle and ascertain if water is being pumped out or not. Listen for water running down the drain, check outside if it pumps into a grate or put the drain hose into the sink. If water is regularly being pumped away it can’t be a drain error and maybe it’s pressure system but I don’t see how a fault on the pressure system could only cause problems on the drying cycle. It would cause errors on wash cycle.