Samsung Dryer DE Code

Since the operation of the door switch may depend on door alignment, make sure the door is closing properly. If the door is out of alignment, the door catch may fail to hold the door completely shut and trigger the errors.

• Push on the door while it is closed and see if there is movement inward or outward. It may push in very slightly, but there shouldn’t be movement that makes an audible sound. If there is movement you need to go through the checks below very carefully.

• Check that the door isn’t bent. Inadvertently slamming the door on an obstruction could slightly bend the door.
  • The skin or panel of the door can be slightly dished in where it touches the switch button. Look carefully in that area.

• Check to see if the hinge has become misaligned. Leaning or dropping something on the open door may bend components.

• If the door has a bump on the inner face to operate the door switch, check to see that the bump has not been damaged or dented inward. You may be able to fix a dent with tape .
• Some Samsung dryers may use a small boss or peg mounted on the door, which operates the switch mounted behind a hole in the front of the machine. If the door is misaligned, this peg can break off. You may be able to glue it back in place after you adjust the door alignment.

• Check the door catch to see if it is bent or damaged; your door may not close fully if this is the case and will trigger the code.
• Check that the latch is holding the catch securely.

If everything checks out, go to the next step. If not, fix it first and retest.

Your door switch may be wearing out. It might still work, but needs the button to be pushed in further to operate.

• See if the dryer will start when you hold down the door switch button with tape. This may be difficult as the spring in the switch may just lift the tape up.
  • You may want to try taping a thin piece of cardboard to the door where it pushes against the switch.
  • You can try using increasingly thicker pieces of cardboard to test this.
• As a last resort, you can try holding the button down with your finger, and try to start the dryer.
  • This is a little hazardous as the dryer isn’t meant to be run this way, so make sure you know where your limbs and other body parts are, so nothing gets injured if it starts.
  • If it does start, release the button immediately and replace the door switch. It is worn out, and since the dryer was starting, you know everything else was working.

If pressing the button doesn’t work, you will next want to check the door switch for continuity. The switch will usually have three terminals, one that is the common terminal (COM) one that is normally closed (NC) and one that is normally open (NO).

You will want to use a multimeter to check the continuity between the COM terminal and the other two terminals as follows:

• With the button not pushed:
  • Continuity between COM and NC
  • No continuity between COM and NO
• With the button pushed (you can use tape and wrap it around the switch)
  • No continuity between COM and NC
  • Continuity between COM and NO

If the switch fails or is intermittent on any of these tests, replace it.

If it passes, repeat the test using the door to operate the switch (Since the switch seems to work, you want to see if the problem might be the door failing to operate it). If that works, go on to the next step, If not, replace the switch.

If the switch passes the tests, you may have a wiring problem. Vibrations and sharp edges in the machine can cause the wire to fail. You need to make sure that there is continuity back to the control board.

• You will have to trace the wiring back to the control board or other spots to do this.
• Inspect the wiring as you do this and look for pinched, stretched or broken wires.
• Make sure to check all of the connectors that you find in the wiring path; unplug them and plug them in again.

Once you have traced the wires, you can find the proper connector on the board and disconnect it for the test. When you are tracing the wiring you will need to figure out which one is the common (COM)  terminal. For many Samsung models the door switch COM is hooked to the neutral of the power input and doesn’t go back to the main control board.

• You can leave the switch connected (since it works) so that you can open and close the door to run the test. Your test point is the connector at the main control board.
  • While testing try to wiggle various portions of the wiring to see if you can locate a broken wire. Otherwise you may have a sort of maddening intermittent problem.
  • The continuity beeper function on a multimeter is especially helpful for spotting broken wires that still partially work, since the beep will stop momentarily.
  • You may need a helper to wiggle the wiring.
• With the door closed, check that you have continuity between the COM wire and one of the other two wires (probably hooked to the NO terminal). One of the two wires serves a sensing function and goes back to the control board. The other may run to the centrifugal switch on the motor.
• Then open the door and check to see if the continuity has switched to the other wire. (It is often for the drum light)
• If you find a problem you should locate and repair the break.
  • You might consider running a new wire if you can’t locate the break and just splice it in at both ends of the broken run.
  • Abandon the defective wire in place in the harness.
  • Test the new wiring.

If you found no defect in the wiring, then go on to the next step. Keep in mind that Samsung specifically advises to check the door monitoring circuit (A blue wire coming from the switch in many cases) so checking wiring all the way back to the control board is critical. Don’t give up too soon.

At this point the remaining possible cause is the control board. You will need to replace it. Make sure that you get the exact part number. Also make sure to touch the machine frame frequently or take anti-static precautions so that you don’t damage the new board when you install it.