The OE error code on an LG washing machine means that the water is struggling to drain in the required amount of time during a wash cycle.
This can be caused by a few different things but most of the time it’s an indication that there is a blockage inside the machine that is stopping the water from going through the pipes.
It’s worth mentioning that if your washer does have a blockage then it’s probably because you forgot to empty your pockets before loading up your washing machine and starting a wash cycle.
It’s important to remember that before you try and carry out any repairs or try to inspect your machine you isolate it from the electrical supply for safety reasons.
Let’s take a look at everything that can cause the OE error code on an LG washing machine:
Look for any blockages
The most common reason that your LG washing machine is showing the OE error is that there is a blockage.
Here are the places where you will find a blockage:
- The drain pump filter, which is behind the panel at the bottom of your washer – This can be removed by unscrewing it from the bottom right of your machine
- The drum sump pipe – This is the pipe that connects the drum to the drain pump housing, and you will often find small items of clothing inside here
- The drain pipe – It’s common for coins and other small objects to get stuck inside the drain pipe
You should always start off by trying to drain the water from inside the machine before you look for any blockages. This helps to stop the water from flooding out when you find and remove the blockage.
The main area where your machine will get blocked is in the drain pump filter. This is a common place where you will find small objects like coins, hairclips, and anything that you might have left in your pockets before a wash cycle.
It’s also fairly common for socks to slip between the drum and the door seal and get stuck inside the sump pipe.
Make sure the pipes are not kinked
Another common problem that LG washing machines have is when the drain pipe gets kinked or bends and stops the water from flowing through to the drains.
This is particularly common on machines that are pushed up against a wall because the pipe gets trapped in between the washer and the wall.
You should pull your machine out and make sure that there are no kinks in the pipe. If you find any, then try to straighten them out.
You might even find that if the pipe was badly bent then when you straighten it out it will start to crack which might mean the pipe needs to be replaced.
When you’re inspecting the drain pipe it’s also a good opportunity to make sure that the end of the drain pipe isn’t blocked.
It’s common to find blockages near the end of the pipe where it connects to the drains in your home.
Check the drain pump
The final check that you should make to fix the OE fault code is to make sure that the drain pump is operating correctly.
If your washer has had a blockage or is old, then the drain pump might have failed and is no longer pushing the water down the waste pipe.
You should start off by making sure that the wires that give power to the drain pump are still connected and haven’t burned or come loose.
If you have access to an electrical multimeter you can test both of the electrical connectors and make sure that there isn’t an open circuit.
Most of the time you can tell if the pump is faulty because when you try to run a drain cycle on your machine it will sound either really noisy or completely dead.
Luckily LG washing machine drain pumps are quite fairly priced meaning you can often get your washing machine back up and running without paying a huge amount on repair bills.
How to stop the OE error code from returning
So now you have fixed the error code on your washer, but what now? Well, you should probably make sure that it doesn’t return again.
Most of the problems that are related to the OE fault code are because small objects and items of clothing get stuck in the machine and block it up.
This can be stopped by doing the following two things:
- Always make sure that you check the pockets on your clothes before you put them in your washing machine – This will help to stop small coins, keys and any other small objects from making their way through your washer
- Make sure that if you’re putting small items of clothing in your washer like socks, baby clothes and underwear you use a wash bag or tie them up in a pillowcase – This will make sure they don’t slip between the door seal and the drum and get stuck in the sump pipe or the drain pump
It might also help to know how to reset your washing machine, which we talk about in our LG washing machine guide.
Knowing how to reset your washer can be useful if your machine gets stuck during a cycle and is displaying an error code even though there is no fault.
Summary
That’s all the information that you need to be able to fix the OE error code on an LG washing machine.
Just to summarize everything that you need to do:
- You should start off by looking for any blockages that could be stopping the water from draining away – The main place that you will find a blockage is in the drain pump filter
- Make sure that the drain pipe is not kinked – If the drain pipe gets trapped and kinked then the water will struggle to drain, and the OE error code will display on the front of the machine
- If you can’t find any blockages and the drain pipe is connected properly without any kinks, then you should move on to inspecting the drain pump – It’s common for the drain pump on older machines to fail or if the machine has had a blockage recently it might have burned out the pump
If you need any more information on LG washing machine error codes we have put together a list with all of the information you need to fix each of the errors.
