Vaillant Turbomax VUW 242 1/e Not Firing! HELP!!!

[gizmo1]

Hi, My old bolier a VUW 242 Turbomax 1/e has stopped firing today. Just checking to see if anyone has any ideas on it as most people are not that familiar with these older boilers any more. Any help/ideas/suggestions will be highly appreciated.

When I switch on the bolier, the green power on light comes on as normal. When I turn on the hot water or the CH, the normal sequence of lights come on up to the yellow fan light. I can see sparks of the ignition in the chamber. After a few attempts at ignition, the sparks stop and all the lights except the green power light go off and the boiler fails to ignite. The green power on light now starts flashing continuously. If I turn the power off and then on again the green lights again comes on as normal (i.e stops flashing) and I go through the same process with the boiler failing to light. For some reason it seems as though there is no gas reaching the system.

Please help. many thanks in advance.

 

[gas112]

After checking the obvious that know one has turned gas off at meter etc.
Usually the magneto or board but one takes out the other so both bits need changing at same time .
BG fixed price repair is the cheapest route

 

[gizmo1]

Thanks for the reply. I've checked all the obvious but couldn't work it out. Well the magneto doesn't seem to cost that much but a main board could be pricey. I have just noticed there is a slight leak from the flow switch (DPS). Could that be the culprit?

 

[Agile]

My experience of those faults is that its mostly due to something else!

But a fixed price BG repair whill probably be the best bet.

Tony

 

[gizmo1]

Thanks Tony. The reason I don't want to go BG straight away is because I have a spare similar complete boiler lying around in the shed that I can get parts off one by one and see if i can get it going. To save time and hassle do you have any idea which parts I should try first?

I have ruled out using my local RGI because he only uses new parts and that could cost a bomb if we don't manage to get it right the first time.

 

[gizmo1]

UPDATE:

One of the members of the forum kindly emailed a manual for this boiler. After a quick read through I managed to find the reset button for the overheat thermostat. I pressed it and the boiler seems to be working fine now.

For anyone else in this situation, the reset button is in the plastic cover between the two wires on the thermostat. Just press it once for reset. Many thanks to everyone for their contribution.

 

[Agile]

I have ruled out using my local RGI because he only uses new parts and that could cost a bomb if we don't manage to get it right the first time.

If he gets the diagnosis wrong then you should not have to pay for parts not needed.

I have used parts from a customer's spare boiler to do repairs before.

In your case I did expect it to be the o/h stat or possibly the gas valve failed but I hesitate to give any advice which could encourage a DIYer to do jobs for which an RGI is required for safety and you sounded like someone who would change any parts when you are not qualified or experienced quite apart from not having the equipment needed to set up and safety check a boiler.

Tony

 

[ChrisR]

If your overheat button is as you describe, you don't have a /1e version, iirc!

 

[gizmo1]

If he gets the diagnosis wrong then you should not have to pay for parts not needed. Tony

Not all RGIs will admit to a wrong diagnosis. In my experience some will say that there was another faulty part in addition to the one that they had (wrongly) replaced. Hence increasing cost to the customer. It is difficult for a customer to prove that a certain part was not actually required. With an old boiler like this it can be real difficult to make the correct diagnosis for the less experienced RGIs and not all are honest.

I completely understand why you hesitated in giving your opinion and I agree that it was the correct thing to do as even though I am a retired mechanical engineer (working on my own boiler) I am NOT a qualified RGI. I am really grateful for your input. Many thanks.

 

[gizmo1]

If your overheat button is as you describe, you don't have a /1e version, iirc!

Hi Chris, I'm too old to know what iirc stands for but the boiler is definitely a 1e version. You may be thinking of the vuw 242eh which is slightly different. Anyway, it's sorted now!