Im getting an error message on my boiler . Its an Ideal isar he-30 .
Its around 3 years old . The error message reads a flashing L-F . The
manual suggests i ring and engineer . I belive it could be the spark
generator or spark electrode , as when i turn it on it runs for about
20 secs the fan spins etc but then it slows and everything stops . .

Any help gladly appreciated as im bloody freezing . Cheers .

Bluesplayer wrote:
Im getting an error message on my boiler . Its an Ideal isar he-30 .
Its around 3 years old . The error message reads a flashing L-F . The
manual suggests i ring and engineer . I belive it could be the spark
generator or spark electrode , as when i turn it on it runs for about
20 secs the fan spins etc but then it slows and everything stops . .

Any help gladly appreciated as im bloody freezing . Cheers .

I think it stands for 'LOL - ****ED' !
;-)

"Bluesplayer" wrote in message
...
Im getting an error message on my boiler . Its an Ideal isar he-30 .
Its around 3 years old . The error message reads a flashing L-F . The
manual suggests i ring and engineer . I belive it could be the spark
generator or spark electrode , as when i turn it on it runs for about
20 secs the fan spins etc but then it slows and everything stops . .

Any help gladly appreciated as im bloody freezing . Cheers .

Always worth Googling first as many manuals are available on-line.

http://www.idealboilers.com/docs/pdf/isar_he_manual.pdf

Look at page 52. Code L - F = Flame detection error.

There's a flow chart on the next page for fault diagnosis.

Tim

"Bluesplayer" wrote in message
...
Im getting an error message on my boiler . Its an Ideal isar he-30 .
Its around 3 years old . The error message reads a flashing L-F . The
manual suggests i ring and engineer . I belive it could be the spark
generator or spark electrode , as when i turn it on it runs for about
20 secs the fan spins etc but then it slows and everything stops . .

Any help gladly appreciated as im bloody freezing . Cheers .

Manual on the following link
http://www.idealboilers.com/docs/pdf/isar_he_manual.pdf

On Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:14:54 +0000, Tim Downie wrote:

"Bluesplayer" wrote in message
news:cce1854a-9899-4e32-a9da-
...
Im getting an error message on my boiler . Its an Ideal isar he-30 .
Its around 3 years old . The error message reads a flashing L-F . The
manual suggests i ring and engineer . I belive it could be the spark
generator or spark electrode , as when i turn it on it runs for about
20 secs the fan spins etc but then it slows and everything stops . .

Any help gladly appreciated as im bloody freezing . Cheers .

Always worth Googling first as many manuals are available on-line.

http://www.idealboilers.com/docs/pdf/isar_he_manual.pdf

Look at page 52. Code L - F = Flame detection error.

There's a flow chart on the next page for fault diagnosis.

Tim

So if you are competent to do so. Clean and check the flame check
electrode assy and the wiring to back to the control box.

I've only worked on one of these, IIRC the wire for the flame sense is
opposite the sparker??

If all those things don't give you any joy then try cetltd for a new
recon control unit.


--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at http://www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html
Choosing a Boiler FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/BoilerChoice.html

In message
,
Bluesplayer writes
Im getting an error message on my boiler . Its an Ideal isar he-30 .
Its around 3 years old . The error message reads a flashing L-F . The
manual suggests i ring and engineer . I belive it could be the spark
generator or spark electrode , as when i turn it on it runs for about
20 secs the fan spins etc but then it slows and everything stops . .

Any help gladly appreciated as im bloody freezing . Cheers .

Ha - you're going to have fun with that, the Isar is the new Suprima

When you say "it runs", you're not giving any useful info as to what
exactly is "running" except that the fan does temporarily. You don't
actually say whether there is a spark or not

It will only be the spark generator if the gas valve solenoid is being
powered. Spark electrode ? not unless you can see it sparking elsewhere
or there is a direct short to earth

Not having a manual in front of me, I would throw another possibility -
the hall effect sensor in the fan has gone tits up (technical term) and
the module is not getting feedback from the fan in the expected
timescale

How you or a fitter can find out, I don't know

--
geoff

In message , Tim Downie
writes

"Bluesplayer" wrote in message
...
Im getting an error message on my boiler . Its an Ideal isar he-30 .
Its around 3 years old . The error message reads a flashing L-F . The
manual suggests i ring and engineer . I belive it could be the spark
generator or spark electrode , as when i turn it on it runs for about
20 secs the fan spins etc but then it slows and everything stops . .

Any help gladly appreciated as im bloody freezing . Cheers .

Always worth Googling first as many manuals are available on-line.

http://www.idealboilers.com/docs/pdf/isar_he_manual.pdf

Look at page 52. Code L - F = Flame detection error.

There's a flow chart on the next page for fault diagnosis.

So if this is in fact correct (don't assume it is) - then yes, it could
be the spark generator

Next question is - which version do you (the OP) have ?

The version with a spark generator in the module (C3 IIRC) or with an
external spark generator (C4)

BTW I repair these modules

www.cetltd.com

--
geoff

"geoff" wrote in message
...
In message
,
Bluesplayer writes
Im getting an error message on my boiler . Its an Ideal isar he-30 .
Its around 3 years old . The error message reads a flashing L-F . The
manual suggests i ring and engineer . I belive it could be the spark
generator or spark electrode , as when i turn it on it runs for about
20 secs the fan spins etc but then it slows and everything stops . .

Any help gladly appreciated as im bloody freezing . Cheers .

Ha - you're going to have fun with that, the Isar is the new Suprima

When you say "it runs", you're not giving any useful info as to what
exactly is "running" except that the fan does temporarily. You don't
actually say whether there is a spark or not

It will only be the spark generator if the gas valve solenoid is being
powered. Spark electrode ? not unless you can see it sparking elsewhere or
there is a direct short to earth

Not having a manual in front of me, I would throw another possibility -
the hall effect sensor in the fan has gone tits up (technical term) and
the module is not getting feedback from the fan in the expected timescale

How you or a fitter can find out, I don't know

--
geoff

unscrew the spark electrode, its probably badly warped

In message , bob writes

"geoff" wrote in message
...
In message
,
Bluesplayer writes
Im getting an error message on my boiler . Its an Ideal isar he-30 .
Its around 3 years old . The error message reads a flashing L-F . The
manual suggests i ring and engineer . I belive it could be the spark
generator or spark electrode , as when i turn it on it runs for about
20 secs the fan spins etc but then it slows and everything stops . .

Any help gladly appreciated as im bloody freezing . Cheers .

Ha - you're going to have fun with that, the Isar is the new Suprima

When you say "it runs", you're not giving any useful info as to what
exactly is "running" except that the fan does temporarily. You don't
actually say whether there is a spark or not

It will only be the spark generator if the gas valve solenoid is being
powered. Spark electrode ? not unless you can see it sparking elsewhere or
there is a direct short to earth

Not having a manual in front of me, I would throw another possibility -
the hall effect sensor in the fan has gone tits up (technical term) and
the module is not getting feedback from the fan in the expected timescale

How you or a fitter can find out, I don't know

--
geoff

unscrew the spark electrode, its probably badly warped

not much use of its the hall effect sensor gone


--
geoff

On 3 Mar, 20:44, geoff wrote:
In message
,
Bluesplayer writes

Im getting an error message on my boiler . Its an Ideal isar he-30 .
Its around 3 years old . The error message reads a flashing L-F . The
manual suggests *i ring and engineer . I belive it could be the spark
generator or spark electrode , as when i turn it on it runs for about
20 secs the fan spins etc but then it slows and everything stops . .

Any help gladly appreciated as im bloody freezing . *Cheers .

Ha - you're going to have fun with that, the Isar is the new Suprima

When you say "it runs", you're not giving any useful info as to what
exactly is "running" except that the fan does temporarily. You don't
actually say whether there is a spark or not

It will only be the spark generator if the gas valve solenoid is being
powered. Spark electrode ? not unless you can see it sparking elsewhere
or there is a direct short to earth

Not having a manual in front of me, I would throw another possibility -
the hall effect sensor in the fan has gone tits up (technical term) and
the module is not getting feedback from the fan in the expected
timescale

How you or a fitter can find out, I don't know

--
geoff

Ok heres what happens . As soon as i switch on the boiler i get
nothing , only a flashing L-F Error code in the status led and a blue
burner led .. But if i hit the reset button ther Bolier starts up and
i get a brief number 5 then a small D and the blue burner light goes
out . Things appear to be working , motors running , i can hear clicks
as if somethings trying to ignite the burner , the fan runs
everything seems like a normal boot up , but then things sort of
slowly shut down and im left with just a L-F flashing in the status
led .

Reseting the boiler produces identical results .

"Bluesplayer" wrote in message
news:5af855f6-f2b1-4f10-88eb-
Have you looked at the flow chart? What things have you checked? Is the gas
valve opening? Does the boiler ignite briefly and then go out? Have you
checked the condensate drain for blockage?

There's a logical sequence to the way these things work and you just have to
work through the sequence and flow chart to isolate the fault.

Personally, my money world be on a failure of the flame failure devise to
detect ignition (it used to happen with our old Ideal boiler) and cleaning
up & tweaking the electrode may be all that's required.

If you're not confident to do this get a man in.

Tim

In message
,
Bluesplayer writes
On 3 Mar, 20:44, geoff wrote:
In message
,
Bluesplayer writes

Im getting an error message on my boiler . Its an Ideal isar he-30 .
Its around 3 years old . The error message reads a flashing L-F . The
manual suggests *i ring and engineer . I belive it could be the spark
generator or spark electrode , as when i turn it on it runs for about
20 secs the fan spins etc but then it slows and everything stops . .

Any help gladly appreciated as im bloody freezing . *Cheers .

Ha - you're going to have fun with that, the Isar is the new Suprima

When you say "it runs", you're not giving any useful info as to what
exactly is "running" except that the fan does temporarily. You don't
actually say whether there is a spark or not

It will only be the spark generator if the gas valve solenoid is being
powered. Spark electrode ? not unless you can see it sparking elsewhere
or there is a direct short to earth

Not having a manual in front of me, I would throw another possibility -
the hall effect sensor in the fan has gone tits up (technical term) and
the module is not getting feedback from the fan in the expected
timescale

How you or a fitter can find out, I don't know

--
geoff

Ok heres what happens . As soon as i switch on the boiler i get
nothing , only a flashing L-F Error code in the status led and a blue
burner led .. But if i hit the reset button ther Bolier starts up and
i get a brief number 5 then a small D and the blue burner light goes
out . Things appear to be working , motors running , i can hear clicks
as if somethings trying to ignite the burner , the fan runs
everything seems like a normal boot up , but then things sort of
slowly shut down and im left with just a L-F flashing in the status
led .

Reseting the boiler produces identical results .

Right, so you hear the clicks of the spark generator

Assuming they are finding their way to the electrode, they are not
lighting the gas

most probably because there's no gas

either the module is not powering the gas valve solenoid or the solenoid
is open circuit (or the valve isn't lifting )

You need to measure whether you have volts on the GV solenoid and / or
check the resistance of the solenoid coil



--
geoff

In message , Tim Downie
writes

"Bluesplayer" wrote in message
news:5af855f6-f2b1-4f10-88eb-

Quote:

Ok heres what happens . As soon as i switch on the boiler i get nothing , only a flashing L-F Error code in the status led and a blue burner led .. But if i hit the reset button ther Bolier starts up and i get a brief number 5 then a small D and the blue burner light goes out . Things appear to be working , motors running , i can hear clicks as if somethings trying to ignite the burner , the fan runs everything seems like a normal boot up , but then things sort of slowly shut down and im left with just a L-F flashing in the status led . Reseting the boiler produces identical results .

Have you looked at the flow chart? What things have you checked? Is
the gas valve opening? Does the boiler ignite briefly and then go out?
Have you checked the condensate drain for blockage?

There's a logical sequence to the way these things work and you just
have to work through the sequence and flow chart to isolate the fault.

Personally, my money world be on a failure of the flame failure devise
to detect ignition (it used to happen with our old Ideal boiler) and
cleaning up & tweaking the electrode may be all that's required.

He didn't say that there are any flames - "trying to ignite the burner"
would indicate to me that its not happening, so I'll take your bet in
the flame sensing not working and raise you lack of gas

Flow charts are for those who don't understand what's going on, we only
need to get useful info out if the OP




If you're not confident to do this get a man in.

Tim

--
geoff

On 3 Mar, 23:42, "Tim Downie"
wrote:
"Bluesplayer" wrote in message

news:5af855f6-f2b1-4f10-88eb-

Quote:

Ok heres what happens . As soon as i switch on the boiler i get nothing , only a flashing L-F Error code in the status led and a blue burner led .. But if i hit the reset button ther Bolier starts up and i get a brief number 5 then a small D and the blue burner light goes out . Things appear to be working , motors running , i can hear clicks as if *somethings trying to ignite the burner , the fan runs everything seems like a normal boot up , but then things sort of slowly shut down and im left with just a L-F flashing in the status led . Reseting the boiler produces identical results .

Have you looked at the flow chart? *What things have you checked? Is the gas
valve opening? *Does the boiler ignite briefly and then go out? *Have you
checked the condensate drain for blockage?

There's a logical sequence to the way these things work and you just have to
work through the sequence and flow chart to isolate the fault.

Personally, my money world be on a failure of the flame failure devise to
detect ignition (it used to happen with our old Ideal boiler) and cleaning
up & tweaking the electrode may be all that's required.

If you're not confident to do this get a man in.

Tim

It sounds like the boiler is lighting or trying to light . I cannot
see any flame , as its quite compact . How do i empty the condensate .
Is it a tray you pull out or a pipe you undo . Its the white plastic
one i know but im thinking the boiler aint gurgling so im not sure its
that .

Bluesplayer wrote:

It sounds like the boiler is lighting or trying to light . I cannot
see any flame , as its quite compact . How do i empty the condensate .
Is it a tray you pull out or a pipe you undo . Its the white plastic
one i know but im thinking the boiler aint gurgling so im not sure its
that .

Have you even looked at that link I gave you? It sounds like you ought to
stop tinkering and get a man it.

Tim

On 4 Mar, 08:49, "Tim Downie"
wrote:
Bluesplayer wrote:

It sounds like the boiler is lighting or trying to light . I cannot
see any flame , as its quite compact . How do i empty the condensate .
Is it a tray you pull out or a pipe you undo . Its the white plastic
one i know but im thinking the boiler aint gurgling so im not sure its
that .

Have you even looked at that link I gave you? *It sounds like you ought to
stop tinkering and get a man it.

Tim

Tim i have followed your links and i have a manual right here for the
boiler showing all the parts and locations , and i can remove and get
at the parts easy . The problem is i cannot tell which bit is shot . I
can remove spark igniters etc but how do i tell if its broke . I
really need to know how to do that , i can use multi meters etc . The
manual i have here just gives me 3 options , reset the boiler 3
times , clean the condensate , check for gas supply , after that its
call our engineer .

Im outa work and short on cash so im trying to be resourceful . Im not
going to **** with gas mind . but anything you guys can suggest is
really appreciated . Thanks for all your help thus far .

Bluesplayer wrote:
On 4 Mar, 08:49, "Tim Downie"
wrote:
Bluesplayer wrote:

It sounds like the boiler is lighting or trying to light . I cannot
see any flame , as its quite compact . How do i empty the
condensate . Is it a tray you pull out or a pipe you undo . Its the
white plastic one i know but im thinking the boiler aint gurgling
so im not sure its that .

Have you even looked at that link I gave you? It sounds like you
ought to stop tinkering and get a man it.

Tim

Tim i have followed your links and i have a manual right here for the
boiler showing all the parts and locations , and i can remove and get
at the parts easy . The problem is i cannot tell which bit is shot . I
can remove spark igniters etc but how do i tell if its broke . I
really need to know how to do that , i can use multi meters etc . The
manual i have here just gives me 3 options , reset the boiler 3
times , clean the condensate , check for gas supply , after that its
call our engineer .

Im outa work and short on cash so im trying to be resourceful . Im not
going to **** with gas mind . but anything you guys can suggest is
really appreciated . Thanks for all your help thus far .

Okay, fair enough. You were just sounding like you hadn't looked at the
diagrams. I didn't mean to sound unhelpful but it was beginning to seem
that the safest thing to do was to advise you to get a professional in.
Cleaning the condensate trap *looks* obvious enough in the manual hence my
concern.

I'm no professional so I'm sure others can offer you better advise, but
until then, as Geoff said, if you have a multimeter the easiest thing to
check is that the gas valve is opening. Is power getting to the solenoid
during the ignition sequence? (Black & blue wires). (Assume until otherwise
informed that it's mains voltage you're playing with).

If there is power, is the solenoid duff? You should be able to check the
resistance of the solenoid. If it's infinte then the coil is duff. If
there's no power getting to the gas valve then you need to work back up the
fault ladder. It could be a PCB problem or a problem with the fan and/or
pressurisation (the gas shouldn't turn on until after the fan has started
and the pressure within the boiler has tripped the pressure switch). I
would have thought that this would generate a different fault code however.

If the solenoid checks out okay and there's no other reason why gas isn't
getting to the burner then you need to check the igniter & flame failure
electrodes. Can you hear the spark generator working? It's a pity that
your boiler doesn't seem to have an inspection port as otherwise you could
see what was going on. I'd be tempted to remove, clean and replace those.
It's not going to cost you anything and might work. The gap for the
ignition electrode should be 3.5mm. The flame detection one is harder to
set up without some disassembly (as you'll see in the manual).

If it's the gas valve you're a bit stuck as it doesn't look like you can
replace just the solenoid coil (which wouldn't involve touching and gas
connections), you have to replace the whole valve.

Good luck.

Tim

Bluesplayer writes:

Im getting an error message on my boiler . Its an Ideal isar he-30 .
Its around 3 years old . The error message reads a flashing L-F . The
manual suggests i ring and engineer .

That may be wise.

I belive it could be the spark
generator or spark electrode , as when i turn it on it runs for about
20 secs the fan spins etc but then it slows and everything stops . .

It's probably not igniting. There's a flowchart in the
manual that suggests some possible causes, but doesn't list
all possibilities. Let me tell you a story.

I have an Ideal ISAR, six or seven years old; apart from
some teething troubles¹ it worked fine until the first
really cold day of this winter, when I went downstairs to
find it flashing L...F... I looked at the flowchart in the
manual and thought it probably wasn't a big problem, and
decided to get someone local to look at it. Chap turned up
after two days of us freezing and washing with kettle water,
listened to it and said "It's probably the gas valve". I
asked him "what now?" and he said "I'll get a price for the
valve and get back to you". I never heard from him again,
and his contact mobile was turned off.

So, having been huddled over a small fan heater for a week,
I thought, OK, I'll get British Gas in. I didn't have a
service contract, but they do a "£loads up front" call-out
where you pay once and they keep doing stuff until they've
mended it. I'm glad it was a one-off charge... BG Engineer
#1 turned up on Monday, opened it up, found "foreign matter"
in the pressure compensator tube to the gas valve, cleaned
it out, turned it on and went. It ran. Tuesday morning I got
up to a cold house and a boiler going "L...F... L...F...",
so I phoned them up and told them they hadn't mended it. So
Engineer #2 turned up that afternoon. He looked at it and
said that it was probably condensate leaking from the flue
seal getting into the compensator tube, so ordered a new
gasket (which comes complete with a flue). Said he'd come
with it on Thursday, didn't arrive until Friday. Friday he
replaced the flue. Saturday morning, boiler was saying
"L...F... L...F...", though by this point I was reading it
as "F***ing 'ell". Phoned them up and was told that Engineer
#2 would be back that day -- didn't turn up, I complained,
they said he'd come Sunday, didn't turn up.

On Monday BG Engineer #3 arrived, looked at it said "the
heat exchanger's ****ed" and pointed to water dribbling down
a pipe connected to the heat exchanger. [A quirk of the
design of the Isar means that a leak here drops water into
the compensator tube]. This would be a "long duration
repair", and they couldn't book one in before we went away
for Christmas. So fanheater and kettle for two more days and
then off to properly heated relation's places.

When a little water gets into the compensator tube it tends
to oscillate backwards and forwards in the pipe, causing the
valve to modulate the gas wildly. This made a noise that we
initially attributed to next door's young lad and his
wank-mobile with its barely legal exhaust muffler. BRRUUUM
BRUUUM. If there's enough water in the tube I suppose the
valve just stays closed, so the computer reports this as
ignition failure.

While away I booked them to do the job the day after we got
back. At the appointed hour Engineer #3 came back and set
about replacing the "heat engine", ie the heat exchanger and
burner assembly, which comes as one unit. This was a Friday.
The boiler worked all of Saturday and Sunday, but on Monday
morning I went down to find it going "F*** ***L...", but
this time there was a twist: water pouring out of the
bottom. Phoned BG. BGE3 called in sick, so BG engineer #4
from Newmarket came that evening, looked at it and said (a)
the slow leak is from the O-ring where the pipe connects
with the heat engine, probably nothing wrong with the
exchanger after all and (b) he's broken the condensate trap,
which is why there's water coming out.

BGE4 was from Newmarket, so the next day we saw BGE5, who
replaced the condensate trap, but didn't have the time to do
the O-ring because it involved taking out the whole heat
engine again (or most of that process). After spending some
time on the phone he said "I'll come back myself first thing
tomorrow to do it, otherwise you'll have seen every BG
engineer in town". Meanwhile he showed me a brand new O-ring
that he'd picked up off the floor; it looks like BGE3
dropped it and reused the old O-ring. Next morning BGE4 came
back and replaced the O-ring. When he'd finished and was
sitting typing the job up on his laptop, I was upstairs.
From upstairs, I heard FOOOOOOSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSH... -
"Jesus!" - SHSHSHSHSHS - "Argh! ****!" - SHSHSHSH... and I'm
sorry to say I just creased up in silent laughter. It turned
out that a compression fitting that BGE5 hadn't had any
cause to touch had just popped off the heating flow circuit
causing hot water to shoot out. He had reacted quickly and
tried to shove the joint back without thinking about how hot
it was. Seems like BGE3 had forgotten to tighten it up. It
took about a fortnight for the floorboards to dry out.

Apparently the one off charge doesn't cover the heat engine,
so I was billed for it, but since the real fault was (as far
as anyone can tell) just an O-ring, when I complained they
didn't charge me for it. So I've got a new flue and a new
heat engine for the sake of one O-ring. Apparently these
O-rings do tend to fail on Isars.

Any help gladly appreciated as im bloody freezing . Cheers .

If you don't have a contract, one of the "one payment"
call-outs may be worth it. I hope your experience is less
protracted than mine!

Jón

[1] There was an ignition problem and a software problem. If
the software detected no flame it would turn the gas off,
wait a bit and try again, but a bit too soon, with the
effect that it put a spark into a compartment containing an
explosive mixture of gas. It sounded like we were shelling
the neighbours.

--
Jón Fairbairn
http://www.chaos.org.uk/~jf/Stuff-I-dont-want.html (updated 2009-01-31)

Tim Downie wrote:
Bluesplayer wrote:
On 4 Mar, 08:49, "Tim Downie"
wrote:
Bluesplayer wrote:

It sounds like the boiler is lighting or trying to light . I cannot
see any flame , as its quite compact . How do i empty the
condensate . Is it a tray you pull out or a pipe you undo . Its the
white plastic one i know but im thinking the boiler aint gurgling
so im not sure its that .

Have you even looked at that link I gave you? It sounds like you
ought to stop tinkering and get a man it.

Tim

Tim i have followed your links and i have a manual right here for the
boiler showing all the parts and locations , and i can remove and get
at the parts easy . The problem is i cannot tell which bit is shot .
I can remove spark igniters etc but how do i tell if its broke . I
really need to know how to do that , i can use multi meters etc . The
manual i have here just gives me 3 options , reset the boiler 3
times , clean the condensate , check for gas supply , after that its
call our engineer .

Im outa work and short on cash so im trying to be resourceful . Im
not going to **** with gas mind . but anything you guys can suggest
is really appreciated . Thanks for all your help thus far .

Okay, fair enough. You were just sounding like you hadn't looked at
the diagrams. I didn't mean to sound unhelpful but it was beginning
to seem that the safest thing to do was to advise you to get a
professional in. Cleaning the condensate trap *looks* obvious enough
in the manual hence my concern.

I'm no professional so I'm sure others can offer you better advise,
but until then, as Geoff said, if you have a multimeter the easiest
thing to check is that the gas valve is opening. Is power getting to
the solenoid during the ignition sequence? (Black & blue wires). (Assume
until otherwise informed that it's mains voltage you're
playing with).
If there is power, is the solenoid duff? You should be able to check
the resistance of the solenoid. If it's infinte then the coil is
duff. If there's no power getting to the gas valve then you need to
work back up the fault ladder. It could be a PCB problem or a
problem with the fan and/or pressurisation (the gas shouldn't turn on
until after the fan has started and the pressure within the boiler
has tripped the pressure switch). I would have thought that this
would generate a different fault code however.
If the solenoid checks out okay and there's no other reason why gas
isn't getting to the burner then you need to check the igniter &
flame failure electrodes. Can you hear the spark generator working? It's
a pity that your boiler doesn't seem to have an inspection port
as otherwise you could see what was going on. I'd be tempted to
remove, clean and replace those. It's not going to cost you anything
and might work. The gap for the ignition electrode should be 3.5mm. The
flame detection one is harder to set up without some disassembly
(as you'll see in the manual).
If it's the gas valve you're a bit stuck as it doesn't look like you
can replace just the solenoid coil (which wouldn't involve touching
and gas connections), you have to replace the whole valve.

Good luck.

Tim

Tim Downie wrote:
Is power getting to
the solenoid during the ignition sequence? (Black & blue wires). (Assume
until otherwise informed that it's mains voltage you're
playing with).

Oops. Just checked the flow diagram and its 200V dc.

Tim

Jon Fairbairn wrote:
Bluesplayer writes:
Apparently the one off charge doesn't cover the heat engine,
so I was billed for it, but since the real fault was (as far
as anyone can tell) just an O-ring, when I complained they
didn't charge me for it. So I've got a new flue and a new
heat engine for the sake of one O-ring. Apparently these
O-rings do tend to fail on Isars.

Cricky, what a bunch of numpties!

Any help gladly appreciated as im bloody freezing . Cheers .

If you don't have a contract, one of the "one payment"
call-outs may be worth it. I hope your experience is less
protracted than mine!

Think I'd rather pay one competant plumber and avoid all that hassle. ;-)
Of course finding that elusive beast is easier said than done.

Tim

"Tim Downie" writes:

Jon Fairbairn wrote:
Bluesplayer writes:

[Do you splay anything that isn't blue, too?]

the real fault was (as far
as anyone can tell) just an O-ring, when I complained they
didn't charge me for it. So I've got a new flue and a new
heat engine for the sake of one O-ring. Apparently these
O-rings do tend to fail on Isars.

Cricky, what a bunch of numpties!

Any help gladly appreciated as im bloody freezing . Cheers .

If you don't have a contract, one of the "one payment"
call-outs may be worth it. I hope your experience is less
protracted than mine!

Think I'd rather pay one competant plumber and avoid all that hassle. ;-)
Of course finding that elusive beast is easier said than done.

I think I found him: between seeing the first local chap who
disappeared without a trace and deciding to go with BG, I
phoned around a bit more. One of them asked what type of
boiler it was and when I answered "Ideal Isar", he said
"Sorry, I won't work on those, they're too compact".

--
Jón Fairbairn
http://www.chaos.org.uk/~jf/Stuff-I-dont-want.html (updated 2009-01-31)

On Wed, 04 Mar 2009 02:08:06 -0800, Bluesplayer wrote:

On 4 Mar, 08:49, "Tim Downie" wrote:
Bluesplayer wrote:

It sounds like the boiler is lighting or trying to light . I cannot
see any flame , as its quite compact . How do i empty the condensate
. Is it a tray you pull out or a pipe you undo . Its the white
plastic one i know but im thinking the boiler aint gurgling so im not
sure its that .

Have you even looked at that link I gave you? Â*It sounds like you ought
to stop tinkering and get a man it.

Tim

Tim i have followed your links and i have a manual right here for the
boiler showing all the parts and locations , and i can remove and get at
the parts easy . The problem is i cannot tell which bit is shot . I can
remove spark igniters etc but how do i tell if its broke . I really
need to know how to do that , i can use multi meters etc . The manual i
have here just gives me 3 options , reset the boiler 3 times , clean the
condensate , check for gas supply , after that its call our engineer .

Im outa work and short on cash so im trying to be resourceful . Im not
going to **** with gas mind . but anything you guys can suggest is
really appreciated . Thanks for all your help thus far .


I'm fairly certain there is a small window to see if the flames are
ignited. This is a crucial test as it splits the problem between flame
detection (as reported) and ignition failure which would also be reported
as flame failure.

If all else fails and you have access to the outside boiler flue, you
might be able to tell if the flames come on briefly by feeling if the
flue gases come out warm.

Another way would be to check for a dip in the inlet get pressure whcih
shows the gas valve opens OK.

Essentially either blindly follow the flowchart or understand how it
works and divide the problem into little tests to home in on the one and
only fault.

If this is all too much then get someone in.

--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at http://www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html
Choosing a Boiler FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/BoilerChoice.html