Whitfield Advantage Optima 3 - Blowers not turning on

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Franation

New Member
Oct 29, 2014
3
Pennsylvania
Hello,
I have a Whitfield Advantage Optima 3. I’ve been running this unit since 2005 without any problems. I tried to fire it up a few weeks ago and the two blowers did not turn on. I’m out of options and need some assistance.
Here are the symptoms:
- Control board lights up all functions as normal
- The blowers normally turn on immediately, but did not
- The auger motor is operating and feeding pellets
- The igniter did not attempt to light the pellets
- I jumped the blowers with a 110V power cord and they both work
- I checked the vacuum switch – good
- I checked the pressure switches (x2) – good
Could this be the control board? If so, I have not way of testing it.
 
Since no one has responded yet...
What does your manual suggest in the troubleshooting section? Couldn't find manual for your stove but the whitfield advantage IIT troubleshooting mentioned this; know your's is a different stove but...
Check the wire connections on the high limit disc and control board.

If there is a board problem, you can send the board out for repair but you would want to rule out all other possibles as it will cost you up-front whether it is damaged or not. $250 from the one site I found. I know board repairs have been the subject of other threads so the search box should help find other options...
 
I believe the stove has a pressure switch in the exhaust path. I got corrected on this awhile back:) There are several Whit owners here that should chime in given a bit of time. I have collected three. Stove has a optical proof of fire eye correct? PIA. I would check all the wiring connectors as the stove line is pretty simple.
 
If your combustion and convection blowers do not run when you start the stove, you either have a bad wire connection somewhere, or you have a bad control board. There is no safety in the stove which will shut down the combustion blower or convection blower on that stove. Not without turning the entire stove off, which would take 15 minutes for the startup cycle to run through.
 
The original Advantage Optima 3 installation/operation manual should be available for download here:
http://www.whitfield.com/resources/manual/Lennox_Hearth_Advantage_Optima_Installation_775097.pdf

If this link doesn't work, I've also attached the relevant troubleshooting pages to this post ( including wiring diagram ).

Problem #4 on page 40 is relevant to your situation, and the remedy has already been suggested by other members in this thread.
Problem #10 on page 40 could have further interest... it describes what could happen, if the thermostat jumper on the rear of stove has jumped off, or has a bad connection, so please double check the jumper.

If it turns out that the control board is faulty, I suggest you send it to David in Canada for repair. I don't know his exact price, but it will certainly be a lot cheaper than buying a new control board.
David's e-mailaddress can be found in his video here:


Good luck and take care. Keep us posted.

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Last edited:
MountainSean said:
If your combustion and convection blowers do not run when you start the stove, you either have a bad wire connection somewhere, or you have a bad control board. There is no safety in the stove which will shut down the combustion blower or convection blower on that stove. Not without turning the entire stove off, which would take 15 minutes for the startup cycle to run through.
Click to expand...

Thank you everyone for your responses. I checked all the wiring and something just didn't seem right? Replacing the control board was not what I was hoping to hear, but at least I know for sure now.
 
I walked down the wiring last night double checking all the connections and the fuses. I started performing voltage checks before having to get to sleep. I noticed there is 118v at the connection to the convection blower when I disconnect it. But when I plug it in, the blower does not work? This is confusing because you would think the blower was bad? When I jump the blower straight from a 120v outlet, it works? Although I didn’t get a chance to double check it last night, the same symptom is occurring with the exhaust blower? I will test for current flow next. I also noticed (new symptom) that the igniter does not attempt to light the pellets. Basically, the only thing that works are the lights on the control board display and the auger motor. This, I believe, brings me back to the control board? I cleaned all the connections last night with electronic cleaner including the control board. I’m going to try trouble shooting it one more time before buying a new board. Thank you everyone for all your comments. This is a great forum. I will keep you posted
 
On the control boards for the Optima series, as well as the Traditions and Profile (they all use the same control boards, just the Traditions has one setting different on the board itself) the board checks if a blower is connected and if it isn't then it sends full voltage to that blower which means you can only test the power correctly with a blower connected to the wires. I will still stand by my earlier suggestions even with what you have described in your further testing.
 
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