What you came for
In plain terms, F1-3 means the oven temperature sensor or the control and the wiring between them stopped answering with a value the control treats as plausible. The machine protects itself by refusing to heat on an unverified reading, which is why the cycle ends early.
What the documentation says about this code
Reference| Code | Documented meaning |
|---|---|
| F1-3 | There may be a problem with the Oven Temperature Sensor, the Control, or the associated wiring. |
What is happening apart from the display
- The code appears and the cycle stops heating — Everything else looks normal — lights, fan, display — and only the heat is missing.
- The appliance runs longer than it used to for the same result — A reading that is drifting rather than failing stretches every cycle before it ever raises a code.
- NEAR MISS - nothing heats and no code shows at all — That is a power or element fault rather than a reading fault, and it belongs on the page for that symptom.
What is usually behind it
- A loose or corroded connector at the sensor — Ranked first because it is the failure that needs no part: the probe is fine, the joint carrying its signal is not, and heat cycling at the back of the cavity is what works a pin loose.
- A chafed or pinched harness between the probe and the board — Third: a wire rubbed through against sheet metal reads exactly like a failed probe from the board's side, which is why the harness is checked before the board is condemned.
The order to work through it
- Power the machine down fully and see whether the code returns — Costs nothing and separates a latched one-off read from a live fault.
- Look at the connector at the sensor before anything is measured — Seated, clean and tight is a five-second answer to the most likely cause.
What to try before calling
- Clear the code with a full power-down — Switch the breaker off, let the control lose its stored state, then switch it back on and start a short cycle.
About 5 min
- Let the cavity reach room temperature before anything else — A hot resistance reading means nothing, and a hot cavity is the reason half of these codes cannot be diagnosed on the spot.
About 45 min
- STOP HERE if the next step is a meter across the probe terminals — That means a panel off and a connector back-probed, which is where an owner check ends and a service call begins.
Safety first, and it is not optional
Safety
Safety line for this appliance: unplug it or switch off its breaker before removing any panel, and remember a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Interlocks and switches stay as fitted.
Where an owner stops and a technician starts
Call once the code survives a full power-down: a repeatable reading fault is a probe, a harness or a board, and telling those three apart needs a meter and the resistance table for that model line. Call straight away if you smell hot insulation or see discoloured wiring at the back — a connector hot enough to discolour is arcing, and that is a different and more urgent problem than the reading the code named.
Neighbouring codes on this appliance
How far this page applies
Written for the model lines that use this probe on this cavity, this page describes what the code means and how to work through it, nothing more specific. Part numbers, connector layouts and resistance tables differ from one family to the next and are not guessed at here. A family-level or model-level page, where one exists, is the better answer for your unit - the index below lists what is available.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
