Baxi 100He - won't light, water dripping

[wibbler]

Hi guys,

Hope you can help!

Boiler: Baxi 100HE
Age: 3 1/2 years
Problem:
Suddenly stopped working, refused to light, and starting dripping water out of bottom of unit.
Boiler repair man diagnosed Heat Exchanger, Ignition PCB and Main PCB (on which the fuse had blown) replacement.
Boiler worked for ten minutes after replacing those parts, and then reverted to same initial problem!

Anyone have any idea what could be wrong?

 

[Baxmax]

Heat x in ten minutes.mmmmm i am fast but 10 mins......

 

[wibbler]

Baxmax - I meant the *boiler* worked for 10 minutes after repair! I've modified it above to make it more clear...

 

[Baxmax]

Does it drip when it is running ?
Was the heat x xchanged ?

 

[wibbler]

Hi

- Yes, it only drips when it's turned on (although it can't light, so we turn it off again).
- Yes, the heat exchanger was replaced (along with the 2 x PCB parts mentioned above)

 

[Baxmax]

Where is it dripping from.If it is the base of the heat x i dont see how it would effect the pcb/ig board.Is it leaking from the flow switch ?Was the flow switch changed.When you say it is the same symptom do you mean it is still blowinig fuses ?

 

[wibbler]

Baxmax - thanks for your help so far!

Where it is dripping from - is it safe to have the cover off while it's on? If so, I can have a look and see where the water is coming from. All I know currently is that it's coming out of the bottom left of the boiler, and it's a dark yellow colour and smells...!

The fuse in the Main PCB had gone initially, and the initial engineer said that the water had ruined the PCB. This time, the fuse is fine, but the symptoms (leaking water, not igniting) have reappeared.

The Flow switch wasn't changed.

Here is a full timeline of events (if it helps):

2 months ago - boiler stopped working, noticed leak on bottom left of unit. Initial visit from repair company diagnosed Heat Exchanger and Transformer
1 month ago - engineer replaced Heat Exchanger, but said that it wasn't the transformer at fault but the Main PCB (fuse had blown) and Ignition PCB. These were ordered.
2 days ago - 2 x PCB parts arrived and fitted. Boiler worked fine for ten minutes (light ignited, making all the right sounds!), then stopped. It tried to reignite 5 times, then gave up. Water again appeared on bottom left of unit. Fuses on both PCB parts still ok.

 

[baxpoti]

Could be a 'new' leak, if new seals weren't used.

Could be a faulty heat exchanger.

Could be fan overheat stat tripping out.

Could be condensate trap leaking. (favourite)

Could be a lot of other things!

 

[ChrisR]

You can take the white case off and run it.
The flow switch is the black plastic thing top right where the pipes come out. It's right above the pcbs so would seem to be a contender. The O ring seal between it, and the hex, often leaks.

Part 18 unless I've forgoten since I dug this THIS
out..

Presumably you aren't paying for the parts??

 

[wibbler]

Hi Chris,

Yes, had to pay £500 for Heat Exchanger (inc labour) and £100 for PCB replacements... I had no insurance, as you'd have thought a 3 year old boiler would be ok... (I know, I know, it was silly of me).

Bit of extra info for you guys (thanks!):

Just tried the boiler again to find the leak. Typically, no leak at the moment, but will monitor. HOWEVER, looking through the flame peephole, i can see that it does actually light up every time it tries. However, after about 3 seconds it turns it off again. It does this 5 times before giving up. Could a sensor be to blame?

As I have said before, it has worked for 10 minutes once - just after I replaced the PCB boards.

 

[Baxmax]

As Baxpots says "It could be many things" Gas working pressure on ignition This you would not know,I would sugest you get yourself a R.G.I.

In hindsight it would have been better to contact Heateam. £500 for a H.X
I am sure you would have been better on a contract.Live and learn

 

[baxpoti]

This is a rip off, if your repairer hasn't repaired the original fault, get him back.

If he was knowledgable (certainly doesn't seem like it) he would have called the manufacturers repairers and have a guaranteed fix for £299. Charging you £350ish to cover a call out.

P.S. What's the serial number?

 

[baxpoti]

It's right above the pcbs so would seem to be a contender.

There is a slanted galvanized tray just below the flow and return connections to avoid the PCBs being water damaged from above.

 

[superdupergasman]

BG will do a fixed price repair for £170 or take out a contract with a repair included so you will be covered for the next time you have a hick-up

 

[Agile]

Mr Wibbler, did they, or could you, safely pour water down the condensate drain pipe to make sure that its not getting blocked?~

Its such a simple fault than many forget to test it before they start looking further!

However the dark yellow colour which smells, is, in the context of a boiler, likely to be system water. If so the system pressure will be falling quickly and need frequent topping up.

I am not impressed by your repairer.

Tony