Bradford White Water Heater Codes: Every Blink Explained

Count the blinks after the pause

No light. The pilot is not lit, so the control has no power. Light the pilot by following the label on the heater.

One blink. Normal. On the White Rodgers control, one blink every four seconds means the pilot is lit and the burner is off, and one blink every second means it is heating.

Solid light. Not a fault. The knob was just turned to Off and the control is shutting down. Bradford White says to wait until the light goes out before relighting.

2 blinks. Low thermopile voltage, or on the ICON System, a weak pilot signal. Bradford White lists a failing thermopile, an unstable pilot, or a blocked pilot tube.

3 blinks, ICON System V1. Insufficient water heating. The temperature sensor is out of calibration or the control is faulty.

4 blinks. The tank got too hot and the control shut down on its temperature limit. Bradford White says excessive temperatures may have been reached, and to check the control is not heating past its setting.

5 blinks. On the ICON System V1, a temperature sensor fault. On the White Rodgers control, an electronics, sensor or gas valve fault, and the control may be wet or damaged. The ICON System V2 lists the same electronics, sensor or gas valve fault.

Know the three extra ICON codes

6 blinks: water leak detected. With an accessory leak module fitted, Bradford White says there is excessive water in the drain pan. Its checks are the relief valve, every water fitting, and a leak test of the tank: how to find where a water heater is leaking.

7 blinks: gas control electronic fault. Bradford White says the control needs resetting, or is wet or physically damaged. Reset it once, and replace it if it returns.

8 blinks: the pilot stays on with the knob at Off. The pilot valve is stuck open, and Bradford White’s answer is a new gas control.

What an owner can do, code by code

No light and no hot water. Relight the pilot following the label on your heater: why a water heater pilot will not stay lit.

2 blinks. Look at the pilot through the window. A small, lazy or yellow pilot that does not wrap the thermopile cannot make enough power. Bradford White’s fix is the thermopile or the pilot assembly, which is a part.

4 blinks. Knob to Off, wait five minutes, relight, and set the temperature lower: what temperature to set it to. If it trips again, the control is overheating the water and needs replacing.

Anything else that returns after one reset. A sensor or the control itself. On these heaters the gas control is usually replaced as a unit.