Bosch [E17] fault codewhat it means and how to fix it

Bosch use E17 when the machine asked for water and did not get it. BSH’s Bosch-branded article calls it "problems with the water connection" and lists five causes with a remedy each: the tap is turned off (turn it on); the inlet hose is kinked or jammed (check how it is routed); the filter in the water inflow is blocked (clean it); the water pressure is low (check the tap has enough); and the water level measuring system is defective — for which they add that the appliance starts a draining process, and you should wait about five minutes for it to finish, restart, and call service if the fault comes back.

Neff word the same code as "water supply time exceeded — open the tap", which is the mechanism in four words. Bosch’s US error index groups E17, F17 and F29 together as the filters in the water connection or AquaStop hose being blocked or the pressure being too low, and it is that page which supplies the concrete pressure figure: roughly ten litres a minute from a fully open tap.

Bosch’s instruction manual is slightly more forgiving — at least 8 litres a minute, and a supply between 1 and 10 bar. The AquaStop point is worth dwelling on because it is particular to this manufacturer. Many Bosch machines are supplied with an AquaStop inlet hose, which is not a plain rubber pipe but a hose with an electrically operated valve built into the connector at the tap end, there to shut the water off if the hose fails. It has a filter at that end, and Bosch warn in every document that the valve must not be immersed in water. Owners who know to clean the little gauze screen where the hose meets the machine often do not know there is anything at the tap end at all — and on AquaStop models there is no gauze at the machine end to clean, because the hose is permanently fitted there.

1. 1

   Check the tap is fully open — all the way off and all the way on again, rather than trusting how it looks. Then look along the inlet hose for a kink or a squashed section.

2. 2

   If the machine has started pumping out on its own, let it. BSH say the draining process takes about five minutes; when it ends, switch off and on and try again. If E17 comes straight back after that, the fault is in the level sensing and it is a service call.

3. 3

   To clean the filters, Bosch first have you relieve the pressure in the hose: turn the tap off, select any programme other than Rinse, Spin or Empty, start it, let it run about 40 seconds, switch off and pull out the plug. Then take the hose off the tap and clean the filter in it with a small brush.

   Bosch’s own warning: the AquaStop safety device contains an electric valve — do not immerse it in water. Have a bucket ready; the hose is full.
4. 4

   On standard and AquaSecure models (a plain nut at the machine end), also take the hose off the back of the machine, pull the filter out with pliers, clean it and refit it. On AquaStop models the hose is permanently fitted to the machine, so there is nothing to do at that end.

5. 5

   Test the flow while the hose is off the tap. Time a two-litre jug from the fully open tap: Bosch are looking for about 10 litres a minute (8 at minimum), so anything over about twelve to fifteen seconds a jug is marginal, and they say to call a plumber if the pressure is too low.

6. 6

   Reconnect the hose by hand and check for leaks with the tap on. Bosch’s manual says the screw connections are hand-tight only — tools damage the thread.