Vaillant boiler fault codes
Vaillant have used the same F.xx numbering since before the first ecoTEC: an ecoMAX or turboMAX plus from 2001 already showed F.22 for water shortage, F.28 for a failed ignition and F.29 for a flame lost while running, and a 2021 ecoTEC plus means the same by all three. That continuity is real but not complete, which is why every page here names the ranges its wording comes from. F.25 has carried three different published meanings, F.27 on an ecoMAX is a gas valve demand fault rather than the ecoTEC's flame simulation, F.73 and F.74 swap round on the ecoTEC sustain, and the ecoTEC plus sold since 2022 shows every code with three digits — F.022, F.075 — and adds a family of pump and air-flow codes in the 300s that no earlier boiler has. Three kinds of message share the display. F. codes are faults: the boiler has stopped and, for most of them, will not restart until it is reset. S. codes are statuses: a running description of what the appliance is doing, including deliberate waiting periods such as S.53 and S.54 that look like a breakdown and are not. D. codes are diagnostic parameters in the installer level, and on some ranges a D. value is what tells an engineer which of several faults an F. code is reporting. Every row was written from Vaillant's installation, maintenance and operating instructions and their UK fault-code page, listed in research-boilers.md §8G, and the pages are grouped so that the related codes on each one walk you through its neighbours: water pressure, ignition and flame, gas valve and supply, overheat and circulation, pump, temperature sensors, fan and flue, electronics and power, and the status codes.
Where the code shows on a Vaillant
Work out which display you have, because the reset and the meaning of a few codes depend on it. An ecoTEC plus, pro or exclusive from 2012 onwards, an ecoFIT pure or sustain, an ecoTEC sustain and the open-vent ecoTEC plus show a two-digit code with a full stop — F.22, F.75 — on a small text display, often with a plain-text line beneath it, and the pressure alternates with F.22 when water is short; the installer level that holds the fault list and the D. codes is behind an access code and is not something the operating instructions give you. The ecoTEC plus CS/1-5 sold since 2022 shows every code with three digits, F.022 and F.028, so read those pages by dropping the leading zero; its F.3xx codes are its own. The ecoTEC plus 612 to 837 and ecoTEC pro 24 and 28 of 2005 to 2012 have an "i" button beside the display: status codes appear when you press it, and the ten-fault memory and the diagnostic level are reached by pressing "i" together with "−" or "+", which the servicing instructions describe for the installer. The ecoMAX 600 and 800 series, turboMAX plus and thermoCOMPACT ../2 E of 1999 to 2005 use the same "i" button and the same F.xx form on a small digital display, with a red indicator lamp for a lockout; the ecoMAX pro 18E/28E of 2003 to 2005 shows an "F" number too but from a table of its own, described under its model below. The older thermoCOMPACT /1 E and the turboMAX pro have no display at all, only indicator lights, so they show no code. Status codes are behind a deliberate step on every range, which is the simplest way to tell a status from a fault: a fault replaces the normal display with F.xx and stays there until it is reset, while a status appears only when you ask for it and the boiler carries on. To ask: on the ecoTEC plus, pro, ecoFIT pure, ecoFIT sustain and ecoTEC sustain, press the left and right selection buttons under the display at the same time (the operating instructions' "Calling up (Live monitor) status codes"); on the ecoTEC exclusive, Menu → Live monitor; on the CS/1-5, MENU → INFORMATION → Status code; on the 2005–2012 ecoTEC, the ecoMAX and the turboMAX plus, press the "i" button, and press it again or wait about four minutes to return to the temperature. S.00 to S.08 and S.10 to S.28 are the ordinary running sequence — no demand, fan pre-run, pump pre-run, ignition, burner on, overruns, anti-cycling — for heating and hot water in turn; the pages here cover the statuses that stop a boiler doing what you expected: S.08, S.30, S.31, S.34, S.40, S.53, S.76 and their neighbours.
How to reset a Vaillant
Each range quotes a different press, so use the line for yours rather than a general rule. ecoTEC plus and pro from 2012, ecoFIT pure and ecoFIT sustain: "Press the fault clearance key for one second. The product makes another attempt to ignite the flame. If you have been unable to eliminate the ignition fault after three fault clearance attempts, consult a competent person." ecoTEC exclusive: "Press the reset button for one second", with the same three-attempt limit. ecoTEC sustain: the on/off button doubles as the reset — a press under three seconds switches the boiler off or on, a press "for longer than three seconds" resets it. ecoTEC plus CS/1-5 (2022 onwards): "Press the reset button for longer than three seconds", maximum three repetitions, and F.028 there appears only after five failed ignition attempts rather than three. ecoMAX 600/800, turboMAX plus and thermoCOMPACT ../2 E: "Press the Reset button and hold for approx. 1 second", and "if the boiler still shuts off after a third attempt, then please consult your installer"; the ecoMAX allows five ignition attempts before F.28 or F.29. ecoMAX pro 18E/28E: "slide the On/Off control to the Off (O) position and after 5 seconds back to the On (I) position", with a manual reset button on the overheat thermostat itself for an F.5. Two cautions apply to all of them. A code that returns straight after a reset is reporting something real, and the F.28, F.29, F.27 and F.62 pages explain why forcing repeated attempts on a gas fault is the wrong response. And an earlier version of this page said the ecoTEC's factory reset sat on the reset button; it does not. On every range from the 2005 ecoTEC to the 2022 CS/1-5, restoring factory settings is diagnostic code D.96 or D.096 in the code-protected installer level, so no press of the reset button can do it. The real hold-time trap is narrower: on the ecoTEC sustain and the CS/1-5 the on/off button and the reset button are one button, told apart only by whether you hold it for more or less than three seconds, so a short press turns the boiler off rather than resetting it.
Most common Vaillant faults
The Vaillant codes people look up most.
- F.22Get it checkedThe boiler has shut down because there is not enough water in the system. Pressure has dropped below roughly 0.5 bar and it will not fire until you top it up.
- F.75Get it checkedThe boiler cannot detect a rise in pressure when the pump starts, so it has locked out. Usually a failed pressure sensor or a pump that is not moving water.
- F.28Stop — call an engineerThe boiler tried to light and failed every attempt it is allowed — three on an ecoTEC, five on the 2022 CS/1-5 — so it has shut the gas off and locked out.
- F.29Stop — call an engineerThe boiler lit correctly and then lost the flame while it was running. It has shut the gas off and locked out, and it needs an engineer.
Every Vaillant fault code
82 published codes. Filtering happens in the page — every one is in the HTML.
Showing 82 of 82 codes
Vaillant models
Codes can differ between generations. Check yours.
- ecoFIT pure and ecoFIT sustain2017+
- ecoMAX 600 and 800 series2000–2005
- ecoMAX pro 18E and 28E2003–2005
- ecoTEC exclusive and exclusive Green2016+
- ecoTEC plus ..6/5-5 and 48–64 kW2012–2022
- ecoTEC plus 612–837 and pro 24/282005–2012
- ecoTEC plus CS/1-5 (three-digit display)2022+
- ecoTEC pro ..6/5-32012–2022
- ecoTEC sustain2021+
- thermoCOMPACT 142–282 /1 E and turboMAX pro1996–2003
- turboMAX plus 824–837 E and thermoCOMPACT 615–637 ../2 E1999–2005
Guides that help with Vaillant faults
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