--- title: "Wine Guardian !3: the defrost sensor reads open or shorted" description: "What !3 means on Wine Guardian !3: the defrost sensor reads open or shorteds, what to check before booking, and when it is not a failure at all." url: "https://winecellarrepair.center/error-codes/wine-guardian-alarm-3/" --- # Wine Guardian !3: the defrost sensor reads open or shorted !3 names the defrost sensor, a probe on the evaporator that tells the board when the coil is cold enough to frost. ## What !3 actually means. !3 names the defrost sensor, a probe on the evaporator that tells the board when the coil is cold enough to frost. The alarm appears when that sensor reads open or shorted or has come unplugged. The system keeps running during !3, but the control can no longer judge when to defrost, so the coil can start to ice. Wine Guardian wine cellar cooling unit display · also shown as (!3) What to do when !3 shows on the wine cellar cooling unit ### Kind of code Sensors and probes The controller has lost a sensible reading from one of its probes: the one sampling the cellar air, the one on the evaporator coil, or on a remote probe the lead that runs out to a rack. With no number it can trust, the unit may chill the room well below 55°F, stop and start every few minutes, or run on without end. A probe unplugged during a rack install, pinched behind a board or sitting in a draft from the door is ruled out before a new one is ordered. ### Usually leads to Cellar controller and sensor repair Getting the controller, its display and its probes to read the cellar truthfully and call for cooling at the right time. ### Shows up as Cellar Cooling Evaporator Coil Icing Up A cellar cooling coil icing up shows as white frost behind the cellar-side grille, weak air from the unit, water dripping when it goes quiet, and a room that warms while the unit keeps running. ### Make Wine Guardian Wine Guardian systems examined at the cellar, the ductwork and the equipment space when the air stops holding its temperature or its moisture. ### Source Wine Guardian Remote Interface Operation Guide Wine Guardian Remote Interface controller, used with through-the-wall, ducted, ducted split, ductless split and ceiling-mounted units; the Sentinel-series ducted manuals (Dec 2022) list the same alarms. ## Before you book, in this order. Each step comes from Wine Guardian's own guidance for !3 on its wine cellar cooling units. Follow it to the end: the last card says whether this is a visit. 01 Note whether the unit is still cooling and whether the cellar reading is holding. 02 Look at the evaporator side through the grille for frost on the coil; if you see ice building, switch the unit off and let it thaw with a towel under it. 03 Book a visit to test the sensor and its connection; the code clears once the sensor issue is resolved. ### Still there? It usually turns into [cellar controller and sensor repair](https://winecellarrepair.center/services/cellar-controller-and-sensor-repair/). Book with the code and the model number. ### What not to do !3 does not mean the cellar is warming or the compressor has failed. On a unit where defrost is enabled in settings but no sensor is fitted, the manual notes that !3 appears and shuts the system off instead. ## What you may notice with it. The wine cellar cooling unit problems !3 tends to arrive with. Answer these at the wine cellar cooling unit before anyone is booked. [All problems](https://winecellarrepair.center/problems/) Before you call ### [Cellar Cooling Evaporator Coil Icing Up](https://winecellarrepair.center/problems/evaporator-coil-icing-up/) [All 5 causes, cheapest first](https://winecellarrepair.center/problems/evaporator-coil-icing-up/) It also comes with - [**Wine Cellar Too Warm**](https://winecellarrepair.center/problems/cellar-too-warm/) - [**Cellar Cooling Unit Error Code**](https://winecellarrepair.center/problems/cellar-cooling-unit-error-code/) Problem ### Cellar Cooling Evaporator Coil Icing Up 5 causes, cheapest first Where !3 usually leads ## Cellar controller and sensor repair. **Air or coil probe, display, transformer or control board · moderate.** Book a visit [What the job involves](https://winecellarrepair.center/services/cellar-controller-and-sensor-repair/) ## Wine Guardian wine cellar cooling units. Wine Guardian systems examined at the cellar, the ductwork and the equipment space when the air stops holding its temperature or its moisture. [Wine Guardian wine cellar cooling unit repair](https://winecellarrepair.center/brands/wine-guardian/) More Wine Guardian codes [!1](https://winecellarrepair.center/error-codes/wine-guardian-alarm-1/) [!2](https://winecellarrepair.center/error-codes/wine-guardian-alarm-2/) [!4](https://winecellarrepair.center/error-codes/wine-guardian-alarm-4/) [Flashing temperature with (!)](https://winecellarrepair.center/error-codes/wine-guardian-high-temperature-alarm/) [Flashing temperature with (!) below the low limit](https://winecellarrepair.center/error-codes/wine-guardian-low-temperature-alarm/) [Flashing humidity with (!)](https://winecellarrepair.center/error-codes/wine-guardian-high-humidity-alarm/) [Flashing humidity with (!) below the low limit](https://winecellarrepair.center/error-codes/wine-guardian-low-humidity-alarm/) [- - -](https://winecellarrepair.center/error-codes/wine-guardian-dashes/) Sensors and probes on other makes [Breezaire Er](https://winecellarrepair.center/error-codes/breezaire-er/) [CellarCool E1](https://winecellarrepair.center/error-codes/cellarcool-e1/) [CellarPro P1](https://winecellarrepair.center/error-codes/cellarpro-p1/) [WhisperKOOL E1](https://winecellarrepair.center/error-codes/whisperkool-e1/) [Wine-Mate P1](https://winecellarrepair.center/error-codes/wine-mate-p1/) [All 12 codes of this kind](https://winecellarrepair.center/error-codes/#family-sensor) Wine Guardian builds this ### Through-the-wall cellar cooling unit A self-contained box set into an opening in the cellar wall: its cold face blows into the wine room, and its warm face breathes out into the room next door. Wine Guardian builds this ### Ducted cellar cooling unit A self-contained cooling unit placed outside the cellar, in a mechanical room, attic or basement, that sends chilled air in and takes return air back through insulated ducts. Wine Guardian builds this ### Split-system cellar cooling An evaporator inside or beside the cellar and a condensing unit outside or in another room, joined by an insulated copper line set and charged on site. ## In Wine Guardian's own words > Defrost sensor has been shorted, disconnected or open. [Wine Guardian Remote Interface Operation Guide](https://wineguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Remote_Interface_Controller_Guide_5.4.22-1.pdf) [Wine Guardian Remote Interface Operation Guide](https://wineguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Remote_Interface_Controller_Guide_5.4.22-1.pdf) [Wine Guardian Ducted Self-Contained manual (Chassis B, Dec 2022), Wayback copy](https://web.archive.org/web/20230521234813/https://wineguardian.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Ducted-Self-Contained-Manual-CHASSIS-B-12-14-2022-1.pdf) Every code on this site is taken from the manufacturer's documentation, never from a forum or a parts listing. Wine Guardian Remote Interface controller, used with through-the-wall, ducted, ducted split, ductless split and ceiling-mounted units; the Sentinel-series ducted manuals (Dec 2022) list the same alarms. ## Wine Guardian !3 wine cellar cooling unit 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. 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Note whether the unit is still cooling and whether the cellar reading is holding. If it comes back, it needs a visit. ### Can I keep using my Wine Guardian with !3 showing? Yes, the system keeps cooling. Watch the coil for ice and the cellar temperature, because the control has lost its way of deciding when to defrost. ### Where is the defrost sensor on a Wine Guardian? It is clipped to the evaporator coil on the cellar-air side, and its temperature can be read in the settings menu. Reaching it means opening the unit, which is a job for a visit. ### Why did !3 appear right after installation? The defrost setting may be enabled on a unit without the sensor connected, or the sensor plug may have come loose during installation. Both are checked at the board. --- **[Read on the site: Wine Guardian !3: the defrost sensor reads open or shorted](https://winecellarrepair.center/error-codes/wine-guardian-alarm-3/)** **[Book a visit with WineCellarRepair.center](https://winecellarrepair.center/schedule/)**