St Croix Igniter trouble.

[Attila]

I have a St Croix Presscott stove. The igniter just up and stopped working last night. I replaced the igniter today and it still will not light.
Does anyone know what might be wrong or point me in the right direction?

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Do you have a multimeter?

If so measure the resistance of both the old igniter and the new one.

Let us know what you get for readings.

If you do not have a multimeter but are comfortable working with electricity we can tell you how to run the glow test. But it requires 120 volts and may generate a lot of heat so some folks might not want to try that.

ETA: If there is a fuse in the igniter circuit it may have blown but before replacing it it would pay to check the igniters first.

 

[Attila]

I don't have a multimeter. I'm comfortable with electricity. How do you run a glow test? Thanks

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Warning !! Do not do this if you don't know how to work with 120 volt electric circuits, this test will generate high temperatures and can cause fires. This can kill you if you are not careful Warning!!

You need a patch cord that you can wire the igniter to and on the other end a standard electrical plug.

You need to have the igniter away from any flammable material, you attach the igniter to the patch cord and plug it in and see if it glows.



But before doing any of that try making sure the fire and ash pan doors are in the latched position. And retry your new igniter. They must be latched for the igniter system to work according to the St Croix Prescott operations and maintenance manual on page 5.

 

[Attila]

Thanks, I will try that tomorrow and report back the out come. If the igniter passes the glow test would that mean the board needs to be replaced or is there a fuse that is inline somewhere? I looked but couldn't find one.
Thanks
Again

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Thanks, I will try that tomorrow and report back the out come. If the igniter passes the glow test would that mean the board needs to be replaced or is there a fuse that is inline somewhere? I looked but couldn't find one.
Thanks
Again

There are two fuses indicated in the manual one on the front of the control board and one on the rear of the control board. Neither is specific to the igniter.

Remember the test I provided is very dangerous, make certain that that igniter can not start a fire and that you insulate the igniter connections to the patch cord before plugging it in.

It would be a lot safer to buy an inexpensive multimeter and use the resistance scale to determine what is what with the igniter.

 

[Attila]

I purchased a multimeter. The problem is I am not getting a reading for resistence. I don't think I'm doing it right. What I am getting is a reading for is 125 A/C volts going to the igniter. I disconnected the igniter and tested for power and I got a reading of 125 volts. I then reconnected the igniter and check the wires going in the back of the igniter and it read 125 volts. The problem is the igniter is not working. Why????

 

[UncleAnthony]

I purchased a multimeter. The problem is I am not getting a reading for resistence. I don't think I'm doing it right. What I am getting is a reading for is 125 A/C volts going to the igniter. I disconnected the igniter and tested for power and I got a reading of 125 volts. I then reconnected the igniter and check the wires going in the back of the igniter and it read 125 volts. The problem is the igniter is not working. Why????

Do you have the power off ?
I would then unplug unit, would not think that would impact resistance measurement.

Turn on meter, move dial to ohms .
a small omega symbol should show on face of meter. short leads together, should show 0.0 ohms.
Then connect to igniter for resistance measurement.

If stll can't get meter to work, please post with what brand and model of meter you purchased,
and we can work thru getting a resistance measurement.

 

[Attila]

it is a Commercial Electric M1015B.
Thanks

 

[UncleAnthony]

it is a Commercial Electric M1015B.
Thanks

Could not find a manual online, pictures I found showed M1015B (china) analog meter. Guessing this is a analog meter ?
If so, then move dial to highest resistance (probably 20k or 10k), short leads. deflection needle should go to zero.
connect to igniter and read the scale on meter (20k if using 20k on dial) and reading is #of k on that scale.
If too low, move down on dial and scale reading.

Hope this helps. If still issue ,can you post or link manual , or at least a good picture of meter ?

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Make certain the stove is off and the igniter is disconnected before using the ohm feature.

 

[Attila]

Yes it's analog. It has a X1k setting and an X10.
I crossed the the red lead with the black lead and then calibrated it to zero.
Then I took the black lead and attached it to one of the wires on the igniter, then took the red lead and attached it to the other wire on the ignitor.
When I did this nothing happens the needel doesn't move.
It doesn't move on either 1K or the 10K setting.
Maybe I don't have enough Ohm settings on this multimeter to get a reading because it is a cheap one??
Thanks for your help Uncle Anthony

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Yes it's analog. It has a X1k setting and an X10.
I crossed the the red lead with the black lead and then calibrated it to zero.
Then I took the black lead and attached it to one of the wires on the igniter, then took the red lead and attached it to the other wire on the ignitor.
When I did this nothing happens the needel doesn't move.
It doesn't move on either 1K or the 10K setting.
Maybe I don't have enough Ohm settings on this multimeter to get a reading because it is a cheap one??
Thanks for your help Uncle Anthony

Nope you have an open igniter (as in it ain't gonna work).

 

[woodsman23]

try the cord thing..

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

try the cord thing..

He has basically done that when he took a voltage reading with the igniter hooked up.

I hope he didn't toss out the first igniter that went.

I'd like to have that one tested as well.

It would not be the first time that some one took out a bad part, got distracted, and then reinstalled the bad one instead of the good one.

 

[Attila]

I still have both the new and the old igniters and I get the same resistance reading on the old one also, nothing.
Currently the old one is reinstalled in the stove so I can run it manualy.
I also did the voltage test on the old igniter and the results where the same as the new one.
I'm getting power all the way thru.

 

[Attila]

The way it looks to me is the old one crapped out, and the new one I got from the dealer is deffective.
Does anyone agree?

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I still have both the new and the old igniters and I get the same resistance reading on the old one also, nothing.
Currently the old one is reinstalled in the stove so I can run it manualy.
I also did the voltage test on the old igniter and the results where the same as the new one.
I'm getting power all the way thru.

No you are getting power from the control board, you likely have two bad (open) igniters.

But just for giggles when you get a chance (I feel better about this now since you didn't fry yourself) try the patch cord thing.

Remember what you are playing with.

 

[Attila]

Sure, now that you scared me shittless to the point where I went out and bought a multimeter now you say try the patch cord thing! ;-P
I'll give it a go tomorrow after work and let you know how I make out.
Thanks for you patiance and help.
Attila

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Sure, now that you scared me shittless to the point where I went out and bought a multimeter now you say try the patch cord thing! ;-P
I'll give it a go tomorrow after work and let you know how I make out.
Thanks for you patiance and help.
Attila

Attila,

It is always dicey giving people something that can lead to major problems for them if they don't understand what they are working with.

Even people who have worked on such things have been known to foul up and hurt themselves. Sometimes there are other problems with a system that can make what is normally a safe thing to do very dangerous.

Been zinged by wiring faults more than once.

 

[imacman]

The way it looks to me is the old one crapped out, and the new one I got from the dealer is deffective.
Does anyone agree?

If you have the meter on "ohms", zero'd it, and then put the leads on the ignitor leads and get no reading, then the ignitor is shot.

BTW, if your multi-meter is anything like this one, make sure the probe leads are plugged into the correct sockets (NOT the one marked "10ADC")

 

[UncleAnthony]

Atilla,
your welcome. Keep posting on your progress.

Imacman,
good point on using correct meter plugs. one for gnd, other for volts/ohms, and one that
is for current. Seems this meter is analog, could not get a good picture of it, so could not
tell if it had that third plug.

 

[UncleAnthony]

What would be the resistance reading of a good ignitor in this stove ?

If the meter is 1000 ohms scale, would an igniter be say like at least 100ohms

to see deflection ?

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

What would be the resistance reading of a good ignitor in this stove ?

If the meter is 1000 ohms scale, would an igniter be say like at least 100ohms

to see deflection ?

Depends upon the wattage. But it will be under 50 ohms for a 300 watt igniter.

 

[imacman]

What would be the resistance reading of a good ignitor in this stove ?

If the meter is 1000 ohms scale, would an igniter be say like at least 100ohms

to see deflection ?

Depends upon the wattage. But it will be under 50 ohms for a 300 watt igniter.

Yep, a 300 watt ignitor should read just about 48 ohms.