VERIFIED
The damp dish test
Pull out a plate from the top rack. If it is wet, the plastic items are puddled, and E05 is lit, the machine probably stopped in the heated finish. If instead the water is cold and the dishes are gritty, the problem is probably earlier, so note the difference.
Meaning by model
The E05 definition is not confirmed for every Bertazzoni dishwasher, so it is treated as model-dependent. This page uses the cycle stage to point technicians toward what to test first, not to name a part. A drying complaint can come from heat that never rises or from moisture that has nowhere to go, and the first is a heating question while the second is about loading and airflow.
What owners see with this code
- Dishes that are clean but wetter than usual.
- A tub that feels only lukewarm after a hot-water cycle.
- A cycle that seems shorter or longer than normal.
- The code appearing mainly on loads run at night.
Things you can control
A packed load will not dry well and might look like a fault. Space out items, tip cups so water cannot pool, and leave the door cracked open after the cycle for the last bit of steam to escape. If you rely on rinse aid, check that the dispenser is not empty, since an empty one leaves visible water beads regardless of heat.
Incoming water temperature also plays a part. In some homes the dishwasher is far from the water heater, so the first water to arrive is cool. Run the kitchen tap until it is hot before starting the cycle and see whether the result changes.
What gets checked at the visit
For a code that points to the finishing stage, the technician looks at the heating element and its circuit, the temperature sensing that reports the result, and the control output that switches the heat. These sit inside the machine and involve household voltage, so measuring them is not something to attempt yourself. A sensor that reports wrongly can end the heated stage early even when the element works, which is why the three parts are tested separately.
Because the stage is the clue, tell the technician whether the tub felt hot when you opened the door right after the cycle ended. Hot walls with damp dishes point somewhere different from a tub that never warmed at all.
If E05 is infrequent and the dishes are acceptable, it can wait for a convenient visit. If it appears every cycle or the machine smells hot, stop using it. Our Bertazzoni Dishwashers page describes how a repair visit is handled.
Frequently asked questions
No. Overloading, empty rinse aid and cool incoming water all leave dishes damp, which is why they are checked before a part is blamed.
If it finishes cycles and nothing smells hot or leaks, you can, but note how often the code appears.
Not on its own. The model-dependent code simply points at the stage that needs testing.
Model compatibility: Bertazzoni reuses codes across series and model years, so E05 may mean something different on another appliance or generation. Confirm this against your model’s documentation and record your full model number before acting.
