Traeger Error Codes: LEr, HEr, ER02, ER07 and How to Fix Them

LEr and ER02 mean the fire went out or got too small, HEr and ER01 mean it got too hot, and almost every other Traeger code means the controller lost touch with a part. Start every one the same way: switch off, unplug for 30 seconds, restart, and if the code comes back, check the pellets and vacuum the fire pot before you reach for a screwdriver.

The meanings and fixes below come from Traeger’s own support article for each code, with notes on which fix to try first. More fixes and explainers live in the basics section. If your grill has a three-digit orange display and a dial, it’s a non-WiFIRE model and the first group of codes applies. A Wi-Fi controller (Pro, Ironwood, Timberline, Woodridge, Westwood) uses the second group, on the display and in the app.

Quick lookup table

Code	Controller	What it means	First thing to try
LEr	Older, non-WiFIRE	Under 125°F for 10+ minutes	Check pellets, vacuum fire pot
HEr	Older, non-WiFIRE	Over 550°F	Cool, clean drip tray and fire pot
Err, Er1	Older, non-WiFIRE	RTD temperature probe disconnected	Reseat RTD wires at controller
Er2	Older, non-WiFIRE	RTD probe failed	Replace RTD
Er3, Er5	Older, non-WiFIRE	Igniter disconnected	Reseat controller connections
Er4	Older, non-WiFIRE	Induction fan disconnected	Reseat fan connector under hopper
Low Temp, 0002, ER02	WiFIRE	Under 120°F for 10+ minutes	Restart lid closed, check fire pot
High Temp, 0001, ER01	WiFIRE	Over 550°F	Cool, clean, reseat tray and baffle
Failed to Ignite, 0007, ER07	WiFIRE	No temperature rise during startup	Lid closed, pellets, clean hot rod
Auger Not Detected, 0013, ER13	WiFIRE	Lost contact with auger motor	Reseat auger connectors
ER06, ER09, ER10	WiFIRE	Temp sensor, fan or ignitor not detected	Reseat that part’s connector

Before you touch a screwdriver

Most codes clear with three checks, in this order. First, power cycle: off, unplugged for 30 seconds, back on. Second, look at the pellets near the bottom of the hopper. Good pellets are shiny and snap cleanly; dull, crumbly or swollen ones are damp, and so is your problem. Third, with the grill cold and unplugged, pull the grates, drip tray and heat baffle and look in the fire pot. Whatever you find there tells you most of the story:

• Empty pot: pellets aren’t arriving. Look for tunneling in the hopper, an auger jam, or an auger that needs priming after running dry.
• Pot heaped with unburned pellets: the fire never caught or went out, and the auger kept feeding. Scoop and vacuum before restarting.
• Pot full of ash: the fire suffocated. Vacuum it, and vacuum the sawdust off the hopper floor too.

The full routine for that last one is in how to clean a pellet grill.

Watch out: Never restart a grill with a fire pot full of unburned pellets. They can all light at once, overshoot past 550°F and hand you an HEr right after you cleared an LEr.

Older grills: the three-digit controller codes

LEr, Low Error Reading

The barrel dropped below 125°F for more than 10 minutes, and the controller shut off the auger, fan and igniter. Traeger’s list of causes covers a bad startup, cold or windy weather, old or damp pellets, pellets not reaching the fire pot, a fire pot packed with ash, a chimney cap screwed down too tight, a P setting that needs adjusting for the weather, and, less often, a failed fan, RTD or hot rod.

After the fire pot checks, give the chimney cap about a thumb’s width of gap and make sure no foil or liner blocks airflow around the drip tray. If LEr still returns, strip the inside and run the grill on Smoke. You should hear the fan, feel heat over the pot and see pellets drop. No fan means checking that it spins by hand under the hopper panel. No heat means reseating the hot rod wire behind the controller, then a new hot rod if that does nothing. No pellets points to the auger motor.

HEr, High Error Reading

The grill passed 550°F and shut itself off. Traeger names grease fires as the most common cause. The second is an unresolved LEr from the last cook, which leaves a pot full of unburned pellets that flare together on the next startup.

Let it cool completely, then clean the drip tray, grease drain, fire pot and barrel floor. That fixes it most of the time. Check that the tray and heat baffle are seated correctly, the tray has no rust holes, and the RTD isn’t bent against the barrel wall. If HEr appears well below 550°F, reseat the RTD at the controller, and call support if it continues.

Err and Er1, temperature probe disconnected

The connection between the RTD and the controller is poor or gone, so the grill has no idea how hot it is. Unplug the grill, remove the two Phillips screws holding the controller, and pull it out far enough to see the green terminal block on the back where the RTD wires enter. Loosen the small flathead screws, pull the wires out, push them back in, tighten and reinstall. If the code persists, either the RTD or the controller is bad and Traeger support can tell you which.

Er2, temperature probe failed

Here the RTD itself has failed rather than its connection. Traeger’s instruction is to replace it. It’s an inexpensive part and about a ten-minute job.

Er3 and Er5, igniter disconnected

The hot rod’s wiring has worked loose from the controller. Unplug, remove the controller screws, reseat every connection on the back, and restart. If Er5 keeps returning, call support.

Er4, induction fan disconnected

The controller can’t see the fan. Unplug, remove the bottom service panel on the hopper, follow the orange wires to the fan and reseat the connector. If Er4 survives that, the fan or the controller needs replacing.

Traeger has separate support pages for the rarer Er6, Er7, -41 and 510; search the code at support.traeger.com.

WiFIRE grills: display and app codes

How the error appears depends on the series. D2 controllers (Pro 575 and 780, Ironwood 650 and 885, Timberline 850 and 1300, Silverton, Century, Redland) spell the error out in words. Touchscreen Ironwood and Timberline grills show “Error: 00XX.” Woodridge and Westwood grills show “ER XX.”

Low Temp Error (Error 0002, ER02)

The grill fell under 120°F for more than 10 minutes. It tries to reignite once, and shuts down if that fails. Traeger lists poor pellets, an empty fire pot, a bad startup, old firmware, a dirty grill or a failed part. On touchscreen grills, wind over 30 mph blowing straight into the downdraft exhaust for 10 minutes can trigger it, and the fix is turning the grill.

Restart the right way first: power on, close the lid, set the temperature, press Ignite, and keep the lid shut through preheat. Leave the grill on Wi-Fi so firmware stays current, then run the pellet and fire pot checks above. On touchscreen grills, go to MENU, MAINTENANCE & CARE, SELF-TEST. For a Woodridge in cold weather, Traeger suggests igniting at around 400°F and lowering it once the fire is established.

High Temp Error (Error 0001, ER01)

Same trigger and same fix as HEr: over 550°F, usually from a grease fire, an overloaded fire pot or a tray or baffle out of place. Cool it, clean it, reseat the tray and baffle, and restart.

Failed to Ignite (Error 0007, ER07)

The grill went into ignition but didn’t see the temperature climb within the window it expects. Traeger says the usual causes are low or poor pellets, a dirty fire pot or starting with the lid open. Less often the hot rod is disconnected, not touching the pellets or dead. A tripped GFCI outlet can also cause it, usually because ash has packed against the hot rod.

On D2 grills, start with the lid closed, clear ash from the fire pot, make sure no liner blocks airflow, and check the hot rod tip is clean and sticking out about an eighth to a quarter inch. Press Ignite and hold a hand over the pot; if you feel heat, you’re fixed. If not, unplug, remove the controller screws, reseat every connector on the back and try again. Still cold means a new hot rod.

On touchscreen grills, update the firmware, confirm there are pellets, prime the auger if it ran dry, clean the fire pot, run the SELF-TEST, and check the igniter protrudes about half an inch into the pot. On a Woodridge, run the same checks, then confirm the auger turns, the fan blows and the pellets start to smoke.

Auger Not Detected (Error 0013, ER13)

The controller lost contact with the tachometer on the auger motor, so it stops feeding and shuts down. It’s usually a loose connector at the motor, occasionally a seized motor or pellet buildup. Unplug and wait 30 seconds, reseat the auger connector on the back of the controller, then open the hopper access panel and reseat the harness at the motor. Restart and watch the first 10 minutes.

On a Woodridge, the auger box cover comes off with ten screws; reseat the AUGER and MAIN BOARD connectors and turn the auger by hand to feel for a jam. Owners of touchscreen grills built before June 2023 should call support first.

Fan Not Detected (ER09), Ignitor Not Detected (ER10), Temp Sensor Disconnected (ER06), Hot Rod Disconnected

The controller can’t see that part. Unplug, wait, reseat the connector at both ends and restart; if the code returns, the part has failed.

Keeping the codes from coming back

Nearly every code here traces back to bad pellets, an ash-filled fire pot or a loose connector. A sealed pellet bucket and the 20-hour cleaning routine handle the first two, and how a pellet grill works shows which part each code points at. When none of this clears it, call Traeger at 1-800-872-3437 with the serial number from the hopper or back leg sticker. Once it’s running again, the Traeger review has what to cook first.