Bradford White Ultra Low NOx D series gas code 1 flash every 2 seconds
Standby, waiting for a call for heat
Quick answer
On Bradford White Ultra Low NOx D series gas, 1 flash every 2 seconds is a normal display state, not a fault. The water is already at the setpoint and the control is idle, waiting for somebody to draw hot water. This is the normal state of a working appliance and it is not a fault, though it is the state that gets mistaken for one most often. A first thing to check: Normal operation. The water in the tank is already hot and no demand has been made..
- 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
- Status or setup value
- Urgency: nothing to fix
- First safe check
- Confirm the temperature at a tap is actually where you set the dial, which is the only test that matters here.
What 1 flash every 2 seconds means on this model
The water is already at the setpoint and the control is idle, waiting for somebody to draw hot water. This is the normal state of a working appliance and it is not a fault, though it is the state that gets mistaken for one most often.
Symptoms you will notice
- A short flash about once every two seconds on the green LED
- Hot water at every fixture at the temperature you set
- The pilot flame is lit and steady
- Nothing has changed about how the unit behaves
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 operation. The water in the tank is already hot and no demand has been made.
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 temperature at a tap is actually where you set the dial, which is the only test that matters here.
- Watch the pilot flame through the sight glass for a few minutes. A steady pilot with steady hot water is a working unit.
- If hot water is short or cold while the control is in this state, the problem is on the water side or the gas side and not in the control.
Do not do these
- ×Do not reset this control. There is nothing to reset, and interrupting a working unit is how a working pilot gets turned into a cold one.
- ×Do not strip a working appliance down looking for the cause of a blink that is the designed behaviour.
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.
No service is called for. If somebody has been quoted to fix this, the quote is for a normal operating state.
What it costs to fix
Parts
None. No parts are involved in normal operation.
Labor
None.
DIY or technician
No service is called for. If somebody has been quoted to fix this, the quote is for a normal operating state.
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
- Models in scope
- Bradford White Ultra Low NOx D series gas
- 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.