A tub full of water or clothes still soaking usually means a clogged drain pump, a failed lid lock, or a shift actuator that never engaged the basket. Hard Bay Area water also silts up inlet screens and pressure hoses. We test drainage and spin separately, since the causes rarely overlap.
Grinding during spin points to worn tub bearings, a failing drive pulley, or debris caught between the inner and outer tub. A coin or underwire will grind for months before it cuts something. We open the cabinet, clear the obstruction, and check bearing play before quoting parts.
A washer that lights up but will not begin, or a panel that has gone dark entirely, usually points to the lid switch, the door latch, or the main control. Boards do fail, but far less often than they get replaced. We verify incoming power and every switch in that circuit before the board.
A dryer that tumbles cold is almost always a blown thermal fuse, an open heating element, or a weak igniter and coil set on gas models. Restricted venting causes most of those failures, so we clear the duct run and confirm airflow at the exit before we call the repair finished and hand it back.
Warm cabinets start with airflow, not electronics. Dust-packed condenser coils, a stalled evaporator fan, or a failed defrost heater account for the majority. When the board is genuinely at fault, temperatures read wrong rather than simply high, so we compare sensors against a calibrated probe.
F0E1 usually means items were left in the drum during a Clean Washer cycle, F5E1 points to a lid or door switch fault, and F8E1 or LF flags a water supply problem. Clear them with a five-minute power-down, and if the code returns, stop resetting and have the circuit tested.
AF reports restricted airflow, which means a lint-packed vent or crushed duct rather than a broken dryer, and it is also a fire risk worth acting on. PF simply logs a power interruption mid-cycle, so restart the load and only worry if it keeps reappearing.
Dishwasher faults cluster around communication between the panel and main board, fill and drain problems, and water temperature sensing. Range and cooktop codes cover element relays, stuck touch keys, and voltage faults, all of which lock out cooking until they are diagnosed properly.