LG Refrigerator Error Codes
Dedicated guides for documented codes, plus a shared reference for the 12 Er codes LG lists without individual meanings — never a wall of codes to scroll through. Find the code on your display, open its page, and you get the manufacturer's meaning, LG-documented causes and checks, where available, the exact steps LG publishes, and a plain line for where DIY stops and a technician starts.
One LG wrinkle worth knowing: LG publishes its refrigerator codes in two overlapping lists. Its digital and analog list shows the codes bare (FF, CF, dH); its Er guide lists many of the same codes with an Er prefix (Er FF, Er CF, Er dH), and its per-code articles write them ER(E). The bare and Er forms are the same code where LG documents them together — as it does for most of these; a form LG does not document together with another should be read as the same code only with model-specific confirmation. The Er guide also lists codes that neither list explains individually; those are covered honestly on one page below, with no meanings invented for them. Every guide says which LG source its code comes from.
LG refrigerator code guides available on FixSignal
Note: Code meanings and troubleshooting steps can vary by refrigerator model. Check your model manual.
| Code | What it means | |
|---|---|---|
| OFF shown O F F · demo mode | Not a fault — demo (display) mode: all cooling in both sections is disabled for retail display. The fridge lights and panel work; nothing cools. | Guide → |
| Lo ambient warning | A warning, not a fault — the room temperature has dropped below −10 °C, outside the conditions the refrigerator is designed for. | Guide → |
| HI ambient warning | A warning, not a fault — the room temperature has risen above +50 °C, outside the conditions the refrigerator is designed for. | Guide → |
| FF also Er FF | Freezer fan fault — the freezer fan motor does not operate normally, or is locked by ice (frost) around the fan motor. | Guide → |
| rF also Er rF | Refrigerator fan fault — the refrigerator compartment fan motor does not operate normally. | Guide → |
| CF also Er CF | Condenser fan fault — the fan that disperses heat from the compressor at the back of the refrigerator is not operating. | Guide → |
| IF also F1 · Er IF | Ice maker fan malfunction — LG's Canadian guide files IF and F1 together: the ice maker fan, usually frost or ice buildup from door-seal and warm-air causes. | Guide → |
| FS also Er FS | Freezer temperature sensor fault — LG notes this causes a reduction in the appliance's performance. | Guide → |
| rS also Er rS | Refrigerator temperature detection fault — the R1 (upper) sensor on the refrigerator side. | Guide → |
| r2 | Refrigerator temperature detection anomaly — the R2 (lower) sensor on the refrigerator side. | Guide → |
| rT | Ambient temperature sensor fault — the sensor that reads the room temperature around the refrigerator. | Guide → |
| dS also Er dS | Defrost temperature sensor fault — the evaporator may be blocked by ice formed from the moisture in the air. | Guide → |
| dH also FdH · dHF · F dH · r dH · Er dH | Defrost failure — the defrost sensor's temperature did not rise by more than 5 °C within 80 minutes of defrosting starting. LG's Er guide groups Er d1, Er d2, Er d, Er H1 and Er H2 with this code. | Guide → |
| FU | Cycle error — a freezer compartment fault: the freezer temperature has not dropped below 3.5 °C, at startup or during operation. | Guide → |
| IS also Er IS | Ice maker temperature sensor fault — the ice maker may stop, and cubes are no longer dispensed into the ice bucket. | Guide → |
| It | Ice maker motor fault. | Guide → |
| SS | An issue detecting the water tank temperature (LG's US consumer list). A pantry-sensor definition for this code circulates in repair references but could not be verified in a publicly reachable LG source — the SS page explains, and prints only the documented meaning. | Guide → |
| tt | Water tank fault — the tank is missing or not inserted correctly, or its detection sensor is malfunctioning. | Guide → |
| gF also Er gF | Water flow sensor malfunction — LG names a closed water tap, a kinked hose or incorrect water pressure as the causes. | Guide → |
| CO also Er CO | Communication error between the main board and the display. | Guide → |
| C1 | Communication error between the dispenser and the display. | Guide → |
| HS also Er HS | Humidity sensor error — LG keeps a dedicated help article for this code; no consumer procedure is published, so this guide is service-led. | Guide → |
| CH also CH E · E CH | LG identifies this as a high-side refrigerant-leak code; professional diagnosis is required to confirm the cause and location. LG publishes no user troubleshooting for this code. | Guide → |
| CL also CL E · E CL | LG identifies this as a lower-side refrigerant-leak code; professional diagnosis is required to confirm the cause and location. LG publishes no user troubleshooting for this code. | Guide → |
| d1 · d2 · d · H1 · H2 Er forms, defrost family | LG's Er guide groups these five with Er dH — its FAQ gives them the same ice-on-the-cooling-plate behaviour and the same temporary measure. They are covered on the dH page. | Guide → |
| Er Od · Sd · CI · IU · US · LS · E1 · E2 · r · Id · gS · F2 listed, not explained | LG's Er guide lists these twelve codes but publishes no individual meaning for any of them. One honest page: LG's shared explanation, its shared reset, and its stop-use warning — no invented meanings. | Guide → |
Start with these common codes
Three useful starting points: the not-a-fault display behind most "my new fridge won't cool" calls, a fan fault, and the ice maker fan code.
Demo mode — cooling is disabled, nothing is broken.FF
Freezer fan fault — or a fan locked by ice.IF
Ice maker fan — usually frost buildup (also shown as F1).
Displays that are not faults
Three entries in the table — OFF, Lo and HI — are a mode and two environment warnings rather than breakdowns; each has its own short guide so a status display is never mistaken for a failure. OFF is demo mode: the showcase setting that disables all cooling. Lo and HI are ambient-temperature warnings: the refrigerator is standing in a room colder than −10 °C or hotter than +50 °C, outside the conditions it is designed to work in. One more mode belongs in this note: Sabbath mode (Sb in LG's manuals) disables lights, sounds and the display for religious observance. LG documents it as a feature in model manuals, not as a display entry in its help-library code lists — so it is recorded here rather than given a code page: it is a setting you switch, never a fault.
The codes LG lists without individual meanings
LG's Er guide names 27 Er code forms and gives them one shared explanation — the refrigerator has detected an issue with its internal system, such as a faulty component, control circuit or disconnected wire — one shared reset, and one shared warning. Of the 27 listed forms, 15 are covered by more specific LG documentation, including codes LG groups together (the five defrost forms grouped with Er dH, for example). For the remaining twelve (Od, Sd, CI, IU, US, LS, E1, E2, r, Id, gS and F2), the cited guide publishes no individual meaning, so FixSignal does not invent one: the Er codes page covers them with LG's shared text; for anything more specific, check the model-specific manual or confirm with LG support. One ambiguity is printed rather than resolved there and on the C1 page: LG's analog list documents a C1 (dispenser-to-display communication) while its Er guide lists a CI — LG nowhere states whether they are the same code in different display renderings.
Finding your model number
LG's lists differ by model family and region, so for a specific model, check the model-specific manual or confirm with LG support. The model number is on the rating label — label locations vary by model. Quote it when you talk to LG service; it identifies which list applies to your machine.
LG Product Support — search your model number
Frequently asked questions
Do all LG refrigerators use the same codes?
Mostly the same letters, but the lists are split by display generation and region: the digital and analog list shows codes bare, the Er guide prefixes many of them with Er, and the per-code articles write ER(E). Fan codes belong to models with those fans, the water codes (gF, SS, tt) belong to models with a dispenser or water tank, as LG's consumer list documents them, and the ice codes belong to models with an ice maker. Each guide states which machines it applies to.
Where do these meanings come from?
From LG's official support documentation: its digital and analog refrigerator error-code list, its Er refrigerator code guide, its per-code help articles (FF/rF, CF, F dH/r dH, CL E/CH E, IF/F1), its demo-mode article, and its dedicated HS article. The exact LG pages are linked at the foot of every guide.
My code is not in the table. What now?
Every code and display in the LG sources these guides rest on has a guide or an honest entry in the table above. If your display shows something that is not there, it may be a code for a different LG appliance (LG reuses letters across appliances — its washer lists are here and its dryer lists here), an older or region-specific model code, or a misread display (on segment displays S can read as 5 — LG's own list illustrates FS with an F5 display photo). For your specific model, check the model-specific manual or confirm with LG support: find the model number on the rating label and enter it into LG's product-support search.
Other LG collections
LG washing machine codes are published in full — every code on LG's front-load and top-load lists has its own guide: LG washing machine error codes. LG dryer codes are complete too: LG dryer error codes. Samsung washing machine codes are complete as well: Samsung washing machine error codes.
Sources
Every meaning and check order on this hub and its guide pages is taken from LG's official support documentation and model manuals, linked at the foot of each guide page. Scope, stated exactly: coverage means every code in the LG sources listed below — dedicated guides for the codes those sources document individually or in LG's own groupings, and one shared reference page for the 12 Er codes the Er guide lists without individual meanings. Where LG's lists treat a code differently, the guide page says so and prints both. The lists these guides rest on: LG — Refrigerator digital and analog error codes (US) · LG — How to troubleshoot the error codes on your LG refrigerator (US) · LG — How to disable demo mode (US).