AC, along with the related AE and Et readings, is a communication problem on Samsung dryers — the main control board and a secondary board or display module have stopped exchanging data correctly. It’s an internal electronics issue rather than anything related to heating, drying performance, or the motor.
What causes a comms breakdown
Samsung dryers, like the company’s washers and cooking appliances, split control functions across more than one board connected by a ribbon cable or wiring harness. AC shows up when that link is interrupted, most commonly from:
- A ribbon connector between boards that’s partially seated or has worked loose over time
- A damaged or pinched communication cable, sometimes from prior service work or a panel reinstalled slightly off
- A brief power fluctuation or outage that disrupted the handshake between boards mid-cycle
- A board that has begun failing and is no longer transmitting or receiving reliably on the data line
What to check before calling for service
Power the dryer off at the breaker for a full minute rather than just using the control panel’s power button — this forces both boards to fully reset and reinitialize their connection, which resolves a meaningful share of communication problems caused by a temporary glitch. If the dryer was recently serviced, moved, or had a panel removed, a jarred connector is a strong possibility worth having checked.
If AC returns immediately after power is restored, the problem is more likely a hardware failure in one of the boards or the cable connecting them, which requires opening the control housing to test and isolate — that diagnostic work is best handled by a technician familiar with the board layout.
Our dryer repair service handles Samsung control board and communication diagnostics. Manufacturer resources: samsung.com/us/support.
Independent resource — not affiliated with Samsung Electronics.
