Harman P43 control board

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Pete Subbe

New Member
Oct 7, 2013
3
NJ
I was doing my preseason check on my stove and noted that in test mode that the feeder motor, blower motor, and combustion motor all started and ran for 2 min. then feeder turned off and both blowers went to low. The blower motor would switch from high to low every min. but the combustion motor just stayed on low I thought that should switch from high to low as well. I confimed this with a draft gage in the test hole. I was having problems at the end of last year with the stove lighting and not burning good and thought this could be the problem.
 
your test mode sounds normal. 9 out of 10 times if the stove doesn't light, its a dirty igniter. that 10th times is a mix of things, but I lean towards aliens. What are your symptoms that give you the "not burning good" impression?
 
your test mode sounds normal. 9 out of 10 times if the stove doesn't light, its a dirty igniter. that 10th times is a mix of things, but I lean towards aliens. What are your symptoms that give you the "not burning good" impression?

I would have poor heat output and the blower would cycle on and off and sometimes the fire would go out. I have done all the cleanings and checked draft in fire box that is how i found that combustion motor was not switching from high to low every min. as it did when i installed the stove in test mode and recorded original readings. I have not started the stove this year but will tonight and I agree with the alien theory.
 
when the unit would go out, what error code was given at the status light?
 
How old of stove? Warranty yet? Could be a failing ESP of bad pot switch?
 
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How old of stove? Warranty yet? Could be a failing ESP of bad pot switch?
agreed- could be......hard to actually test the potentiometer tho....they always seem to work when you check them out, and stop working 20 mins after the tech leaves, or late at night....go figure.....most aliens are out at night though
 
Had the stove turned off and came in late the next morning and it had fired up. Three new pots for $9. Still on the to do list but its not the main heater. Others have just touched the switch and things go wonky. Someone researched and the expected life of the switch was like 750 cycles if memory serves me right.
 
the fines box cover not being seated corrctly is this years popular culprit so far. the newer style one has the slot in the top that kinda "hooks" onto the feeder body. because of its location, and the difficulty of the angle to see the top of the plate, its easy to assume its on correctly. if it doesn't seat corectly it messes with ignition and operation. if you cleaned the fines box, I suggest giving it a look.

poor heat output and the blower turning off and on are related. the blower is connected to the ESP and so, if the internal temp of the unit gets too low, it turns off the fan. as the temp get reconstitued, the fan comes back on. common culprits being, feed adjuster set too low, long pellets bridging/beaver damming, foreign object...or anything that interferes with the airflow through the machine....like the fines box cover.
 
Thi
the fines box cover not being seated corrctly is this years popular culprit so far. the newer style one has the slot in the top that kinda "hooks" onto the feeder body. because of its location, and the difficulty of the angle to see the top of the plate, its easy to assume its on correctly. if it doesn't seat corectly it messes with ignition and operation. if you cleaned the fines box, I suggest giving it a look.

poor heat output and the blower turning off and on are related. the blower is connected to the ESP and so, if the internal temp of the unit gets too low, it turns off the fan. as the temp get reconstitued, the fan comes back on. common culprits being, feed adjuster set too low, long pellets bridging/beaver damming, foreign object...or anything that interferes with the airflow through the machine....like the fines box cover.

This will be the 3rd season for the stove and i had learned most of the above fixes by reading this form and I thank everyone for the help. As i said i have not fired the unit yet this season but did speak to the dealer where I bought the stove and he was suspicious of the board and said he would warranty it for me. I see how the fines door could easily be problem and could see it much better with board removed. Will let you know how it works out.
 
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