On 9 Dec, 20:04, "Rick Hughes" wrote:
About 4 weeks ago I posted a comment about unreliability of Baxi Barcelona
(3 logic boards in 5 years)

As all works again when I reset ... anybody any ideas ? *.... any of those
could give a momentary glitch I guess, but how would I track down, other
than expensive elimination swap outs.

IME the best way to trace these sort of very intermittent electric/
electronic faults is by using a data logger; they can be bought on
ebay for around £70. A data logger can be useful for other
applications too, for instance I traced an intermittent engine cutting
out fault on my daughter's Focus that a main Ford dealer had been
unable to find. I have also used it for for fine-tuning central
heating etc. I have reverse-engineered the PCBs to trace the circuits
for the Baxi Barcelona so if you do decide to go down that route I can
provide you with suggestions on what points to monitor.

I have also found that a useful monitor of the ignition sequence on
the Barcelona is to place a radio (preferably switched to Long Wave)
alongside the boiler. You can then hear the ignition sparks via the
interference on the radio. This enables you to detect whether the
boiler starts at the first spark (which it should do if all is well)
or whether it needs several attempts to fire up. With a little
practice you can even gauge the energy content of the sparks from the
level of interference. This is only of use with hard faults of
course, or while the intermittent fault is present.

Another thing you could try is leaving the front cover off the PCB
housing. This will allow the PCBs to run cooler.

By the way, have you confirmed that the Control PCBs that you have
changed were indeed faulty?

CRB