Error code
Whirlpool-built Kenmore dishwasher error code FA E4
Whirlpool wrote this code, not Kenmore. On a dishwasher wearing this badge, FA E4 means: A diverter valve error. The diverter is what sends water to one spray arm or the other. Which model prefixes can raise it, and what to do
- From $95 diagnostic, credited to the repair
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What we can confirm
Code FA E4, from the manufacturer's own documentation
A code is only meaningful together with the machine showing it — the same digits mean different things on different equipment.
The code
FA E4
A diverter valve error. The diverter is what sends water to one spray arm or the other.
or call (305) 680-1018
What it narrows down to
A diverter valve error
Diagnostic
From $95, credited to the repair
On the same appliance
What else belongs to the dishwashers
On this make a code belongs to the appliance rather than to a product line. These are the other conditions this machine can display, and the models that can show this one — a display often has more than one thing to say, and the model number decides what any of it costs to put right.
Other codes this appliance can display
Whirlpool's own label is Long Drain: the dishwasher is not draining properly
A drain motor error
The fill valve is stuck open — the machine
Whirlpool's own wording: not detecting water
A fill valve electrical error
Whirlpool's own label: excessive suds
The water float switch
The heating system
The thermistor or the water quality sensor
A wash motor error
A diverter leak
Whirlpool's own label: control module
The same digits mean different things on different equipment. Search the full code list
In more detail
About Whirlpool-built Kenmore dishwasher error code FA E4
Whose code this actually is
Kenmore did not write FA E4, because Kenmore has never built an appliance. This one is Whirlpool's, and it appears on the dishwasher that Whirlpool built and Sears sold under the Kenmore badge. Whirlpool, Frigidaire and Bosch all built dishwashers for this badge, and their numbering overlaps enough to be convincing while meaning entirely different things.
What it means
A diverter valve error. The diverter is what sends water to one spray arm or the other.
Which Kenmore models can raise it
The Kenmore dishwasher whose model number begins 665 — the three digits before the period on the rating plate. Those digits are Whirlpool's, which is why Whirlpool's table is the one that applies to FA E4 and no other manufacturer's does.
The other ways it may be written
The same condition is published under more than one label, because it has been carried across generations of the appliance and because a segment display draws some characters oddly: F10 E4. They are the same finding and they lead to the same place.
What happens next
- Poor cleaning on one rack only, with this code, is the classic presentation.
- It is a real part rather than a maintenance item.
Where this usually goes
The job this most often becomes is dishwasher wash performance service, and that page carries a starting figure and the reasons that move it. A Kenmore dishwasher on this water scales its heater and its spray arms faster than the manual assumes, so codes about temperature and wash performance are read here with the supply in mind first. Photograph the display before you cut the power: a reset clears FA E4, and on a Kenmore the characters plus three digits off the plate are most of the diagnosis.
Where this meaning came from
Whirlpool's own documentation: Dishwasher error codes and flashing lights — Whirlpool Product Help. Kenmore publishes none of its own, which is why every entry on this site names the manufacturer's document instead.
This article is based on:
- Official manufacturer documentation
- Internal repair procedures
- Technician repair history
- Company quality standards