What F6 Means
WHICH MACHINES THIS APPLIES TO: F6 as a single character is a DW20 and DW70 platform code. The equivalent on the DW90 platform is F:43.
DW20 AND DW70 PLATFORM - WHAT F6 MEANS: the service manual reads "Pressure sensor fault. Output signal greater than 4.8 V. The programme continues. Indication only in the service menu." The pressure sensor is how the dishwasher knows how much water is in the tub. It sends the control a voltage that rises and falls with the level. Above 4.8 volts the reading is outside anything the sensor should ever produce, so the control marks it as a sensor fault rather than believing it.
WHAT THE MACHINE DOES NEXT: it carries on. The manual is explicit - the programme continues and the indication is in the service menu only. The owner is shown nothing. What can show up instead is inconsistent behaviour that nobody connects to a sensor: washes that do not seem to fill properly, washes that seem to drain at odd points, or results that vary from one cycle to the next.
CLASSIFICATION: fault. It is invisible by design, which is exactly why it is worth writing down: a stored F6 explains a machine that has been quietly behaving oddly for months.
Common Causes of F6
- Pressure sensor itself out of range or failed
- Connector to the sensor loose or corroded
- Damaged wiring between the sensor and the control unit
- Control unit misreading a sound sensor
🔧 One Safe Check You Can Try
There is no owner check and no display message, because this code lives in the service menu. What helps is a written record of the symptoms, because an intermittent sensor and a failed sensor look identical from the outside and only a pattern separates them. Over a few cycles, note whether the water level in the tub looks normal through the door when you interrupt a wash, whether the machine sometimes drains earlier than usual, and whether the problem is worse on the shorter programmes. Hand that to the technician along with the model number from the plate on the inside edge of the door. Do not open the base to look at the pressure chamber: the dishwasher has to be isolated at the outlet or the breaker and drawn out of the cabinet before it is reachable, and the pressure chamber and its hose sit directly alongside the pump wiring.
⚠ Why You Shouldn't Go Further Than That
- The pressure sensor and its chamber are under the wash tub, so reaching them means isolating the machine from power and drawing it out of the cabinet with the plumbing attached.
- The sensor hose and the pump wiring run together in the base, where mains voltage is present whenever the machine is connected.
Opening a panel to inspect or repair something yourself doesn't automatically cancel your manufacturer's warranty — but it can risk accidental damage, and some manufacturers do have specific service conditions. Check your product's warranty terms, or ask us, before deciding.