Instant Pot burn message what actually triggers it?

[Thomas Martinez]

Been seeing the BURN error come up in the cooker groups alot lately so figured I’d start a thread to discuss the issue and what peoples thoughts is on it. The typical resolution for the error is to press Cancel, vent the steam from the pot and then open the lid to assess what the issue is in the pot. Often there is food stuck to the bottom of the pot that you can remove or simply that water can be added and the cook deglaze the pot prior to continuing with the recipe.
Common causes of the error are food stuck to the bottom of the pot, using too much thick sauce (especially chili and tomato-based sauce), adding insufficient liquid to the pot to begin with, or the lid not properly seal onto the pot (often caused by a worn silicone ring).
Given the prevalence of tomato-based recipes in particular, tomato-based sauce is the #1 cause of this error.
What people’s thoughts on the issue?

 

[Exci]

layering is 90% of it. Tomato goes on top, NEVER stir it in before pressurizing. That one rule alone fixed every burn issue I had.

 

[Biblical Chicken]

The sensor is reading the temperature of the bottom plate of the pot, not burning anything. The sensor will register if the temperature of the plate goes above a certain threshold, that will register as the BURN error.