Bradford White Ultra Low NOx D series gas error code 61 flash
Failed to light the pilot, unit auto resets
Which models this applies to. This page covers the Bradford White Ultra Low NOx residential D series gas codes.
What is specific to the Ultra Low NOx D series gas platform
Atmospheric gas water heater with a flue damper and a Honeywell WV4472 electronic gas control, which reports faults as a counted LED flash with a three second pause between repeats. The damper codes have no equivalent on units that do not have one, and the codes are not shared with the condensing platforms of other brands.
Your control board does not print the code. It blinks an LED, and you count the flashes against a legend printed on the board or inside the access panel. Count a full cycle before you read it, because the pattern pauses and repeats.
Quick answer
On Bradford White Ultra Low NOx D series gas, 61 flash is a fault. It means failed to light the pilot, unit auto resets. A first thing to check: Unstable pilot.
- Applies to
- Bradford White Ultra Low NOx D series gas
- Bradford White Ultra Low NOx residential D series gas codes · Water Heater
- Type of code
- Fault
- Urgency: Needs attention soon
- First safe check
- Confirm the gas supply valve is open and that other gas appliances in the home are running.
What 61 flash means on this model
The control called for a pilot and it did not establish, so the unit shut down and reset itself. Almost every occurrence comes down to an unstable pilot, a blocked pilot tube, oxidation on the pilot electrode, or damaged pilot wiring.
Symptoms you will notice
- Six-one flashes, then a three second pause
- No pilot flame at all when you look
- Unit relights on its own after a pause
- Hot water disappears intermittently
- You can hear the control attempting to light and then stopping
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:
- Unstable pilot
- Pilot tube blocked or restricted
- Oxidation build up on the pilot electrode
- Wire damage to the pilot assembly or a bad connection at the gas control
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.
- Confirm the gas supply valve is open and that other gas appliances in the home are running.
- Look at the pilot assembly and note whether there is any flame at all.
- With the power off at the breaker, check the pilot harness connection at the gas control for corrosion or a loose pin.
- Note whether the pilot lights and then goes out, which points at the thermocouple rather than at gas supply.
Do not do these
- ×Do not light the pilot repeatedly by hand to get hot water. The pilot exists to be supervised, and manual lighting bypasses the supervision.
- ×Do not clear the pilot tube with anything that could enlarge or damage it.
- ×Do not assume a repeatedly resetting unit is a nuisance. The control is cycling on a real ignition failure each time.
When to call a technician
Book a technician, do not keep resetting it
This fault will not clear on its own. Every power cycle gives the control one more failed attempt, and repeated attempts are what turn a cheap part replacement into a seized or contaminated system.
- 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.
Checking gas supply and observing the pilot is a homeowner task. The pilot assembly, the tube, and the igniter wiring are a licensed technician job.
What it costs to fix
Parts
Pilot assembly $60 to $180. Pilot tube $20 to $60. Igniter and flame sensor $50 to $140.
Labor
One to two hours for pilot inspection, cleaning, or replacement.
DIY or technician
Checking gas supply and observing the pilot is a homeowner task. The pilot assembly, the tube, and the igniter wiring are a licensed technician job.
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
- Bradford White Ultra Low NOx residential D series gas codes
- How this model reports the code
- Blinking LED, counted against a legend
- Models in scope
- Bradford White Ultra Low NOx D series gas
- How this platform differs
- Atmospheric gas water heater with a flue damper and a Honeywell WV4472 electronic gas control, which reports faults as a counted LED flash with a three second pause between repeats. The damper codes have no equivalent on units that do not have one, and the codes are not shared with the condensing platforms of other brands.
- 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.