Kelvinator Air Conditioner Symbols and What They Mean

Kelvinator air conditioner symbols are simple once you know the few that matter. Kelvinator does something most brands do not. Instead of a row of coloured lights, the indoor unit has a small digital display, and it uses that display to tell you things in two letter codes. FP, FC, EC, D1. None of them are explained anywhere on the unit.

Three of those codes are not faults at all. One of them means your electricity provider is throttling the unit. This page sets out every Kelvinator symbol and code in plain language, taken from Kelvinator owner manuals rather than from guesswork.

Kelvinator air conditioner symbols at a glance

Kelvinator splits and window wall units use different controls, and a few things differ between them, so both are covered. If your system is a different brand, our general guide to air conditioner symbols covers the ones every manufacturer shares.

The three codes that are not faults

The modes and the temperature range

Kelvinator splits set between 17 and 30 degrees in one degree steps. Window wall units go a degree lower, from 16 to 30. That one degree difference catches people who have both in the same house.

Dry mode locks the fan speed. Kelvinator states that in the dehumidifying mode you cannot adjust the fan speed because it has already been automatically controlled. That is by design rather than a fault.

Fan mode changes what the unit display shows. Instead of a set temperature it shows the room temperature, which is a useful way to check what the unit thinks the room is doing.

The buttons worth knowing about

The filter reminder that only some Kelvinators have

This is a real split between the two ranges and it is worth being precise about.

On a Kelvinator split there is no filter reminder at all. No indicator, no reset. Kelvinator gives a schedule instead. Clean the filters every three months, or as required.

On the window wall range it exists. The filter LED lights up after 250 hours of operation to remind the customer to clean the filter, and it is reset with the filter button next to the LED.

Note that this applies to specific window wall models rather than the whole range, so check your own manual before waiting for a light that may never come.

What does the padlock mean on a Kelvinator remote?

The padlock is the keypad lock, and the combination differs by range.

• Splits. Press the Turbo and Clean buttons together. On current models Kelvinator says to hold them for more than five seconds to lock the keypad and about two seconds to unlock it.
• Window wall. Press the plus and minus buttons together to lock or unlock the keypad, on the models that document it.

A Kelvinator remote that has suddenly stopped responding is far more often locked than broken, and this is the first thing to rule out.

Running a Kelvinator without the remote

There is a manual control switch on a Kelvinator split, and you get to it by opening the front panel until it locks. Kelvinator notes there is a click when the mechanism engages.

• One press. Forced auto operation.
• Two presses within five seconds. Forced cooling, shown as FC on the display.

Forced cooling is not something to leave running. Kelvinator documents that after about 30 minutes it switches to auto mode by itself.

How to reset a Kelvinator air conditioner

Kelvinator publishes a specific sequence, and the first step is the one people skip.

1. Wait about ten minutes. Kelvinator states the fault may be removed automatically.
2. If it has not cleared, switch the power supply to the air conditioner off and on.
3. Give it three minutes. The protection circuit blocks the compressor for about three minutes after a sudden off and on.
4. Check the code on the display. If it is D1, D2, D3, FP or FC, there is nothing to reset.

On window wall units Kelvinator gives a different instruction. When power is restored, reconnect the power, switch on and wait three minutes to restart, to prevent tripping the compressor overload.

Kelvinator error codes and what is published

Kelvinator publishes two codes with meanings and lists several code families without defining them, so here is the honest position.

EC means refrigerant leakage has been detected. That is a real fault and it needs a technician. A system low on refrigerant will cool weakly and eventually not at all.

H1 appears on some window wall units and is not a fault. Kelvinator describes it as the ambient temperature being very cold, with the unit going into defrost mode for a few minutes to melt the ice before continuing normal operation.

The E, P and F code families are listed in the manual as codes the display can show, but Kelvinator does not publish what each one means. Its instruction is to contact the authorised service centre. Kelvinator confirms the general principle on its own troubleshooter page, describing a fault reporting system that displays codes advising the condition of the unit, and directing owners to report the fault.

For that reason this page does not print a Kelvinator E, P or F code table. Write down exactly what the display shows and quote it when you call.

Kelvinator behaviour that looks like a fault and is not

• Operation delayed after restart. The compressor will not operate while the protection circuit is working, for about three minutes after a sudden off and on.
• Heating stops suddenly and the defrost light blinks. The unit temporarily stops for a maximum of 10 minutes to perform automatic defrosting.
• The fan builds up slowly in heating. Fan speed changes from off, to very slow, then normal, which Kelvinator says prevents cold air blowing onto occupants when heating starts.
• Mist coming out in cooling. Condensation formed by the sudden cooling process.
• The operation indicator flashes at power up. Documented behaviour when power is first applied.
• The fan runs on briefly after heating. On window wall units there may be a delay of around 30 seconds before the fan motor stops.

Which Kelvinator symbols point at a real fault?

• EC. Refrigerant leakage, which is the one code Kelvinator names as a fault.
• An E, P or F code that survives the ten minute wait and a power cycle.
• The correct mode is set, the filter is clean, and the room will not change temperature after the three minute delay has passed.
• Water appearing on the wall below the indoor unit.
• The breaker tripping every time you restore power.

Everything else on this page is a setting, a designed delay, or your power provider doing something you cannot change.

What the digital display on the indoor unit is telling you

Kelvinator splits do not use a row of coloured lamps the way most brands do. The indoor unit carries a small digital display, and it is doing several jobs at once.

• The set temperature while the air conditioner is operating.
• The room temperature when the unit is in fan mode.
• Self diagnostic codes when something needs reporting.
• A symbol for three seconds when timer on, swing, turbo or quiet is activated, and a different symbol for three seconds when timer off is set.
• A defrost symbol during defrosting.
• An anti cold air symbol when that feature is active in heating.
• A self clean symbol during a self clean cycle.

That three second behaviour explains a common confusion. A symbol appears, you look up, and by the time you focus on it the display has gone back to showing the temperature. Nothing is glitching. It was only ever going to show for three seconds.

Window wall units use a different arrangement again, with green indicator lights next to the mode, fan speed, swing and sleep selections on the control panel.

Getting your Kelvinator back to doing its job

Most of what a Kelvinator shows you is either a setting or an instruction from somewhere else. FP is a heating mode. FC is somebody pressing a switch twice. D1 is the electricity network. Only EC and the undefined code families describe a problem inside the unit.

Read the chart at the top, give it ten minutes, then a power cycle, then three more minutes. Worth knowing too is how often you should service your air conditioner, because on a Kelvinator split nothing will ever remind you about the filter.

When the code survives all of that, or the display reads EC, that is the point where guessing costs more than asking. We send a licensed technician who works on split, multi head and ducted systems across Melbourne, and the price is confirmed before any work starts.

Most of the faults behind these symbols are prevented rather than repaired, and our guide on how often to service a split system sets out a sensible schedule.

Kelvinator asks owners to phone rather than decode. If you would rather have someone look at it, our air conditioner service in Melbourne covers it and you can request a quote first.