If your boiler starts displaying an error code, but it’s not serious enough to call out an engineer, what do you do?

All combi boilers display error codes differently, so depending on your model, the error code itself will vary.

However, there are certain things you can do to check your boiler and get it working again by yourself.

With that in mind, we’ve compiled some of the most common errors your boiler will display, and what action you should take next.

Unknown error code? Check the manual

The first place you should turn when your boiler displays an error code, is your manual.

This should be able to tell you exactly what your error code is signalling, and tell you how the problem can be fixed.

If you do not have a manual to hand, simply type your boiler’s make and error code into Google to find your answer.

Low pressure fault

Carry out a check of your combi boiler’s pressure gauge.

If you find it below one bar of pressure, adjusting this to 1.5 should solve your problem.

For more information, check out our blog post: ‘What to do if Your Combi Boiler Loses Pressure’.

No gas, no ignition

This is another common fault, particularly if you have a prepaid meter installed.

You should be able to fix this by pushing the emergency button on your gas meter, before purchasing a gas card and topping up your credit.

You may also have to press the ‘reset’ button a couple of times on your boiler before the gas will come through and ignite again.

No ignition

If you have checked the above, or a prepaid meter does not apply to you, the problem could be down to an obstruction or blockage of your flue.

Check the outside of your building for scaffolding or any any other obstruction that could be causing the problem.

Boiler is overheating

To check how fast your temperature goes up, simply press the reset button when your boiler initially fires up.

As a rule of thumb, if the temperature rises very quickly and then your boiler cuts off, it could mean the pump is jammed, which prevents the water from getting pumped out.

This in turn causes your boiler to overheat. To try and fix this, you could try to open the screw on the pump which would allow for some temporary heat, but in the long-term this will need to be replaced.

Condensate is blocked

If your condensate is blocked, you need to first switch your boiler off and then try the following steps:

1. Take a basin and place it underneath your boiler.
2. Detach the plastic condensate pipe from your boiler (it should be white, while all the other pipes are copper).
3. Drain the water from the pipe into the basin.
4. Turn your boiler back on and see if it fires up.
5. If so, it means the condensate pipe is blocked and potentially frozen. This could be due to freezing temperatures outside.
6. Stop your condensate pipe becoming blocked. See video below.

Conclusion

If your boiler suddenly displays an error code, don’t panic. A lot of the time, these codes have relatively simple fixes, and you can check what to do by taking a look at your boiler’s instruction manual, or by searching for the error code and boiler model using a search engine such as Google.

Have you experienced a boiler error code we haven’t mentioned above? How did you solve the problem? Let us know in the comments section.