diff --git a/src/cluster.c b/src/cluster.c
index 167468dc5ca94b1ca1603cb8aa9827ddbda4b281..848068af26225abea06d3234038d176ea538e735 100644
--- a/src/cluster.c
+++ b/src/cluster.c
@@ -830,9 +830,10 @@ void clearNodeFailureIfNeeded(clusterNode *node) {
 
     /* For slaves we always clear the FAIL flag if we can contact the
      * node again. */
-    if (nodeIsSlave(node)) {
+    if (nodeIsSlave(node) || node->numslots == 0) {
         redisLog(REDIS_NOTICE,
-            "Clear FAIL state for node %.40s: slave is reachable again.",
+            "Clear FAIL state for node %.40s: %s is reachable again.",
+                nodeIsSlave(node) ? "slave" : "master without slots",
                 node->name);
         node->flags &= ~REDIS_NODE_FAIL;
         clusterDoBeforeSleep(CLUSTER_TODO_UPDATE_STATE|CLUSTER_TODO_SAVE_CONFIG);