Goodman, Amana APG13 error code 6 flashes
Compressor time delay or short cycle timer
Goodman is the platform name, and your unit may not say it
Amana APG13 is the same board with a different badge, so this page covers all of them. The fault, the checks and the parts are identical, which is why there is one page rather than one per brand.
Quick answer
On Goodman APG13 (2000s), 6 flashes is a fault. It means compressor time delay or short cycle timer. A first thing to check: Normal anti-short-cycle delay after a previous run.
- Applies to
- Goodman APG13
- Goodman and Amana APG13, GPG13, APG15 combined furnace and AC flash codes · Furnace · 2000s
- Type of code
- Fault
- Urgency: Book a technician
- First safe check
- Wait five minutes and call for cooling again. If it starts, the delay was working.
What 6 flashes means on this model
This is a short delay built into the unit, not a fault. After the thermostat stops calling for cooling, or after the anti-freeze timer releases a defrost, the unit waits before the compressor will start again. Six flashes on this board means the delay is active or the delay timing has been lost.
Symptoms you will notice
- Compressor does not start immediately when cooling is called for
- Delay of a few minutes between cooling calls
- Frequent short cycling that looks wrong but is the delay working
Common causes
The code tells you what the control detected, not which part failed. These are the causes we see most often, roughly in order of likelihood:
- Normal anti-short-cycle delay after a previous run
- Loss of the delay timing setting
- Control board not retaining its settings
What you can safely check
These are homeowner-level checks. None of them need you to open a live electrical compartment or work on gas.
- Wait five minutes and call for cooling again. If it starts, the delay was working.
- If the delay setting is frequently lost, note that, because it points at the board keeping its settings.
Do not do these
- ×Do not repeatedly force cooling calls. The delay exists to protect the compressor.
When to call a technician
Worth scheduling, and worth your own checks first
You can usually keep living with this for a short while, but it will not fix itself. Do the safe checks below first, because a tripped switch or a blocked airflow is a five-minute fix that would otherwise cost you a service call.
- This is a fuel-burning appliance, so treat anything involving a burner, gas valve or flue as technician work. If you smell gas at any point, leave the property and call the gas utility from outside rather than continuing to diagnose.
- If the appliance has stopped mid-cycle, is making a noise you have not heard before, or smells burnt, stop reading here and call. Those are symptoms of something the fault code does not describe well enough.
Waiting it out is fine. Board work is not.
What it costs to fix
Parts
No parts in the normal case. Control board $250 to $500 if settings will not hold.
Labor
None for a normal delay. Two to three hours if the board needs replacing.
DIY or technician
Waiting it out is fine. Board work is not.
Typical US part and labor ranges, 2026. They vary by region, model and contractor, so treat them as a planning figure, not a quote.
Scope of this code
- Code table
- Goodman and Amana APG13, GPG13, APG15 combined furnace and AC flash codes
- Models in scope
- Goodman APG13, 2000s
- Checked
- Confirm on your own unit
- Find the model number on the data plate, then check this code in the service manual for that model. Manufacturers revise code tables between model years, and a revised board can renumber a fault.