LG Washer OE Error? 6 Fixes When It Will Not Drain

The cycle stops, the drum is full of water and the LG display says OE. That is the drain code: the machine pumped for its allowed time (about ten minutes) and the water did not leave. On LG front loaders the cause is almost always something you can reach through the small door at the bottom front. This guide takes you there first and works outwards.

Listen when you restart a Spin cycle. A pump that hums or buzzes is running and blocked, so start with the filter and hose. A pump that makes no sound at all is dead or disconnected, which is cause 5.

Start With These 30-Second Checks

1. 1Look at the drain hose behind the machine. If it is squashed against the wall, kinked, or has fallen out of its standpipe onto the floor, that is the whole problem.
2. 2Look in the drum for foam. A thick layer of suds slows the pump; too much detergent is a very common OE trigger on high-efficiency LG models.
3. 3Check whether a sock or a bra wire is visible at the bottom of the door seal; small items go from there straight into the pump.
4. 4Press Power off, then start a Rinse and Spin. If it drains now, it was a one-off timeout and you can carry on watching for a repeat.

1. Clear the Drain Pump Filter

Behind the small square door at the bottom front is a round cap. Behind that is the pump filter, and it catches coins, hair grips, sock fluff and hair. LG says to clean it monthly; most people never do, and it clogs.

1. 1Unplug the washer.
2. 2Open the small door at the bottom front. Pull the thin drain hose out of its clip, remove its plug over a shallow tray and let the water run out. Replug it and clip it back.
3. 3Lay a towel down and turn the round filter cap counter-clockwise until it comes out. Some water follows.
4. 4Pull out fluff, coins and hair, rinse the filter under the tap and clear the housing with a finger.
5. 5Reach into the housing and turn the pump impeller with a finger; it should spin freely with a slight resistance. If it is jammed, clear whatever is around it (usually a hair grip or a bra wire).
6. 6Screw the cap back in clockwise until it stops firmly; a loose cap leaks on the next cycle. Close the door, plug in and run Rinse and Spin.

2. Fix the Drain Hose Position and Kinks

The pump can only lift water so high and so far. LG wants the hose outlet between about 29 and 96 inches off the floor, with no more than about 6 inches of hose inside the standpipe. Get either wrong and you get OE, or a machine that keeps refilling itself.

1. 1Unplug the washer before you pull it out from the wall.
2. 2Follow the hose from the machine to the standpipe or sink trap and straighten every kink.
3. 3Measure the outlet height. Below 29 inches the drum siphons empty; above 96 inches the pump gives up. Adjust with the hook that came with the machine.
4. 4Pull the hose back so no more than 6 inches sits inside the standpipe, and make sure it is not pushed into standing water at the bottom.
5. 5Disconnect the hose at the machine end over a bucket and check it for a blockage by blowing through or running water from a jug down it.

3. Too Much Detergent

High-efficiency LG machines use very little water. Regular detergent, or too much HE detergent, makes foam that the pump cannot move, and the machine stalls with OE or with a suds warning first.

1. 1Run an empty Rinse and Spin with nothing added. If there is still foam in the drum afterwards, run a second one with a tablespoon of vegetable oil, which breaks the foam.
2. 2Check the detergent: it must carry the HE logo, and for a normal load two tablespoons of liquid is plenty.
3. 3Clean the detergent drawer; a slimy drawer dumps old detergent into the drum on the next cycle.
4. 4Run a Tub Clean cycle monthly with the LG tub cleaner or a cup of vinegar to keep residue down.

4. A Blocked Standpipe or Sink Trap

If water backs up out of the standpipe or the sink gurgles when the washer drains, the blockage is in the house plumbing, not the machine, and OE is the messenger.

1. 1Unplug the washer and pull the drain hose out of the standpipe over a bucket.
2. 2Pour a jug of water into the standpipe. If it backs up or drains slowly, the trap below is blocked.
3. 3Clear it with a drain snake or by unscrewing the trap over a bucket and rinsing it; the general version of that job is in washer not draining.
4. 4Refit the hose no more than 6 inches into the standpipe and run a Rinse and Spin.

5. A Drain Pump That Does Not Run

If the impeller turns freely, the hose is fine and the machine is silent when it should drain, the pump motor or its wiring has failed. The pump is a $40 to $70 part and sits right behind the filter housing, so on most LG models it is a realistic home repair.

1. 1Unplug the washer and drain it through the small hose before you go further.
2. 2Remove the lower front panel (screws along the bottom edge, then the panel tilts out) to expose the pump behind the filter housing.
3. 3Unplug the pump connector and test the motor with a multimeter on ohms. A reading of roughly 10 to 20 ohms is a live winding; open circuit means the pump is dead.
4. 4Unclip the hoses from the pump over a tray, undo its screws, fit the new pump and reconnect everything in the same order, taking a photo first.
5. 5Refit the panel, plug in and run a Rinse and Spin with a towel under the filter door, watching for leaks.

6. When to Call a Pro

Book a technician when the new pump runs and the drum still will not empty (a blocked internal hose between drum and pump, which means the machine comes apart), when OE shows together with other codes, or when the machine also leaks from underneath.

1. 1OE and a burning smell: unplug it and do not run it again until it is looked at.
2. 2The pump tests fine but never gets power: a board or wiring fault.
3. 3OE only when the drum is very heavy, with a rattling noise during spin: the drum bearing may be going, and the drain is a symptom.
4. 4A machine over 10 years old needing a pump and a bearing: replacement usually costs less than the two repairs.