Brother Laser Printer F13 Error Code Fix

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What This Error Means

F13 on a Brother laser printer usually means: Fuser temperature fault.

In plain English: the hot fuser section that melts toner into the paper is running at the wrong temperature or its sensor is reading bad, so the printer locks itself with F13 to avoid cooking itself or your paper.

Official Fix

Brother’s official play is simple: cool it down, clear any jams, and if F13 stays, replace the fuser via service.

  • Turn the printer off with the power button.
  • Unplug the power cord from the wall. Let it cool at least 20 minutes so the fuser is safe to touch.
  • Open all access doors: front, rear, any side doors, and the manual feed/bypass tray.
  • Remove the toner and drum unit carefully and set it on a clean sheet of paper.
  • Inspect the paper path, especially at the rear/fuser area, for:
    • Small paper scraps or corners folded over and stuck.
    • Labels or tape wrapped around the orange fuser roller.
    • Warped, blistered, or badly scratched orange fuser roller, or melted plastic. If you see this, stop using it.
  • Gently pull out any jammed paper in the normal paper travel direction. Do not yank paper backwards through the fuser.
  • Re-seat the drum and toner unit. Make sure it is fully latched in place.
  • Close all covers firmly until they click.
  • Plug the printer back in and power it on.
  • Print a test page from the printer’s menu if it will let you.
  • If F13 comes back immediately or within a page or two, the official guidance is: contact Brother support or an authorized service center. They will typically:
    • Run fuser diagnostics and error logs.
    • Replace the complete fuser unit if the heater, thermistor, or thermal fuse has failed.
    • In rarer cases, replace the low-voltage power board or wiring harness feeding the fuser.

That’s the by-the-book fix: cool it, clear jams, and if F13 sticks, swap hardware.

The Technician’s Trick

When the fuser isn’t totally cooked, these are the field tricks that sometimes save it.

  • Do a real power drain, not just off/on.
    • Turn the printer off and unplug it from the wall.
    • Hold the power button for 15–20 seconds to bleed off any stored charge.
    • Leave it unplugged another 10 minutes.
    • Plug back in and power on. If F13 was a one-time overheat, this often clears the latched error.
  • Hunt the hidden jam at the fuser.
    • Unplug the printer and make sure the fuser has cooled.
    • Open the rear cover. If there’s a rear jam cover, release the tabs and take it off.
    • Use a flashlight to look right at the orange fuser roller and exit path.
    • Pull out tiny scraps, label edges, or wrinkled paper with your fingers or plastic tweezers only. No metal tools near the roller.
    • If you see a label wrapped around the roller, peel it off slowly in the paper-travel direction. Sticky residue on the fuser can overheat spots and trip F13.
  • Read how it fails.
    • F13 only after long print runs or thick media: fuser is getting weak or overheats under load. You may squeeze some life out of it, but it’s on borrowed time.
    • F13 the instant you power on, every single time: the thermistor or thermal fuse is likely gone. That’s a fuser replacement job, not a reset issue.
  • Sanity-check paper settings.
    • On the printer or in the driver, set the correct paper type (Plain, Thick, Labels, etc.).
    • Running labels or heavy cardstock while the printer thinks it’s plain copy paper makes the fuser work much harder and can trigger temperature faults.

If you still see F13 after a cool-down, hard reset, and a clean fuser path, you’re done with tricks. The fix is a new fuser assembly, and sometimes a power board too.

Is It Worth Fixing? (The Financial Verdict)

  • ✅ Fix: Mid-range or office-grade Brother laser, under ~5–6 years old, and a replacement fuser (or full repair quote) costs less than about half of a similar new printer.
  • ⚠️ Debatable: Small home/SOHO model, 5–8 years old with a high page count, or it needs both a fuser and a power board. Get a repair quote and compare directly to a new machine with warranty.
  • ❌ Replace: Very old or entry-level printer, visible heat damage to plastic, or the repair cost comes close to buying a new Brother laser with fresh rollers and warranty.

Parts You Might Need

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See also

Dig into more F-series and device error code breakdowns here: