VERIFIED
E23 in daily use
Older Bay Area homes, from the flats of the city to hillside cottages, often have compact kitchens where every inch is used. A pot rack hangs right over the hob, a low microwave or hood sits above, and a drawer of baking trays stuffs the space below. In that layout E23 can arrive during longer cooking, with a warm cabinet and a fan working hard. The cooling fan draws air past the electronics under the glass, and that only works if air can enter and leave the cabinet.
Cabinet depth is the usual surprise. A shallow base cabinet can leave only a few inches below the glass, much less than the cooktop needs to breathe.
If you have a drawer directly beneath, remove it for a trial and see whether the code behaves differently. Do not do this if you would have to remove screws or panels; just pull the drawer fully out and set it aside. Tell us what happens, because it tells us whether airflow is part of the issue.
Checks that are safe for an owner
- Measure the gap between the underside of the cooktop and the top of anything stored below, and keep it clear.
- Check that the hood above is running during longer cooking and that its filter is not clogged with grease.
- Move pot racks or hanging items that might trap rising heat close to the cooktop edge.
Meaning of the code
E23 does not have one confirmed meaning for every Bertazzoni cooktop, and we avoid assigning one. The surroundings are the evidence here: where the unit sits, what is above and below it, and how it behaves over time. The model number then tells us which control reading applies. A code that shows only after a long cook points toward heat, while one at the very start of cooking points elsewhere.
Inside checks start with
In a cramped installation we begin with clearances and airflow, then the fan and vents and the temperature sensing, and then the board that heats up when the space around it cannot shed heat. We also look at the connections at the junction, which can run warm when they have loosened.
Technician or not
If E23 keeps appearing after you free the space, a technician needs to check the temperatures and the electrical connections. Parts that run warm in a tight cabinet age faster, so the visit looks for heat damage on the board and on the wiring terminals, which is not an owner task. A loose terminal is a particular concern because a poor connection makes its own heat on top of what the cabinet already traps.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. A cooktop that cannot shed heat will limit itself, and a code may be reported when temperatures get too high.
Not necessarily. Freeing space and improving airflow often helps, and the technician can advise on what the model needs.
A working hood carries heat away from the glass edge and reduces load on the cooktop’s own cooling.
Model compatibility: Bertazzoni reuses codes across series and model years, so E23 may mean something different on another appliance or generation. Confirm this against your model’s documentation and record your full model number before acting.
