Pumps and booster sets · Mallorca
Your DAB Esybox Mini 3 is showing a code and you don't know what it means
Here are all 20 codes your booster pump can display, with the manufacturer's own wording. You'll know what the machine is telling you, which ones you can reset from the keypad and which mean something is broken and needs looking at.
We're Joaquín and Juan. We install and repair DAB pumps across Mallorca, and because we're electricians too we check the machine and the board that feeds it.
All of Mallorca · Pump and electrical board · We speak English, Spanish and German
DAB E.sybox Mini 3 · Image: DAB
First things first: an alarm is not a blockage
The Esybox tells these two apart, and it's worth knowing which one you're looking at:
- Alarm signals — the unit is warning you about something, but it's still running or carrying out a protective function. You don't always need to act.
- Blockage conditions — the unit has stopped. There is a cause to fix, and meanwhile you have no water pressure.
If several protections trip at once, the screen shows the highest priority one, so there may be more than one thing going on.
Blockage conditions · the pump has stopped
| Code | Manufacturer's wording | What it usually is in practice |
|---|---|---|
| BL | Blockage due to water lack | Empty tank or well, air getting into the suction line, blocked filter or a foot valve losing prime. It also trips if the SP setpoint is set wrong. |
| BP1 | Blockage due to reading error on the delivery pressure sensor | The sensor or its wiring. Not the pump itself: it's what tells the pump what pressure it's at. |
| BP2 | Blockage due to reading error on the suction pressure sensor | Same thing, on the inlet side. |
| PH | Cutout due to pump overheating | Running dry, insufficient flow, or recirculating with no draw-off. |
| OC | Blockage due to motor overload | The motor is being forced: blocked impeller, bearings, or something binding the shaft. It resets, but if it repeats there's a mechanical cause. |
| SC | Blockage due to short circuit between the motor phases | Serious electrical fault in the motor. Don't keep resetting this one — get it checked. |
| ESC | Blockage due to short circuit to earth | Earth fault. This is the kind that also trips the RCD in the house. |
| NC | Blockage due to motor disconnected | The electronics can't see the motor. Connection or internal wiring. |
| PB | Blockage due to supply voltage outside specifications | A problem with the mains or the installation, not the pump. Common in country properties with long supply runs. |
| HP | Block for high DC voltage | Internal to the inverter. |
| LP | Block for low DC voltage | Internal to the inverter. |
| EY | Block for cyclicality abnormal detected on the system | Almost always a small leak in the system. See below — it's the most misunderstood of the lot. |
BL, OC and SC allow a manual reset: press and release the ˄ and ˅ keys together. If the error comes back, there's a physical cause that resetting won't fix.
If the screen shows E18, E19, E20 or E21 — internal errors — the manual says to wait 15 minutes with the machine powered, without unplugging it, for the blockage to clear itself.
Alarm signals · the pump is warning you
| Code | What it means |
|---|---|
| PD | Irregular switching off — the power was cut without shutting it down properly. |
| HL | Alarm giving advance warning of hot fluid blockage. |
| OT | Alarm giving advance warning of blockage due to overheating of the power amplifiers. |
| OBL | Abnormal temperature recorded on the low voltage board. |
| AYS | "Anti Cycling Smart" function running. |
| AE | "Anti Block" function running — it turns the shaft so it doesn't seize. |
| AF | "Anti Freeze" function running — protects against freezing. |
| BAT | Low battery. |
Error EY: the pump isn't faulty, you have a leak
This is the one that causes most confusion, and the one that brings us out most often. EY means the unit has detected that it's starting and stopping cyclically with nobody drawing water.
The reason is nearly always the same: a loss somewhere in the system. The manufacturer spells it out — a leak of just a few millilitres is enough to drop the pressure, and when the pressure drops the pump starts. All night long.
In Mallorca we see it constantly in older properties, in automatic pool top-up systems and in buried garden pipework. The pump is fine: what needs finding is where the water is going . Just resetting it means it'll trip again tomorrow — and meanwhile the pump is racking up starts that shorten its life.
There are two anti-cycling modes: Basic, which stops the pump and waits for a manual reset (red "Alarm" LED and ANTICYCLING on the display), and Smart, which raises the RP parameter to cut down the number of starts.
How far you can go, and where to stop
You can safely do this yourself:
- Look at the code on the display and write it down.
- Reset with ˄ and ˅ together on the codes that allow it.
- Check the obvious: water in the tank, valves open, RCD not tripped.
- Wait out the 15 minutes on internal errors.
This is where you stop:
The Esybox has an inverter running on 230 V inside it. Opening the unit or touching its electrical connection isn't a question of being handy: it's work on an electrical installation, and under the Spanish REBT regulations that is for a qualified installer. Opening it may also affect the manufacturer's warranty; the terms should be checked with DAB.
So this page tells you what's wrong, not how to take it apart. The sensible thing is that you know what you've got, so that when you call we both know what we're talking about.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Esybox Mini 3 errors
My Esybox Mini 3 shows BL — what do I do?
On a DAB Esybox Mini 3, BL is the water-lack block. The manual allows a reset by pressing and releasing ˄ and ˅ together, but only after restoring the water supply. If it returns on a Mallorca installation, check the tank or well, air ingress, filter and foot valve; repeated resets without removing the cause do not solve it.
What does error EY mean on a DAB pump?
EY is a block for abnormal cyclicality: the pump starts and stops on its own again and again with nobody opening a tap. In practice it almost always means there is a small leak somewhere in the system, not that the pump is faulty. A loss of just a few millilitres drops the pressure and starts the pump. In Mallorca the three usual culprits are the automatic pool top-up, buried garden pipework and dripping taps out on the finca. Once that loss is stopped (the tap replaced, the top-up fixed or the buried section renewed), the error goes away.
Can I reset the pump myself or do I need an engineer?
The DAB manual allows BL, OC or SC to be reset with ˄ and ˅ together after the cause is corrected. Do not open the unit or touch its connection: the Esybox operates at 230 V and electrical work in Mallorca must be carried out by a qualified installer under the REBT. Unauthorised work or damage caused by opening it may affect the warranty; the applicable terms should be checked with DAB.
The pump shows E18, E19, E20 or E21 and does nothing
E18, E19, E20 and E21 are internal DAB Esybox errors. The manual says to wait 15 minutes with the unit powered for an automatic reset. On a Mallorca installation, leave it energised only if there is no water leak, smell, abnormal heat or noise; isolate it if any of those signs is present. If the error remains, it needs a technician.
Do you repair DAB pumps in Mallorca?
Yes. DAB is one of the brands we work with regularly, along with Ebara and Grundfos, and we install and repair booster sets across the island: coastal villas, inland fincas on a well, and holiday homes. As we are electricians too, we check the pump and the board feeding it — on fincas with a long supply run, out-of-spec voltage (error PB) is the installation's doing, not the pump's. We speak English, Spanish and German.
Why does the dry-run protection trip when there is water?
The manual warns that if the SP parameter, the pressure setpoint, is not set correctly, the water-lack protection may not work properly and can trip for no reason. It also happens with badly sized suction lines or more than 8 metres of suction lift, which is the limit of the unit — common on inland finca wells. And with Mallorca's hard water, limescale on the pressure sensor or the impeller can throw the reading off after a few years. That is a commissioning or maintenance issue, not a breakdown.
Lost your water pressure?
Tell us the code on the display and which pump you have, and we'll tell you what it needs.
And to actually use it?
If what you want is to understand the display — what each reading means, which button does what, how to change the language or the pressure — that's on the other page:
DAB is a trademark of its owner. JSL Mallorca is not its official service centre: we are an installation company that fits and repairs this equipment. This guide is technical information, not manufacturer documentation.