Samsung Washer SC Error Code: Meaning, Causes & Fix

Drain check error — the washer is having trouble draining (display variant of the 5C drain fault).

SC appears on Samsung displays that use letter-style codes; it is the same drain fault most models show as 5C (older ones 5E). The control ran the drain pump and the water level did not fall in time. The overwhelming majority of SC cases are a clogged pump filter, a blocked hose/standpipe, or a jammed pump — in that order.

What causes the SC code on a Samsung washer?

Clogged debris filter

The front-load pump filter collects lint and small objects until drain flow stops.

Drain hose or standpipe blockage

Kinks, lint plugs, or a hose pushed too deep into the standpipe.

Jammed or failed drain pump

Coins and wires stall the impeller; worn pumps stop altogether.

Drain hose outlet fitted outside Samsung's height range

Samsung's front-load guidance puts the drain outlet 60-90 cm above the floor where the hose goes over a wash-basin edge, and about 65 cm for a vertical drain pipe, using the supplied hose guide to hold the bend. Fitted higher, the pump works against too much head and a full tub times out; fitted lower, Samsung warns the drain hose height being wrong can cause a siphon phenomenon and reverse flow, so water the machine has pumped out is drawn or pushed back again.

Blanking cap left in the sink spigot

Where the drain hose connects to a spigot under the sink, Samsung's 5C guide adds a check owners rarely know: make sure the blanking cap has been removed from the spigot. A new sink, new waste fitting, or newly installed washer can leave that cap sealing the spigot, so the pump runs against a dead end and SC appears on the very first washes even though the filter, hose, and pump are all healthy.

Frozen drain hose in cold weather

Samsung's troubleshooting pages list a frozen drain hose alongside kinked and clogged ones, and explain that in winter the water remaining in the hose can freeze and block it. A washer in an unheated utility room, garage, or against a cold outside wall can show SC on the first morning cycle and drain normally later in the day once the hose has thawed - that temperature pattern is the tell.

Checks to run before you replace anything

1. Drain the tub through the emergency tube and clean the pump filter behind the lower front panel.
2. Check the drain hose run and standpipe entry.
3. Listen for the pump during a drain: buzzing = jammed or failing; working sound + no flow = blockage further along.
4. Measure the drain outlet against Samsung's figures: 60-90 cm above the floor over a basin edge, a vertical drain pipe of about 65 cm, the hose held in its supplied guide, and - where a standpipe is used - a pipe of at least 5 cm diameter with proper drainage capacity.
5. Follow the hose to its sink connection and confirm the spigot blanking cap has been removed and the hose is securely attached; a cap left in place blocks the outlet completely while looking finished from outside.
6. If a hot wash has just run, follow Samsung's safety step before opening the filter: wait approximately one hour for the water to cool, then unplug the machine and drain through the emergency tube as usual.
7. Work out when the debris filter was last cleaned: Samsung advises cleaning it 5 or 6 times a year to prevent clogging, so an SC fault on a filter of unknown age should be treated as an overdue-clean fault until proven otherwise.

How to fix samsung washer sc error code?

1. Clean the filter and remove any object from the pump housing (unplug first).
2. Clear the hose/standpipe path.
3. Meter the pump; replace it if open-circuit or stripped.
4. Confirm with an empty Drain+Spin before washing again.
5. Refit the drain hose at the correct height with the hose guide holding the bend, and secure it so vibration cannot walk it out of position; retest with a drain and spin before washing a load.
6. Remove the blanking cap from the sink spigot if one is still fitted, clear the spigot opening, and refit the hose firmly before retesting.
7. Thaw a frozen hose the way Samsung describes: pour hot water into the washing machine and drain the water out, repeating if necessary until the ice in the hose melts, then run a drain test - and insulate or reroute the hose if the spot freezes regularly.

The part that usually fails: Drain pump

Fails by jamming or open winding; test for continuity across its terminals with the machine unplugged.

Samsung washer error code sc reset

Power-cycle after clearing the drain path; SC clears once a normal drain is detected.

On Samsung washers most fault codes clear with a power reset: switch the machine off, unplug it (or trip the breaker) for at least 5 minutes so the control board fully discharges, then restore power and run a short Rinse+Spin or a small test load. If the code was caused by a one-off condition — a kinked hose, an unbalanced load, a suds spike — it will not come back. If it returns on the next cycle, the control has detected the same fault again and the reset has only cleared the message, not the cause. Samsung does not use a button-combination 'master reset' on most models; the power cycle is the reset.

Why does the SC code keep coming back?

Returning SC with a clean filter points to the tub-to-pump hose, a silting standpipe, or a weakening pump that only stalls under full water load.

How to stop SC coming back

• Clogged debris filter: The front-load pump filter collects lint and small objects until drain flow stops.
• Drain hose or standpipe blockage: Kinks, lint plugs, or a hose pushed too deep into the standpipe.
• Jammed or failed drain pump: Coins and wires stall the impeller; worn pumps stop altogether.

Retrieving stored fault codes on Samsung washers

Most Samsung washers store recent fault codes that a technician can read in the service/diagnostic mode. Entry varies by model family: on many front-loaders you press and hold Delay End and Pre Soak (or Temp and Spin, on older models) together for about 3 seconds until the display lights all segments; on top-loaders a similar two-button hold (often Delay End + Pre Soak) is used. Once inside, the cycle knob steps through stored codes and component tests (fill, drain, motor, heater). Because the button pair differs between model years, confirm the pair for your exact model in the tech sheet fixed inside the machine or in the user manual before relying on a code you read there.

Other Samsung washer error codes

See the full list on the Samsung Washer error codes hub.

Codes SC gets confused with

5C — Drain error — the washer is not draining water out of the tub. 5C (shown as 5E on older Samsung displays, and as SC in some character sets) means the control ran the drain pump but the water level did not fall as expected.

ND — No Drain — the washer is not draining (top-load display convention). ND is the drain fault as shown on Samsung top-load washers (front-loaders show the same problem as 5C/SC).

SE — Drain/sensor error on older displays — on Samsung washers SE is the 5E drain fault as rendered on a 7-segment display. Samsung's 7-segment displays cannot show a '5' and an 'E' distinctly in the way owners expect: the drain fault code 5E is widely read — and shown in Samsung's own material for some models — as SE.

4C — Water supply error — the washer is not filling with water (or is filling too slowly). 4C is Samsung's water-supply fault code (shown as 4E on older models).

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

Facts on this page were checked against manufacturer documentation: www.samsung.com · www.samsung.com · www.samsung.com · www.samsung.com