A GE dishwasher keeps its real fault codes in the technician's service mode. What the owner sees is a handful of display words — PrE, SEnS, CAL — a lock light, a Start light that flashes, and a pump that will not stop once the flood sensor has tripped. The four badges — GE, GE Profile, Café and Hotpoint — run one control, so the words read the same. Find what yours is showing below; most of it is a cycle doing its job.
Covers: 2015-and-newer front-control (GDF450, GDF510, GDF535, GDF550, GDF645, GDF650, GDP630, GDP645, Hotpoint HDF310) and top-control (GDT535, GDT550, GDT630, GDT645, GDT665, GDT670, PDT715, PDT775, PDT785, PDP715, PDP755, CDT805, CDT875) dishwashers under the GE, GE Profile, Café and Hotpoint badges.
The code as the display prints it; an older spelling sits under it on the card.
GE prints a code on the display (E22, F7, dE); a machine with no display blinks a light pattern — count the blinks and read the manual's table.
A model with a digit display prints words (PrE, SEnS, CAL) and the minutes left; a model with lights only has a Lock light, a Start light and the cycle lights. There are no E codes on the owner's side of a GE dishwasher — a code you do not see here is the technician's.
The reset: press and hold Start (Start/Reset on some panels) for three seconds — the dishwasher drains for about 90 seconds with the Start light flashing, then goes quiet. For a dead panel, switch the dishwasher's breaker off for one full minute (most are hard-wired, with no plug to pull).
A Wi-Fi model shows the cycle state and any alert in the SmartHQ app under the dishwasher's tile.
Touch panels sleep: a dark top-control panel wakes on the first press, and wet fingers or a dripping cloth on the pads can hold one down — dry the panel before you call it broken.
The model and serial plate is on the left edge of the tub, visible when the door is open (some models carry it on the door's inner edge). Every warranty call starts with those two numbers.
Not a fault. The dishwasher is in its pre-wash, loosening the food before the main wash; the minutes-left count starts once it is done.
Nothing to fix — let the cycle run on.
Not a fault. The dishwasher is reading how dirty the water is with its soil sensor and choosing the cycle length — the minutes left can jump up or down while it decides.
Nothing to fix. Scrape plates (never pre-rinse to clean) so the sensor reads the soil and dosing the detergent makes sense.
Not a fault. A new dishwasher, or one that sat without power, runs its first cycles a little long while it calibrates the soil sensor, and the display says CAL while it does.
Nothing to fix. Run a normal cycle with a normal load — an empty dishwasher calibrates on clean water and the next real load may run long again.
Also printed as LOC
Fix at homeNot a fault. The pads do nothing and the Lock light is lit (a digit display may read LOC). Someone held the lock pad, or a cloth did.
The light goes out and the pads answer again.
Not a fault. The display shows hours (2h, 4h, 8h) and the dishwasher sits waiting for its start time. Someone pressed Delay Hours while choosing a cycle.
Pick the cycle and press Start without a delay.
The dishwasher is draining to cancel a cycle (about 90 seconds after Start is held), or the door was opened mid-cycle and it is waiting for Start, or the door is not latched.
Latch the door and press Start. A door that latches and leaves the Start light flashing with nothing running after two minutes has a door latch or latch switch that is not reporting — a part, and on a machine under warranty a warranty call.
Water reached the pan under the tub and tripped the flood sensor. The drain pump runs on and on, and the dishwasher refuses a cycle until the pan is dry.
Dry the pan, seat the gasket or tighten what was loose, switch the breaker on and run a short cycle while you watch the pan. Water that comes back with every cycle and no leak you can see is a pump seal, a hose or the inlet valve — a service call, and on a machine under warranty a warranty call. The water supply fitting is a licensed installer's to touch.
Water in the pan you cannot explain is a seal, a hose or the inlet valve. Switch the dishwasher's breaker off, close its water valve under the sink and call it in — it is never a wait-and-see with water under a tub.
Every unit leaves with the manufacturer's full factory warranty. The codes below name a part inside the machine — once the checks have ruled out the install, the power and the hoses, call GE's line with the model and serial, and text us if you want a hand with the claim.
Nothing on this page is a straight service call — every code here starts with a check you can make.
All units are surplus inventory (open box, cancelled order, customer return, overstock, or minor scratch & dent). Every unit includes the manufacturer's full factory warranty. Please inspect thoroughly in person before purchasing — cosmetic imperfections or missing accessories are possible.
A fix, a part, or a warranty call — the plate's model and serial plus one line about the symptom is all it takes to tell which.
These pages are educational. Every appliance is a little different — follow the manufacturer's manual and local code, and leave gas, water heater and 240V work to a licensed installer.
