--- title: "Dryer will not start" description: "Whirlpool dryer will not start — a Whirlpool dryer refuses to start for a short list of reasons, and it names most of them." url: "https://whirlpoolmiami.support/symptoms/dryer-will-not-start/" date_modified: "2026-09-06" Appliance type: "Dryers" --- # Whirlpool dryer will not start ### The three things that are not a repair Push the door closed until you hear it latch and try again — a door that looks shut and is not latched is what ERR reports. Look for a padlock symbol or a lit Control Lock on the panel; Whirlpool's Loc means the control lock is on and the dryer will not accept a cycle until it is cleared, usually by holding the marked button for three seconds. And if the display shows PF, the last cycle was interrupted by a power failure, which in this part of the world happens most afternoons in a wet season. Press Start again and it should carry on. ### What it usually means, by the kind of machine Whirlpool sells one appliance in several forms — a top-loader with an agitator and one without, a front-loader, a stacked pair, a laundry tower and an all-in-one; a vented dryer, a ventless one and a heat pump — and the same behavior points at different things on each of them. A top-load washer has no drain pump filter to open and a front-loader does, which is the whole first hour of the same complaint on two machines. - **Electric** — Nothing at all on the panel points at the outlet or the breaker rather than the dryer. A dead panel and a live outlet is a different job from a lit panel that will not start. - **Gas** — The control and the motor run on ordinary household power, so a gas dryer that will not start is an electrical question first and a gas question second. - **Stacked laundry center** — One control governs both halves on many of these, so a washer problem can leave the dryer half apparently dead. Say which half is affected when you book. ### The maker’s own order, and ours Whirlpool’s dryer table is unusually plain about what a refusal to start means. ERR is the door. Loc is the lock. PF is the power. Those three account for most of the calls that come in as a dead dryer, and none of them is a repair. We ask about all three on the phone before booking anything, because sending somebody to press a button that the owner could press is not a service, and because the call that is genuinely a latch or a motor deserves the slot. ### Summer storms and the PF code Between June and October the supply here flickers most weeks somewhere in the three counties, and appliances notice long before people do. A dryer interrupted mid-cycle stores a power failure report and waits. Most machines restart with one press. What is worth watching for is the machine that has been through several of those and then starts behaving differently — controls that survive the outage and stop weeks later are a pattern we see, and it is worth mentioning if the timing fits. The door latch or door switch The commonest single cause. The latch wears, the switch stops confirming, and the machine correctly refuses to turn a drum with an open door. Control lock left on Whirlpool's Loc. Free to clear, frequently the whole answer, and it usually arrives after somebody with small hands has been at the panel. No power, or half of it A dead panel is a supply question. Check the outlet with something else before assuming the dryer. The user interface F2 E4 is Whirlpool's report of a user interface problem — the touch panel rather than the main control. Buttons that respond to some presses and not others fit this. The drive motor or its control F7 E1 covers the motor, the control or the wiring between them. A hum with no rotation belongs here. Close the door hard and listen for the latch Not a push — a proper close. If it starts after that, the latch is worn and that is a small job. Look for a lock symbol It is small, it is often on the second row of the panel, and it is the reason for a fair share of these calls. Try the outlet with a lamp A dryer outlet that is dead settles the question before anybody prices a control board. Note whether the drum hums A hum without rotation is mechanical or motor. Complete silence is electrical. That is a genuinely useful thing to tell us on the phone. The panel lights up and nothing happens when you press Start What it usually means ERR on a Whirlpool dryer is the door, in the maker's own words Loc is the control lock — the panel works and refuses every button on purpose PF means the last cycle was interrupted by a power failure, which is a common summer story here The three things that are not a repair Push the door closed until you hear it latch and try again — a door that looks shut and is not latched is what ERR reports. Look for a padlock symbol or a lit Control Lock on the panel; Whirlpool's Loc means the control lock is on and the dryer will not accept a cycle until it is cleared, usually by holding the marked button for three seconds. And if the display shows PF, the last cycle was interrupted by a power failure, which in this part of the world happens most afternoons in a wet season. Press Start again and it should carry on. What it usually means, by the kind of machine Whirlpool sells one appliance in several forms — a top-loader with an agitator and one without, a front-loader, a stacked pair, a laundry tower and an all-in-one; a vented dryer, a ventless one and a heat pump — and the same behavior points at different things on each of them. A top-load washer has no drain pump filter to open and a front-loader does, which is the whole first hour of the same complaint on two machines. Electric — Nothing at all on the panel points at the outlet or the breaker rather than the dryer. A dead panel and a live outlet is a different job from a lit panel that will not start. Gas — The control and the motor run on ordinary household power, so a gas dryer that will not start is an electrical question first and a gas question second. Stacked laundry center — One control governs both halves on many of these, so a washer problem can leave the dryer half apparently dead. Say which half is affected when you book. The maker’s own order, and ours Whirlpool’s dryer table is unusually plain about what a refusal to start means. ERR is the door. Loc is the lock. PF is the power. Those three account for most of the calls that come in as a dead dryer, and none of them is a repair. We ask about all three on the phone before booking anything, because sending somebody to press a button that the owner could press is not a service, and because the call that is genuinely a latch or a motor deserves the slot. Summer storms and the PF code Between June and October the supply here flickers most weeks somewhere in the three counties, and appliances notice long before people do. A dryer interrupted mid-cycle stores a power failure report and waits. Most machines restart with one press. What is worth watching for is the machine that has been through several of those and then starts behaving differently — controls that survive the outage and stop weeks later are a pattern we see, and it is worth mentioning if the timing fits. ### The panel is completely dark. Then the question is power rather than the dryer. Check the outlet and the breaker first. If both are good and the panel stays dark, book it — a dead control on a live supply is a real repair. ### It starts and stops after a few seconds. That is a different problem from not starting, and it usually points at the door switch losing contact once the drum turns, or at the motor dropping out under load. Worth saying which it is when you book. --- **[Read full article: Dryer will not start](https://whirlpoolmiami.support/symptoms/dryer-will-not-start/)**