Whirlpool Washing Machine F15 Fix

by

What This Error Means

F15 on a Whirlpool washing machine means: heater circuit fault.

The control board tried to heat the water, didn’t like what it saw from the heating element or sensor, and shut the cycle down.

What you see:

  • Cycle stops mid-wash or never heats the water.
  • Clothes come out cold and maybe still soapy.
  • F15 flashes and the machine refuses to continue.

Official Fix

What Whirlpool expects you to do (the “by-the-book” route):

  • Kill the power first.
    Unplug the washer for at least 1 minute. This clears a glitchy control board if that’s all it is.
  • Plug back in and try a cold cycle.
    Select a quick or rinse-only cycle with cold water. Hit Start and watch it for a few minutes.
  • If F15 comes back immediately (even on cold):
    The board is still seeing a heater fault. Official guidance: stop using the machine.
  • If F15 only appears on warm/hot cycles:
    That’s textbook heater circuit trouble. The element, sensor, wiring, or control board is bad.
  • Now the manufacturer line:
    • Do not keep restarting the same cycle over and over.
    • Do not try to bypass or bridge the heater yourself.
    • Contact an authorized Whirlpool service center to test the heating element, temperature sensor (NTC), wiring, and control board.
  • Stop immediately and call a pro if:
    • The breaker or RCD trips when the washer tries to heat.
    • You smell burning or see scorch marks at the back of the machine.

Officially, Whirlpool wants a trained tech with a meter to check the heater circuit and swap the bad part. They don’t expect you to open the machine.

The Technician’s Trick

Here’s how a real tech chases F15 fast instead of just saying “replace the board”. Only do this if you’re comfortable with tools.

  • 1. Unplug it. No excuses.
    Pull the plug from the wall. Water + 230V/120V is not a joke.
  • 2. Get to the heater.
    • Pull the washer forward and remove the rear panel (usually a few screws).
    • Look at the bottom of the drum: you’ll see a metal bar going into the tub with two chunky wires and an earth/ground in the middle. That’s the heater.
  • 3. Check the connectors first.
    • Look for browned, melted, or loose spade terminals on the heater.
    • If they’re loose, pull them off, pinch them slightly tighter with pliers, and push them back on firmly.
    • Burned connector? Cut it off and crimp on a new high-temp spade. That alone can clear F15 on a lot of machines.
  • 4. Test the heater with a multimeter.
    • Still unplugged.
    • Pull the two heater wires off the terminals.
    • Set your meter to ohms (Ω).
    • Measure across the two outer heater studs:
      • Normal: usually somewhere around 10–30 Ω (depends on model).
      • OL / infinite: heater is blown open – it’s dead.
      • 0 or near 0 Ω: shorted – also bad.
    • Now meter from each terminal to the metal chassis (earth/ground):
      • Should read OL / no continuity.
      • Any reading to earth means the element is leaking and will throw F15 or trip breakers. Replace it.
  • 5. Check the temperature sensor (NTC) if fitted.
    • Usually a small probe right next to the heater with a 2-wire plug.
    • Unplug it and meter across the two pins.
    • At room temp you generally want something in the 5–30 kΩ range (not 0, not OL).
    • Reads 0 Ω or OL? That sensor is toast – replace it.
  • 6. When the heater or NTC is bad, just swap it.
    • Heater elements are usually the cheapest fix and the most common cause of F15.
    • Undo the center nut on the heater, push the stud in a bit to release the seal, and slide the heater out.
    • Grease the new seal lightly with a bit of washing-up liquid, slide it in, tighten the nut so it’s snug (don’t over-crush), and reconnect wires.
  • 7. If heater and sensor both test good?
    • Now you’re looking at a control board / relay issue.
    • Techs will inspect the board for burnt tracks near the heater relay and usually just replace the whole board.
  • 8. Limp-along hack (not a real fix).
    • On some models, you can sometimes keep doing laundry for a bit by running cold-only cycles – they don’t always hit the heater.
    • If F15 appears even on cold, stop messing around and fix the heater circuit properly.

Is It Worth Fixing? (The Financial Verdict)

  • ✅ Fix: Washer under ~8–10 years old, drum and bearings quiet, and testing points to a bad heater or sensor – parts are cheap, repair is absolutely worth it.
  • ⚠️ Debatable: Machine 8–12 years old, plus other issues (rust, noisy spin, occasional other error codes); heater fix is fine if parts are cheap, but don’t sink money into an expensive new control board.
  • ❌ Replace: Over ~10–12 years old, obvious wear (leaks, loud bearings), or F15 traced to a pricey control board that costs close to half a new washer – put that cash into a replacement machine instead.

Parts You Might Need

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.