Baumatic E3 fault codewhat it means and how to fix it
Cannot drain. Baumatic name the siphon specifically, which points at the plumbing under your sink rather than the machine.
Take care
What E3 means
The main thing to understand about E3 is the money, because the manuals Baumatic wrote before the Candy takeover put a warning in print that most manufacturers leave unsaid: if an engineer is asked to attend while the product is under guarantee and finds the problem is not the result of an appliance fault, you may be liable for the cost of the call-out charge. The Candy-era manuals that carry the E3 code do not repeat it, but the principle has not gone anywhere, and it matters more on this fault than on any other in the table because of the wording of the remedy itself.
The three named checks are the drain hose, the siphon and the filters — and none of the three is a part of the dishwasher that has failed. The siphon is the trap under your sink, which belongs to your plumbing rather than to the appliance. The other two are maintenance items. So the manual has quietly told you that the typical E3 is not a repair at all, and an engineer who arrives to find a filter full of food is entitled to charge you for the visit. That is an argument for spending twenty minutes on it yourself first.
Two scope notes. On the Candy-built machines without a display there is no E3 to read; the current manuals say every light flashes three times, pauses five seconds and repeats. And on the pre-2014 Baumatic-built machines E3 is not a drain code at all — the BDF665W manual gives it as a longer heating time, not reaching the required temperature, with the instruction to call Baumatic. Those machines signal a slow drain differently: E1 on the BDF665W, the economy wash neon flashing on the BDI632.
What causes it
| Cause | What is actually happening | How likely |
|---|---|---|
| Filters clogged | Named in Baumatic’s remedy. The most common cause on a machine that has been in service a while, and free to fix. | Common |
| Siphon or sink trap clogged | Baumatic name the siphon specifically. A greasy trap shared with the kitchen sink stops the dishwasher while nothing in the machine has failed. | Common |
| Drain hose bent or blocked | Baumatic’s first named check. Usually crushed behind the machine or silted where it joins the waste. | Common |
| Drain pump obstructed or failed | Debris jamming the impeller, or a pump that has genuinely stopped. What remains once the free causes are eliminated. | Occasional |
What to try yourself
Switch the machine off at the wall before reaching inside the cabinet.
Bail out the standing water with a jug, finishing with a sponge, until you can see the base of the tub.
Give it time to cool if the programme stopped part way through. Water in a dishwasher mid-cycle scalds.Remove the filter unit by turning its handle anticlockwise, as the manual describes. Lift out the central container, take the flat gauze filter out too, and wash the whole unit under a jet of water, using a small brush on anything greasy rather than rinsing it whole.
Check the siphon — the trap under your kitchen sink. Undo it into a bucket if you can and clear any grease. The manual names this for a reason.
Pull the machine forward and check the drain hose along its whole length for bends and crushing. The manual wants the standpipe at least 40 cm above the floor and, if the hose has been extended, the run kept no higher than 85 cm.
Refit the gauze flat in the bottom of the tub and screw the filter back in clockwise until it seats — the manual warns that a poorly seated filter affects the machine’s efficiency and that it must never run without the filters. Restore power and run a short programme to confirm it empties.
Get a qualified appliance engineer to look at your Baumatic E3
We do not pass enquiries to a repair firm, so there is no form here. When you book a qualified appliance engineer, tell them the make, the model and the exact code or message on the display, and ask whether they carry parts for this make — that is what turns one visit into a repair rather than a quote.
What it costs to fix
Typical repair cost
£0–£170
Time on site
45 minutes
Free if it is a filter, a hose or the sink trap. A replacement drain pump is typically £90 to £160 fitted.
Typical UK prices including parts and labour, updated September 2026. Your quote may differ.
Own this appliance and had this code? . Nothing is published until a person has read it.
Related Baumatic fault codes
- E2Get it checkedNo water reaching the machine. Baumatic’s Candy-built models word it three ways across editions — kinked hose, closed hose, "does not fill" — and the checks are the same.Related: same brand
- E4Stop — call an engineerWater leak. Baumatic’s published fix for this code is to check the drain hose — but the instruction they should have given is elsewhere in the same manual.Related: same brand
- E8Get it checkedHeating fault — or blocked filters. Baumatic give two quite different causes for one code, and one of them is free.Related: same brand
- E5Get it checkedA control electronics fault on the Candy-era machines. On a Baumatic built before 2014 the same E6 and E7 are thermistor faults, which is a far smaller bill.Related: same brand
Own a Baumatic dishwasher? Save it and its codes come first next time.
Related guides
Common questions about Baumatic E3
Will Baumatic charge me if it turns out not to be the machine?
The manuals Baumatic wrote for the pre-2014 machines warn that they might: if an engineer attends while the product is under guarantee and finds the problem is not the result of an appliance fault, you may be liable for the call-out charge. The Candy-era manuals leave it unsaid. Since all three of the named checks are things an owner can do, working through them first is the cheapest hour you will spend on this.
What does the manual mean by the siphon?
Its word for the trap under your kitchen sink. It is part of your plumbing rather than part of the dishwasher, which is precisely why it falls outside the guarantee.
My machine has no display. What am I looking for?
On the Candy-built machines, three flashes of every light, a five-second pause, then three flashes again — the current manuals say the number of flashes is the error number. On the pre-2014 BDI632 it is the economy wash neon flashing on its own, which Baumatic word as a longer or extended drain time. The 2016-era no-display manuals for the BDIF613 and BDID615 publish no drain signal at all, only the ordinary checklist: outlet hose kinked, extension not connected, outlet too low — lift it to at least 40 cm above floor level.
I have an older Baumatic and E3 came up. Is this right?
Check the model. On the pre-2014 Baumatic-built BDF665W, E3 means a longer heating time — the machine is not reaching the required temperature — and the manual says to call Baumatic; there is nothing to clean. Only the Candy-built machines use E3 for draining.
Technical review
Not reviewed by an engineer
No engineer has read this page. Severity follows what the manufacturer publishes, and we would rather tell you that than let a byline imply a sign-off.
Sources and how we verified this
We establish the facts from the sources below and then write the explanation ourselves. We do not copy manufacturer wording and we do not host their manuals.
- Manufacturer technical and service documentation
This page has not been reviewed by an engineer, and we would rather tell you that than imply otherwise. The severity rating follows what the manufacturer publishes: where they say isolate the appliance and call someone, so do we.