---
title: "Perlick PEF: the evaporator probe has stopped reading"
description: "What PEF means on Perlick PEF: the evaporator probe has stopped readings, what to check before booking, and when it is not a failure at all."
url: "https://winecoolerrepair.center/error-codes/perlick-pef/"
---

# Perlick PEF: the evaporator probe has stopped reading

PEF is the G5 evaporator probe alarm.

## What PEF actually means.

PEF is the G5 evaporator probe alarm. The probe sits at the evaporator inlet, and the control uses it to manage the coil and defrost. With it out, frost can build or cooling can become erratic.

Perlick wine cooler display

What to do when PEF shows on the wine cooler

### Kind of code Temperature sensors

The control has lost a believable reading from one of its thermistors: the probe in a zone, the one on the cold plate or coil, or on some models the one watching the room. With no trustworthy number, the cabinet either chills the bottles far below cellar temperature or lets a zone drift warm. A sensor sitting in frost, pinched behind a rack or unplugged during a move is ruled out before a new one is ordered.

### Usually leads to Wine cooler thermostat and sensor repair

Testing and replacing the thermostat or the temperature sensors that tell a wine cooler when to cool, when the cabinet runs too cold, too warm or back and forth.

### Shows up as Wine Cooler Error Code

A wine cooler error code appears as letters and digits on the display, a flashing temperature, dashes where a number should be or a blinking symbol, sometimes with an alarm tone and sometimes while the cabinet stays perfectly cool.

### Make Perlick

Perlick wine cooler repair for units under the counter or behind the bar that no longer keep a steady temperature.

### Source Perlick G5 User Installation & Operation Manual, Form Z3023 (linked from the G5 Luxe 24-inch wine reserve page)

Perlick G5 Core and G5 Luxe wine reserves with the touch display, single-zone (URS15W, URS24W) and dual-zone (URS24D). Up to ten past alarms stay listed, with date and time stamps, under Alarm History.

## Before you book, in this order.

Each step comes from Perlick's own guidance for PEF on its wine coolers. Follow it to the end: the last card says whether this is a visit.

01

Acknowledge the alarm.

02

Watch for frost on the back wall and for temperature swings over the next few days.

03

If PEF comes back within a week, book a visit.

### Still there?

It usually turns into [wine cooler thermostat and sensor repair](https://winecoolerrepair.center/services/wine-cooler-thermostat-and-sensor-repair/). Book with the code and the model number.

### What not to do

PEF does not report the wine temperature; zone probes do that and report as P1F or P2F. It is also not the evaporator fan, which is FEF.

## What you may notice with it.

The wine cooler problems PEF tends to arrive with. Answer these at the wine cooler before anyone is booked.

[All problems](https://winecoolerrepair.center/problems/)

Before you call

### [Wine Cooler Error Code](https://winecoolerrepair.center/problems/wine-cooler-error-code/)

[All 7 causes, cheapest first](https://winecoolerrepair.center/problems/wine-cooler-error-code/)

It also comes with

- [**Frost or Ice on the Back Wall of a Wine Cooler**](https://winecoolerrepair.center/problems/frost-or-ice-on-the-back-wall/)
- [**Wine Cooler Temperature Swings**](https://winecoolerrepair.center/problems/wine-cooler-temperature-swings/)

Problem

### Wine Cooler Error Code

7 causes, cheapest first

Where PEF usually leads

## Wine cooler thermostat and sensor repair.

**Thermostat or zone temperature sensor · low to moderate.**

Book a visit [What the job involves](https://winecoolerrepair.center/services/wine-cooler-thermostat-and-sensor-repair/)

## Perlick wine coolers.

Perlick wine cooler repair for units under the counter or behind the bar that no longer keep a steady temperature.

[Perlick wine cooler repair](https://winecoolerrepair.center/brands/perlick/)

More Perlick codes

[T1H](https://winecoolerrepair.center/error-codes/perlick-t1h/) [T2H](https://winecoolerrepair.center/error-codes/perlick-t2h/) [T1L](https://winecoolerrepair.center/error-codes/perlick-t1l/) [DO1](https://winecoolerrepair.center/error-codes/perlick-do1/) [DO2](https://winecoolerrepair.center/error-codes/perlick-do2/) [PWR](https://winecoolerrepair.center/error-codes/perlick-pwr/) [P1F](https://winecoolerrepair.center/error-codes/perlick-p1f/) [PHF](https://winecoolerrepair.center/error-codes/perlick-phf/) [TCH](https://winecoolerrepair.center/error-codes/perlick-tch/) [FEF](https://winecoolerrepair.center/error-codes/perlick-fef/) [TEL](https://winecoolerrepair.center/error-codes/perlick-tel/) [UIX](https://winecoolerrepair.center/error-codes/perlick-uix/)

Temperature sensors on other makes

[ASKO H1](https://winecoolerrepair.center/error-codes/asko-h1/) [Fisher & Paykel F3](https://winecoolerrepair.center/error-codes/fisher-and-paykel-f3/) [Marvel Eu](https://winecoolerrepair.center/error-codes/marvel-eu/) [Sub-Zero EC05](https://winecoolerrepair.center/error-codes/sub-zero-ec05/) [U-Line Zone T Open](https://winecoolerrepair.center/error-codes/u-line-zone-t-open/) [Vinotemp E1](https://winecoolerrepair.center/error-codes/vinotemp-e1/)

[All 19 codes of this kind](https://winecoolerrepair.center/error-codes/#family-sensor)

Perlick builds this

### Undercounter wine cooler

A wine cooler about the height of a base cabinet, built in under the counter of a kitchen, a bar or a butler's pantry, with a glass door, sliding racks and a vented toe grille at the floor.

Perlick builds this

### Dual-zone wine cooler

A wine cooler with two separately set compartments, upper and lower or side by side, so reds and whites or a storage zone and a serving zone each keep their own temperature.

## In Perlick's own words

> PEF Evaporator Probe Fault

[Perlick G5 User Installation & Operation Manual, Form Z3023 (linked from the G5 Luxe 24-inch wine reserve page)](https://api.perlick.com/Data/PDFFiles//URS24W41-5-SRW0cd0ba0f8e9738adf2dbf4d8b2ea84a67f8a11fff_Z3023_G5_User_Installation_Operation_Manual_With_Checklist__07_13_26.pdf) [Perlick G5 User Installation & Operation Manual, Form Z3023 (linked from the G5 Luxe 24-inch wine reserve page)](https://api.perlick.com/Data/PDFFiles//URS24W41-5-SRW0cd0ba0f8e9738adf2dbf4d8b2ea84a67f8a11fff_Z3023_G5_User_Installation_Operation_Manual_With_Checklist__07_13_26.pdf) [Perlick G5 User Installation & Operation Manual, Form Z3023 (linked from the G5 Luxe 24-inch wine reserve page)](https://api.perlick.com/Data/PDFFiles//URS24W41-5-SRW0cd0ba0f8e9738adf2dbf4d8b2ea84a67f8a11fff_Z3023_G5_User_Installation_Operation_Manual_With_Checklist__07_13_26.pdf)

Every code on this site is taken from the manufacturer's documentation, never from a forum or a parts listing. Perlick G5 Core and G5 Luxe wine reserves with the touch display, single-zone (URS15W, URS24W) and dual-zone (URS24D). Up to ten past alarms stay listed, with date and time stamps, under Alarm History.

## Perlick PEF wine cooler repair, where we come out.

The same visit in every metro below: the code, the model number, and a diagnosis before any part is ordered.

[All service areas](https://winecoolerrepair.center/locations/)

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For the heart of your home.

## Questions about PEF.

### Can I clear PEF myself?

Acknowledge the alarm. If it comes back, it needs a visit.

### What does the evaporator probe do in a Perlick?

It reads the temperature at the evaporator inlet, and the control uses that to judge the coil and its defrost.

### Can PEF cause ice in a wine unit?

It can, if the control cannot tell when the coil needs defrosting.

### Is PEF urgent?

Not usually. Acknowledge it, watch the temperature, and book a visit if it returns.

---

**[Read on the site: Perlick PEF: the evaporator probe has stopped reading](https://winecoolerrepair.center/error-codes/perlick-pef/)**

**[Book a visit with WineCoolerRepair.center](https://winecoolerrepair.center/schedule/)**
