Bad igniter

[russr]

I did my usual cleaning on my Harmon Accentra Insert. I started it up and walked away. When I returned later I had a burn pot filled with unburned pellets. I checked and the burn pot was cold. Is there a separate fuse for the igniter? If not ,where is a good source for a new one. I am currently running on manual.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

At a Harman dealer.

 

[ScotL]

I've occasionally had a similar problem with my Harman right after cleaning. I opened the access cover to the igniter and lightly tapped underneath it to get out ash that I had knocked down through the holes while cleaning. I also moved the 2 wires to the igniter around a little to make sure they didn't have tension on them. It's always worked after that.
I think sometimes when you clean a Harman, ash gets on top of the igniter and becomes an insulator.

The way I look at it is: if you just cleaned it and it's suddenly not working but worked fine before, then the most recent change (the cleaning) probably caused the problem. I hope that helps. The igniters aren't difficult to change on a Harman but they can be expensive. Fortunately, Harman does have a pretty good warranty. The wires on the end of my original igniter had problems and Harman gave me a free upgraded (13 fins instead of 11) replacement for it under warranty, which I was pretty happy with.

 

[Lousyweather]

The way I look at it is: if you just cleaned it and it's suddenly not working but worked fine before, then the most recent change (the cleaning) probably caused the problem.

VERY well put! As with igniters, ESP probes also suffer from the "it worked until I cleaned it" malady....read that as shoving the vacuum down the exhaust to clean it, thereby damaging the probe.......I know, I know, "my dealer didnt tell me NOT to...."

 

[mepellet]

I understand that the ESP is very sensitive so if you shove a vac hose down the exhaust and hit the ESP that can cause damage but when cleaning, how can you damage the ignitor?

 

[Lousyweather]

push stuff down on it from above and not clean it

 

[mepellet]

push stuff down on it from above and not clean it

Do you mean ash going down through the burnpot holes when scraping/cleaning the burnpot? How do you recommend cleaning the ignitor? I just put the end of the vac hose in the access hole.

 

[DAKSY]

push stuff down on it from above and not clean it

Do you mean ash going down through the burnpot holes when scraping/cleaning the burnpot? How do you recommend cleaning the ignitor? I just put the end of the vac hose in the access hole.

That will probably only get the ash at the BOTTOM of the ignitor cavity.
You hafta get the ashes off the TOP of the ignitor...To do that I just bang
on the burn pot with the handle of my paintbrush...To be sure, you can
loosen the two screws that hold the ignitor, gently pull it out & brush it off...

 

[Lousyweather]

push stuff down on it from above and not clean it

Do you mean ash going down through the burnpot holes when scraping/cleaning the burnpot? How do you recommend cleaning the ignitor? I just put the end of the vac hose in the access hole.

That will probably only get the ash at the BOTTOM of the ignitor cavity.
You hafta get the ashes off the TOP of the ignitor...To do that I just bang
on the burn pot with the handle of my paintbrush...To be sure, you can
loosen the two screws that hold the ignitor, gently pull it out & brush it off...

taking the ignitor cradle out is too much work.......ard to get the %&$%^ screws back lined up with the holes.....i stick my fingers in there and bang on the top of the burnpot with the ignitor access panel....works good....so far

 

[jdege]

I did my usual cleaning on my Harmon Accentra Insert. I started it up and walked away. When I returned later I had a burn pot filled with unburned pellets. I checked and the burn pot was cold. Is there a separate fuse for the igniter? If not ,where is a good source for a new one. I am currently running on manual.

I have had the same issue with my Accentra insert. Recently I have done 3 things when cleaning that have helped:
1) scrape with a sharp chisel rather than the provided tool as it gets more of the build up off
2) use a small allen wrench (short end) to poke the holes so I know they are clear
3) vacuum the chamber under the burn pot (just Olsen the two wing nuts and the plate slides off) to remove all the fines

Keep in mind after a cleaning when you start on auto you should be able to see the igniter glow by looking down thru the holes in the burn pot. If you see that orange glow the problem may be something other than the igniter. My dealer said they were getting so many service calls about igniters that we're due to restricted air flow (not fully clean) that they were notify people if the tech came out and the issue was "cleaning" related there would be a $50 charge. That was when I started being more aggressive when cleaning the burn pot.

I also keep lighter gel on hand just in case ;-)

 

[forya]

I remove the 2 screws and take mine out once a month. I am very careful. I also keep a MAPP torch handy, just in case.

 

[lessoil]

push stuff down on it from above and not clean it

Do you mean ash going down through the burnpot holes when scraping/cleaning the burnpot? How do you recommend cleaning the ignitor? I just put the end of the vac hose in the access hole.

A Harman Tech showed us a great cleaning tool for the ignitor. He suggested giving the burn pot a
good "wrap" with a hammer. Said this should knock any build-up off.
Not sure how the ignitor likes this though.....