Boiler not coming on

[Ritchie]

My boiler has not come on this morning. I have taken off the pcb and checked to see if any wires are loose. The board appears to be dead. I have checked my main fuse box, this is fine. Is there a fuse in the boiler itself, do not have instructions as inherited boiler from previous owner.

 

[taydo]

please read breezer's post at top of forum.

if you dont say what the boiler is the guys on here wont know if or where a fuse is.

if there is no name on the front you will need to hunt around as there will be a plate some where on the thing

 

[Ritchie]

Thanks for the response. The boiler is a Potteron, NetaHeat and is around 10 years old. Grateful if someone could tell me where the main fuse could be located in the boiler so I can check before possibly buying a new pcb.

 

[boilerbeasty]

What do you mean 'the board appears to be dead' ? Is this on the basis of smoke or charring ? Or no lights, no noise/movement from the boiler ?If you are competent/confident you can investigate both sides of the electrics with a multimeter.
Not saying it isn't the problem, but PCBs are expensive things to replace if you aren't sure ! And merchants won't take them back on return if its not at fault .

 

[Ritchie]

The LCD programme display is not working. There was no power to it this morning, not burnt out or charred. Wonder if there is an internal fuse in the boiler (Potterton NetaHeat). The programmer is separate to the boiler. Need to know whether a new pcb needs to be bought, just a fuse inside needs to be changed or whether to call out a tradesman. The boiler shows no signs of life, no pilot light.

 

[boilerbeasty]

The timer or programmer for a boiler is really just an eletronic switch saying 'turned the CH on' or 'turn the HW on'. If this is broken, then the boiler won't be switched on.

I stand to be corrected by the more experienced people on this board - cos I'm not familiar with this boiler....

 

[boilerbeasty]

If you're up for DIYing the diagnosis of this then...
Identify the type of programmer and what the connections to/from it are.
Check the power to the programmer. If no power, check the supply (fused spur, then fuse box/consumer unit breaker). If power is there, but programmer not showing signs of life, its suggests the programmer is broken. Some manufacturers make pin-identical replacements, i.e. same size, same connectors on the back, so you don't necessarily have to find exactly the same make & model. You could expect to pay 25-75 quid for one.

Some programmers have battery backups which can cause problems if the backup battery fails (leaks etc), even if you're running on mains.


If this is all a bit daunting, probably will have to get someone in.

 

[Potterton Man]

If you let me know what mode Neataheat you have I will try to help you there are several different models reneging from 5 to 30 years old

 

[hartnellg]

Hello,

I have a similar problem with the following boiler:
Potterton Netaheat - about 20 years old

I think its the 30-45 model, at least as far as I can remember, it's the smaller of the two that were produced at the time

This morning I got a call from home, saying that the boiler was starting up, then switching off in a continual cycling sort of mode - this occurs for both hot water and central heating

There have been no problems with the bolier since fitted in 1984, and it has given exemplarary service. We have not changed/done anything recently

The programmer/timer is on and calling for hot water from the boiler

I am a reasonably competent DIYer, so can anyone point me to what to look for before I have to call someone out

Thanks for any info

Geoff

 

[hartnellg]

Hello,

With regard to the Potterton Netaheat not starting, I have the following additional information:

Boiler: Potterton Netaheat
Model: 10-16 MkIIF

The cycling sequence is as follows:
a) controller calls for hot water
b) the fan starts
c) after about 10 seconds, the pilot ignites and the fan continues
d) after about a further 5 seconds, the pilot goes out, and the fan stops

After about 10 seconds, the cycle repeats, but after the first time the pilot comes on about 3 seconds after the fan starts

If anyone knows what I need to check or replace, I would be very grateful for any help

Thanks,

Geoff

 

[uncleben]

Hello,

I have a similar problem with the following boiler:
Potterton Netaheat - about 20 years old

I think its the 30-45 model, at least as far as I can remember, it's the smaller of the two that were produced at the time

This morning I got a call from home, saying that the boiler was starting up, then switching off in a continual cycling sort of mode - this occurs for both hot water and central heating

There have been no problems with the bolier since fitted in 1984, and it has given exemplarary service. We have not changed/done anything recently

The programmer/timer is on and calling for hot water from the boiler

I am a reasonably competent DIYer, so can anyone point me to what to look for before I have to call someone out

Thanks for any info

Geoff

Hi to all , the neataheat is an ok type boiler but sometimes causes problems which mostly are caused by AGE , anyhow if the continually try to light then look through the pilot window if there is a spark the the air flow switch and fan are ok which means that the gas valve is suspect or the spark electrode gap is incorrect. If there is no spark then check the airflow switch by removing the capillary pipe and blowing down it or sucking. If the boiler lights you need a new airflow sensor. If none of this works replace the pcb but check the casing seals as the air flow switch relys on a good seal. The basic components that can go wrong are air flow switch, fan, pcb, gas valve. Also the pilot is an intermittent one on this boiler which uses flame rectification so the probe or probes close to the pilot have to be in good condition.

 

[hartnellg]

Got this fixed after getting an engineer out through my house buildings insurance, but it cost a lot. So for the benefit of others, here's what the problem was, plus some other tips:

1) the actual problem was the relay which plugs into the PCB - relays have a finite lifetime and after about 20 years of operations, this relay had reached it. You can buy this relay from most electronic component distributors - it's an industry standard relay - 3PCO 230VAC
E.g. www.cpc.co.uk, part number SW0153366 - cost about £6 +VAT
(or about £35 +VAT if you buy it through a plumbers supplies ???)

2) the engineer replaced the PCB, but this was unnecessary on the Potterton Netaheat MkII 10-16. The pcb on this model has no active components and the only thing that can go wrong are dry joints. The component and assembly cost of this item is under £5, but the insurance company was charged something like £140 + VAT. Someone is making a HUGE profit here - anyone know why this should be ?

3) There's a functional/electronic wiring diagram in the boiler documentation which shows where/how the pressure switch, boiler thermostat and relay operate - I wish I'd spotted this before getting someone out, it would have saved me a lot

 

[doughboy]

Hi there,

Searching for a similar problem on google brought this thread up..

We've got an old netaheat 10-16 here, this morning it too refused to start.

The fan would come on, and the spark would spark too, but it wouldn't light.

I took the controller board off and resoldered the points in the image below. I touched nothing else.

Put it back together, and now the spark lights but it carries on sparking even though there's now a flame..

A brief lick of flame also comes from the area where the spark igniter goes which was rather disconcerting.

image

Any ideas on the problem

Cheers