AL05 on a MasterTherm heat pump: Low Evaporating Temperature in heating/cooling mode
Short answer
On a MasterTherm heat pump, AL05 means: Low Evaporating Temperature in heating/cooling mode. The heat pump stops until the fault clears or is reset. An engineer is needed to fix the cause. The wording differs by model range — each is shown below.
Reviewed 23 September 2026 · 1 source
What it means
On the pCO5/pGD controller alarms - air/water units (BoxAir, BoxAir Inverter, BoxAir Inverter P, AirMaster, EasyMaster)
The manual says: Low Evaporating Temperature in heating/cooling mode.
Part involved: evaporator / EEV / fan.
When it shows: Control action: Switches off compressor and fan. Operator guidance: Wait for the condition to end; if evaporator frozen perform manual thawing after restart; contact installer if repeated.
Likely causes:
- Extremely low outdoor air temperature (below -20 C).
- Evaporator freezing.
- Fan operation failure.
On the pCO5/pGD controller alarms - brine/water and water/water units (AquaMaster, AquaMaster Inverter, Inverter P, Combi)
The manual says: Low Evaporating Temperature heating/cooling mode.
Part involved: evaporator.
When it shows: Control action: Switches off compressor and brine circulator. Operator guidance: Switch off unit, clean strainer, check brine/water pressure; repeated - call service.
Likely causes:
- Low closed-loop/cooling water temperature.
- Evaporator freezing.
- Brine/water circulator malfunction.
- Full closed-loop/water strainer.
Is it safe?
| Does the heat pump stop? | Yes |
|---|---|
| Severity | Fault — clears by itself when the condition goes |
| Engineer needed? | Yes |
The heat pump stops until the fault clears or is reset.
Resetting itself: Resets automatically after the minimum compressor off time (~6 min) if the same alarm occurs fewer than 3 times per compressor operating hour.
Manual reset: After 3 occurrences in 1 compressor operating hour the unit is blocked (ALARM key lit steadily); manual reset by pressing ALARM key on the alarm display (pGD) or RESET on pGDx Alarm Management.
What you can check
On the pCO5/pGD controller alarms - air/water units (BoxAir, BoxAir Inverter, BoxAir Inverter P, AirMaster, EasyMaster)
- Read and note the alarm (ALx code/text) and the alarm counter shown on the pGD/pGDx display.
- Check the heat pump breaker/isolator in the consumer unit is on.
- Check the outdoor unit is not blocked by snow/ice/debris.
- If the manual permits, start a manual defrost from the controller.
On the pCO5/pGD controller alarms - brine/water and water/water units (AquaMaster, AquaMaster Inverter, Inverter P, Combi)
- Read and note the alarm (ALx code/text) and the alarm counter shown on the pGD/pGDx display.
- Check the heat pump breaker/isolator in the consumer unit is on.
What the engineer will check
On the pCO5/pGD controller alarms - air/water units (BoxAir, BoxAir Inverter, BoxAir Inverter P, AirMaster, EasyMaster)
- Check fan, EEV and refrigerant charge.
Who to ask for: heat pump service engineer (refrigeration/controls).
Certification: F-gas certification (refrigerant circuit work); electrical competence for switchboard work.
On the pCO5/pGD controller alarms - brine/water and water/water units (AquaMaster, AquaMaster Inverter, Inverter P, Combi)
- Clean strainers, check brine pressure and antifreeze.
- Check circulators.
Who to ask for: ground source heat pump engineer (refrigeration/controls).
Certification: F-gas certification (refrigerant circuit work); electrical competence for switchboard work.
What you might notice
Sources
- MasterTherm pCO5/pGD digital controller - OEM instruction manual, heat pumps AirMaster, AquaMaster, EasyMaster, BoxAir (Documentation PGD1-MANUAL, Edition 41, sw_11) ↗ · Edition 41 / sw_11 · pages 31, 42-43, 31, 40-41 · Reviewed 23 September 2026
A code explains what the controller detected, not a confirmed root cause.
Reviewed: 23 September 2026