Dacor Freezer Flashing Error Codes: What the Site Lists and What to Do

Dacor freezer flashing error codes tend to appear at the worst moment: after a storm, a tripped breaker or a power cut, when the freezer is full and you are already worried about the food. The display flashes a number, an alarm may sound, and the first instinct is to search for the code. Two of the numbers people search for are 6 and 13, and this site does not list either of them, so this guide is honest about what is and is not known. It covers the signals this site does list for a column freezer, how to check the food, how to clear the alert, and which signs mean a technician should look at it.

What you see	What it probably means	What to do
A number not listed on this site, such as 6 or 13	Not confirmed here; the handbook or a technician identifies it	Note the number, check the temperature, read the handbook
PF with an alert tone	Power failure notification, informational	Press any button, then assess the food
HI with an alarm	The cabinet has warmed above its limit	Check the door and gasket, move food if it persists
F1, F3 or F4 on the display	Sensor, defrost or fan fault	Book a diagnosis
A code that returns after 24 hours	A fault, not a one-time event	Book a diagnosis

What Does a Flashing Code on a Dacor Freezer Mean?

It means the freezer has recorded something it wants you to see. The numbers 6 and 13 are not listed on this site, so we cannot tell you what they stand for, and we do not guess. The meaning for your model is in the handbook, and a model and serial number from the data plate will let a technician look it up.

What the site does list for the DRZ24 and DRZ30 column freezers is short, and it covers the signals that most often appear after an outage.

• PF — a power failure alert. The unit detected that supply was interrupted, and the code is informational.
• HI — a high temperature alarm when the cabinet has risen above a safe threshold.
• F1 — a cabinet temperature sensor failure, with the board receiving an invalid reading.
• F3 and F4 — a defrost system fault and an evaporator fan motor failure.

If your number is none of these, do not guess. Treat it as unknown, follow the steps below and let the handbook or a technician identify it.

What to Do, in Order

The same four steps apply whatever the number is, and they are in the order that protects food first and finds a fault second.

Is the Food Safe After a Power Outage?

It depends on how long the power was out and whether the door stayed shut. Our PF page says a fully loaded freezer holds safe temperatures for about 48 hours with the door closed, and a half-full freezer for about 24 hours. Use a thermometer rather than guessing: the page treats a cabinet at or below 0 degrees Fahrenheit as safe, and food that still has ice crystals on it with the cabinet below 15 degrees as safe to keep.

For the HI alarm, the page is stricter. It says to move frozen food to another freezer and not to eat food that has been above 15 degrees for more than two hours. Our temperature safety guide covers the danger zone for refrigerated food. When in doubt, throw it out.

Clearing the Alert

For PF, press any button on the control panel. The page says that silences the tone and dismisses the code, and that the freezer keeps cooling normally. If the panel does not respond, check whether it is locked: holding the lock button for three seconds unlocks it on models that have one.

1. Press a button to acknowledge the alert, and read any number that remains.
2. Check the breaker panel and the plug. A tripped breaker or a loosely seated cord can cause a brief outage without a neighborhood power cut.
3. Keep the door closed and avoid loading warm food while the cabinet recovers.
4. Note the time the alert appeared, the number and the cabinet temperature, so you can describe it later.

Do not unplug the freezer repeatedly to see if the flashing stops. A single power cycle is reasonable, and anything beyond that hides the pattern you need to describe.

Making the Next Outage Less Stressful

You cannot stop the grid failing, but you can make the first hour calmer. The PF page notes that the column freezers need a dedicated 15 amp or 20 amp circuit, and that sharing a circuit can cause nuisance trips, so an unexplained PF is worth an electrician's look before it is blamed on the freezer.

• Keep a freezer thermometer inside, so you do not have to guess at the temperature after an outage.
• Leave a note of the date and time the alert appeared, since a log of events shows whether they are outages or something else.
• Know where the breaker is and which one feeds the freezer, so you can check it in a minute.
• Keep the door closed during an outage, and fill spare space with containers of water or ice packs to hold the cold.

If the freezer sits on a circuit shared with other appliances, ask an electrician whether it can be moved to its own. That is an installation question, and it lies outside what a repair visit does.

When Should You Call About a Flashing Freezer?

Call when the code returns, when the cabinet does not recover, or when the display shows a fault code as well. The PF page lists three reasons to call: PF several times a week with no known outage, which points to an electrical problem, an outlet or cord that shows heat damage, and PF alongside another active code, which suggests the unit did not restart correctly. The HI page adds a cabinet that stays warm with no door, loading or gasket explanation, and a compressor that short-cycles.

• The code is back within 24 hours of being cleared.
• The cabinet is still warm hours after the door was kept shut.
• An F-series code appears next to the alert.
• The outlet or cord is hot, in which case do not plug the freezer back in until it has been inspected.

The freezer repair service covers sensors, fans and defrost faults, and our guide to Dacor refrigerator E codes covers the neighboring family. The final price is confirmed after diagnosis on site, with a written estimate before work begins. You can book a visit or send us the model, the number and what the freezer did.