Hobart Dishwasher Error Codes: What CLe Conveyor Display Messages Mean

A Hobart CLe-series conveyor dishwasher — the CL44e, CL54e and CL64e, the CLPS and CLCS scrapper versions, and the CLeR energy-recovery models — does not use numbered codes. It spells the problem out on the display: “Check Water Level,” “Fnl Rinse Temp Low,” “Clear Conveyor Jam.” The meanings below come from Hobart’s installation, operation and care manual for these machines (F44127 Rev. C, 2012), sorted into what the dish crew can clear and what means stop and call.

How to read the CLe display

In normal running the screen lists each tank and its temperature: Scrapper or PS, Wash or Wsh, Rinse or Rns, FinalRinse or FnlRns. Dashes in the final rinse spot are normal; it shows a temperature only while a rack is in the rinse zone. At power-on the display reads High Temp. (hot-water sanitizing) or Low Temp. (chemical sanitizing), and that sets the minimums below.

Some stops are not faults. After 45 seconds without a rack (the factory setting), the Auto-Timer stops the pumps and conveyor while the tanks keep heating; insert a rack or press START/ENTER. After two idle hours (the default), Energy Saver Active / Press STOP to Exit means everything, heat included, is off: press STOP and monitor temperatures as you resume.

Hobart CLe messages at a glance

Fill, water level and drain messages

For Check Water Level, Hobart’s first checks are staff-level: every drain closed and free of debris, the water supply valve open, and water in each tank about an inch below the top of the strainer pan or higher. If the tanks still have not filled after another 20 minutes, it is a service call. There is no separate drain message. A drain lever left up after cleaning, debris holding a drain open or a worn drain O-ring shows up as a fill problem or dirty dishes. Closing the doors seats the standpipes; one that is not seated lets water drain while the fill stays on, and one in the wrong tank can stop or slow the fill. Beyond that, Hobart lists sticking fill floats, a dirty line strainer, low supply pressure and a solenoid valve, which is where a technician takes over.

Probe Err with a tank name sends you to the lower float in that tank: not visibly damaged, and covered by water. Level matters for heat too: when a tank drops, the float-controlled low-water protector shuts off its heat until the level returns, so a fill problem can look like a cold tank. Water Change Req’d locks the machine out only if Dirty Water Mode is set to Alert and Lockout; it ships disabled. That is a setting, not a breakdown.

Temperature messages and the minimums

For Fnl Rinse Temp Low, Hobart’s first checks are the booster’s circuit breaker and the building’s hot water, which has to meet the incoming minimum: 110°F with a 30 kW built-in booster, 140°F with a 15 kW booster, 180°F on a High Temp machine with no booster, 120°F on a Low Temp machine. Probe Error – FnlRns starts with the booster’s supply valve, which must be open. Hobart’s chart sends an overtemp trip or a failed booster to service.

Why it matters: Hobart sets 180°F as the minimum final rinse for hot-water sanitizing. Ware that runs through colder is washed but not sanitized, and that is what a health inspection looks for. The machine will not stop you: Hobart’s low final-rinse alert only posts a message while the racks keep running, and it ships disabled, as does the tank temperature alert. Ask whoever holds the Manager code to enable both, and fill in the temperature log on the last page of the manual every shift.

Conveyor jams, chemicals and the delime timer

Clear Conveyor Jam is the overload message: a jammed rack or too heavy a load makes an overload mechanism shut off the conveyor drive motor. Hobart’s loading rules help: nothing that will not pass easily through the opening, and no foreign objects, especially metal. If a jam or door message keeps returning with nothing stuck and every door shut, call a technician.

Hobart’s message list has no detergent or sanitizer entry. The required feeders come from others, not Hobart, with their own indicator or alarm; on Low Temp machines the sanitizer feeds into the final rinse line. A feeder problem goes to your chemical supplier; dirty dishes with the chemicals right are ours.

Delime Recommended is a timer, not a sensor: it counts fill and final rinse hours, ships turned off, and stays up after deliming until a manager clears it, which also resets the timer. How often to delime is your chemical representative’s call.

When to stop and call

Hobart’s troubleshooting tables all end with the same note: if it persists, call service. Stop and call when the final rinse stays low after the breaker and water checks, when Check Water Level outlasts the extra 20 minutes, when an overtemp protector trips, when the final rinse runs with no rack inside (Hobart lists a sticking rinse actuator or a rinse valve jammed open), or when a solenoid valve leaks. On gas-heat models, if you smell gas, shut the main gas valve and call the gas company. And do not clean the Opti-Rinse nozzles: Hobart says to replace them if they clog.

Hard water in Denver Metro kitchens

Hobart wants 3 grains of hardness per gallon or less, treated above that, and says to ask your water supplier about local conditions. Metro kitchens sit on different water utilities, so get your own number. If lime shows up in the machine or the booster, Hobart recommends in-line water treatment.

Why we don’t recommend guessing parts

Fnl Rinse Temp Low can be the building’s water heater, a breaker, the booster or its control, and Hobart’s next steps start with lockout and tagout on what may be several circuits. When you call, have the exact message, the displayed temperatures, and the model and serial number from the data plate on the control box. We test before we replace, quote the actual repair, and the diagnostic fee is credited toward it.

Hobart dishwasher repair across the Denver Metro

FiXiFY repairs Hobart conveyor dishwashers for restaurants, schools, senior living communities and facility kitchens across Denver, Aurora, Lakewood, Westminster and the metro, with genuine OEM parts. See commercial dishwasher repair, the Hobart page, our commercial refrigerator error codes, the Hoshizaki and Manitowoc ice machine codes, or walk-in cooler not cooling.

BOOK ONLINECALL (303) 214-1240

FAQ

What does Check Water Level mean on a Hobart dishwasher?

The tanks have not filled to the proper level. Make sure every drain is closed and clear, the water supply valve is open, and the water in each tank sits about an inch below the top of the strainer pan or higher. If the tanks still have not filled after another 20 minutes, book service.

Why does my Hobart dishwasher say Fnl Rinse Temp Low?

The final rinse is below its minimum, which is 180 degrees F on a High Temp machine. Check the booster circuit breaker and the building hot water, which must reach at least 110 degrees F with a 30 kW booster or 140 degrees F with a 15 kW booster; an overtemp trip or a failed booster needs a technician. Racks run below the minimum come out washed but not sanitized.

How do I clear Clear Conveyor Jam on a Hobart dishwasher?

Open the doors, remove the jammed rack, close the doors and press START, then rerun the rack. The message means an overload mechanism stopped the conveyor motor because a rack jammed or the load was too heavy. If it keeps coming back with nothing stuck, the conveyor drive needs a technician.

How do I clear Delime Recommended on a Hobart dishwasher?

Delime the machine first, following the instructions on the delimer container. The message never clears by itself: someone with the Manager code clears it in Manager Mode, which also resets the delime timer. How often to delime is up to your chemical representative, based on visible lime or poorer washing.

FiXiFY Appliance Repair — 7030 E 46th Ave Dr, Unit A, Denver, CO 80216 · (303) 214-1240 · support@fixifycolorado.com