

Manitowoc E12: water curtain open or off for too long
A Manitowoc head stops when falling ice holds the water curtain or ice damper open, and restarts when it swings shut.
Mon–Sat, 8am–8pm
- Sensors and bin control
- Ice machine bin control repair
- Source: Manitowoc
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or call (844) 410-9163
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What E12
actually means.
A Manitowoc head stops when falling ice holds the water curtain or ice damper open, and restarts when it swings shut. If the switch reads open for 24 hours on G-board heads (12 hours on E-board heads), the board assumes the curtain is off, stuck or its magnet or switch has failed, and logs E12.
Manitowoc ice machine display
What to do when E12 shows on the ice machineKind of codeSensors and bin control
A sensor is telling the board something that is not true: a bin control that reads full on an empty bin, or empty while ice spills over the top, a curtain switch stuck open, a temperature sensor out of range, or an eye on a dispenser that no longer sees the cup. Scale and slime on a probe or an ultrasonic sensor cause much of it. Clearing ice piled against the bin control is a safe first step; testing and replacing a sensor is a technician's.
Usually leads toIce machine bin control repair
The thermostat bulb, paddle, curtain switch or electronic eye that senses a full bin, adjusted or replaced so the machine stops and restarts on time.
Shows up asIce Machine Error Code or Flashing Light: What It Is Telling You
An ice machine error code may show as a number on a small display, a pattern of blinking lights on the control board, a colored light on the front, or a machine that stops with one indicator flashing.
MakeManitowoc
With a Manitowoc ice machine, the technician notes what the controls report and checks the bin control before opening the cycle for testing.
SourceManitowoc Indigo Series air, water and remote condenser ice machines technician's handbook (Part Number 000014794)
E-board heads log it after 12 hours and G-board heads after 24 hours (firmware 4.017 and later).
Before you book,
in this order.
Each step comes from Manitowoc's own guidance for E12 on its ice machines. Follow it to the end: the last card says whether this is a visit.
Check whether the bin really is full up to the curtain; if so, E12 may simply reflect low ice use.
Lift out any ice holding the curtain or damper open and make sure the curtain hangs in place and swings freely.
If the curtain is free and the head still will not start, book a visit to test the curtain switch.
Still there?
It usually turns into ice machine bin control repair. Book with the code and the model number.
What not to do
E12 does not mean the ice falls slowly; that is E02. A full bin by itself is normal and does not become E12 until the time limit passes.
What you may
notice with it.
The ice machine problems E12 tends to arrive with. Answer these at the ice machine before anyone is booked.
All problemsWhere E12 usually leads
Ice machine bin control repair.
Manitowoc
ice machines.
With a Manitowoc ice machine, the technician notes what the controls report and checks the bin control before opening the cycle for testing.
Manitowoc ice machine repairMore Manitowoc codes
All 15 Manitowoc codesSensors and bin control on other makes
Modular ice machine
An ice-making head set on top of a separate storage bin or drink dispenser, cooled by air, water or a condenser on the roof, turning out hundreds of pounds of cubes a day.
Undercounter ice machine
A self-contained ice machine that makes and stores its own ice under a bar, a service counter or a kitchen island, from commercial units to clear-ice models in large homes.
Nugget ice machine
An ice machine that freezes a thin layer inside a chilled cylinder and pushes it out with an auger as soft, chewable nuggets, for clinics, offices, hotels and large homes.
In Manitowoc's own words
The ice machine is set to ice making and remains in bin full condition for more than 24 hours.
Every code on this site is taken from the manufacturer's documentation, never from a forum or a parts listing. E-board heads log it after 12 hours and G-board heads after 24 hours (firmware 4.017 and later).
Manitowoc E12 ice machine repair,
where we come out.
The same visit in every metro below: the code, the model number, and a diagnosis before any part is ordered.
All service areasTampa BayFL · 31 areas
Miami / South FloridaFL · 47 areas
New York MetroNY · 75 areas
HoustonTX · 36 areas
ChicagoIL · 50 areas
Los AngelesCA · 95 areas
San DiegoCA · 31 areas
Questions
about E12.
Can I clear E12 myself?
Why is my Manitowoc logging E12 after a slow weekend?
Can a missing water curtain cause E12 on a Manitowoc?
Does E12 mean the curtain switch has failed?
Back to your everyday
Still showing E12?
A booking with a code goes further when it carries the light or code copied as it appeared, the model and serial off the data plate, and a word on whether cubes still fall into the bin. With those three in hand, our office can match the probable part to your machine the same afternoon.