Illustration of an icon-style status light panel on a water heater's control area, with one indicator lit.

Bradford White ICON Status Light Codes

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Bradford White’s ICON gas control system, used on their standard gas tank water heaters, communicates status through a colored light and flash pattern — a completely different system from the F-prefix fault codes on their AeroTherm heat pump line. If you have a standard gas tank, you’re looking at ICON, not AeroTherm.

Illustration of an icon-style status light panel on a water heater's control area, with one indicator lit.
Illustration of an icon-style status light panel on a water heater’s control area, with one indicator lit.

Likely Causes, Ranked

  1. ICON 1.0 vs ICON 2.0
    Bradford White’s ICON system has gone through generations with different flash-pattern details — confirm which generation your unit uses before interpreting a code from a general chart.
  2. Status light off entirely
    Usually points to a power or pilot problem rather than a fault code being displayed — check pilot and gas supply before assuming the control board itself has failed.

Step-by-Step Diagnosis

  1. DIY SAFE
    Confirm you have a standard gas tank (ICON), not a heat pump AeroTherm unit

    The two systems look similar but use entirely different code languages — check our AeroTherm guide if you have a heat pump model instead.
  2. DIY SAFE
    Check the flash pattern against the chart on your specific unit

    ICON 1.0 and 2.0 differ in some details, so a generation-specific chart matters here.
  3. DIY WITH CAUTION
    If the thermopile is suspected, a working thermopile typically reads in the neighborhood of 300 millivolts

    Test with a multimeter set to DC millivolts, following your unit’s testing procedure.
  4. DIY SAFE
    If the status light is off and the pilot won’t light at all

    Move to our pilot light troubleshooting guide before assuming a control-board fault.

FAQ

Is ICON the same system as AeroTherm?

No. ICON is Bradford White’s gas control system for standard tank water heaters. AeroTherm is their separate heat pump product line with its own F-prefix fault codes.

Written by HotWater Decoded — water heater repair specialists. Technically reviewed by a licensed technician on our team.

Sources

  • Bradford White’s own documentation on the ICON gas control system
  • Independent water heater company documentation covering ICON 1.0/2.0 flash-code differences and thermopile testing values

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