Quest WP4 auger motor not working

[richmcg]

When auger first stopped the auger light was on steady. Removed motor to test and when applied 110v did not turn. Ordered new motor which proved good when 110v applied. Placed new motor in stove and motor worked but was turning to fast over powering fire and also no light showing at all. Before I turned the stove off the auger stopped on its own. Now motor woun't start on stove but turns ok when 110v applied. Measure 325v ac across leads from pressure and hi limit switch. Whats my problem this stove has been faultless for years. I suspect a bad control board.
Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[Bioburner]

PM Stovensen, from Denmark. He has a working knowledge of electronics and the Whits. I have no idea how motor is getting that much voltage.

 

[Wilbur Feral]

Ditto on PM to Stovenson, and do please report back. Can't imagine anything but a board gone bad, as something is clearly stepping up voltage very significantly. Would unplug and await info from Stovenson, who is remarkably helpful. Note time difference to Denmark though, so may take a little bit for reply.

 

[Stovensen]

When auger first stopped the auger light was on steady.

Quest-questions
Was the auger LED flashing steadily in synchronicity with the auger cycles, or was it simply "on" constantly? If "on" constantly, something must be faulty on the control pcb.

Removed motor to test and when applied 110v did not turn.

Have you measured the resistance of the windings in the old auger motor? This resistance should be 18 Ohm +/- 2 Ohm. If the winding is shorted ( close to zero Ohm ), then the fuse should be burnt over. The winding resistance is more likely open, though, ( close to infinite Ohm ), since your benchtest of it didn't make it run.

Placed new motor in stove and motor worked but was turning to fast over powering fire and also no light showing at all.

What about the blowers? Were they working?

Measure 325v ac across leads from pressure and hi limit switch.?

Have you checked the battery in your voltmeter? If your meter is a digital multimeter ( Volt, Ohm, Amps ), then a drained battery can lead to very unreliable readings. Please check this first.
A reading of 325 Volt ac in a 110 Volt/60 Hz Whitfield Quest pellet stove is technically impossible.

I suspect a bad control board.?

If this turns out to be the case, then you're lucky to be the owner of a Quest stove of the first series and not the newer Quest Plus ( the one I have ). On the old Quest control boards only standard components are used. Everything should be available at RadioShack.
The biggest challenge is unsoldering the components without damaging the copper tracks ( tracks on both sides ). Especially the relays and the cmos ICs will be difficult to unsolder, even for a skilled tech.

You could say that the design of your Quest control board is based on the "KISS" principle. I'm afraid the use of this principle is getting rarer and rarer nowadays.
More about the KISS principle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KISS_principle

 

[richmcg]

The meter I used is older then the hills made in Japan still had old batteries smaller then the Costco ones I had to force in. Not getting 325V AC reading now seeing 10V AC on same meter with new batteries.

Stovenson The light was not syncing with the motor it was on constantly. I don,t have a good meter to measure the windings. The fuse on the control board is ok. The blowers were working when the new motor was turning. Not getting 325V AC reading now seeing 10V AC on same meter with new batteries.

Right now I have control board hanging on side of stove this printed on back : Solid State Control SSAC

Part Number: PSC120A-3180

Cust Number: 13625901

Time Delay 96-150V Rating Code 0995B

Was quoted $282 for new motor and $592.50 + $25 shipping + tax for a new board from local dealer here in Moncton N.B.

Don,t have the skills to repair and don’t know a good board man. Can anyone suggest any repair people or supplier.

 

[Stovensen]

Can anyone suggest any repair people or supplier.

David in Ontario has a repair service. Try emailing him. According to this ad. it should cost $128 ( return shipping included ).
Link to ad: http://www.kijiji.ca/v-heater-humid...i-plus-control-board-repair-service/265783976

Link to Youtubevideo, with David's emailaddress:


Good luck. Please keep us posted on the progress
Bo
PS, David will need a detailed description of the symptoms, but if you include a link to this thread in your email to David, then you won't have to rewrite all these details.