Stoves [ER03] fault codewhat it means and how to fix it

ER03 is one of only two genuine fault codes on the current Stoves induction table, and it is the one most owners will ever see. Stoves publish it as an obstruction indicator, and the detail that matters is that it does not arrive silently: their wording is that it is accompanied by a tone sounding, and the older 2022 manual describes the same condition as ER03 and continuous tone. If your hob is making a noise it will not stop making and showing a code at the same time, this is almost certainly what you are looking at. The tone is not an alarm about the appliance. It is the hob telling you it cannot read its own controls.

Stoves’ stated cause is that there is something covering the touch controls, such as a pan or a tea towel, or simply water, grease or fingerprints. The 2022 manual puts the same thing more bluntly as water or pans on the glass above the user controls, with the remedy given as cleaning any water on the surface above the user controls and display. Their published remedy on the current guides is to remove any objects and clean the area before trying to use the hob again, and then — this is the part people miss, and it is in the touch-control guide because rotary models have no touch keys — not to touch any of the hob touch control keys for more than 10 seconds. The rotary guide words the same code as something covering the display area.

A finger resting on a key, a wet cloth left across the front edge, or a pan slid too far forward will all reproduce it. It is worth knowing how unusual it is for a Stoves display to be showing a fault at all. The current published table lists exactly two codes, ER03 and E2. Everything else on that table — A for automatic heat-up, P for power boost, H for residual heat, the padlock, the missing or unsuitable pan symbol, melting, keep warm, rapid simmer, pause and the clock — is published as a symbol describing a function that is running, not a fault. So if you are looking at your hob display trying to work out what has gone wrong, the odds are strongly that nothing has, and that you are reading a feature indicator. ER03 with its tone is the exception, and even then the fix is usually a cloth.

1. 1

   Take everything off the glass in front of the zones, including pans that have been slid forward and any cloth or utensil resting across the control strip.

2. 2

   Wipe the control area dry. Water is the cause Stoves list twice, and the surface has to be dry rather than just wiped.

3. 3

   Clean off grease and fingerprints with the hob cleaner recommended for ceramic glass, then dry the area again.

4. 4

   Try the hob again, keeping each touch shorter than 10 seconds. Stoves publish that specific limit in the touch-control guide — do not touch any hob touch control key for more than 10 seconds. On a rotary model there are no touch keys and the instruction does not arise.

5. 5

   If the code and tone come back on a clean, dry, empty hob, use Stoves’ catch-all: switch the appliance off at the wall for a few minutes to let the electronics reset.

   If the cooling fan is still running after cooking, let it stop before you isolate at the wall. Stoves publish that instruction explicitly.
6. 6

   If the code reappears when the power is restored, contact Stoves customer care on 0344 815 3740. That is their published escalation and there is no further owner-level step.