CB 1200i Auger Motor Replacement

[CaptnIgnit]

I got a replacement auger motor as mine has finally died and looking at it I'm a bit confused on if its actually the correct motor.

Looking at the linked pictures the original motor is on the left and the new one on the right. You can see that the wires in the molex connectors don't match up. I also took a picture of the female side of the connector as well.

http://imgur.com/a/JU6Fc

Reading the instructions included with the motor it say a molex connector doesn't require a jumper, does that mean the new one only runs off two wires rather than three?

 

[mralias]

I suspect you are looking at the capacitor adapter that the old one did not have. Take a look at this video.

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[CaptnIgnit]

Unfortunately that also doesn't match my setup. The new motor already has the capacitor on it and my existing hookup from the stove has three wires, not two. Judging by the video it shows the offset wire and is only using two wires so I'm guessing thats the intended setup. Anyone have any idea what the third wire is for and why its not apparently needed anymore?

I did receive a similar connector with spades, but it matches what is already existing in my stove.

 

[DMKNLD]

Hey Capt,

The third molex pin connector is for the in-line capacitor. This used to be available as a $20 jumper that went in between the auger motor molex and the wiring harness molex. It was used when the capacitor in the junction box would begin to fail and cause the auger motor to cycle in reverse, which was a common problem.

But Quad has since discontinued production on that capacitor jumper, opting instead to include it in their motor wiring harnesses like on yours. Quad may have a different rationale for doing it, but selling you a replacement part for $170+ bucks vs. $20 bucks has to be at least part of an 'up-selling' marketing driven motivation.

To Quads defense, they've designed the new style auger motor to fit a variety of the different stove brands and models they're marketing now. Some of which don't have capacitors in the junction box like the original Quad models do, hence their reason for installing them in-line on their replacement auger motors. There are also some after-market auger motors showing up on-line that are marketed as Quad compliant. With the bad thing about that is different stove brands and auger motor manufacturers use different capacitors and have different wiring harness molex pin configurations, as you found out.

So, to make a 'short story long', I did some forum and HVAC searching and found, to no surprise, some conflicting information. One post said you can just hook up the new auger motor molex as is, which as I understand it, then bypasses the in-line capacitor, assuming that your j-box capacitor is working OK. But I read another post where a CB 1200 owner moved the capacitor wire connector from the 4th molex pin to the 3rd pin location to match the stove's wiring harness molex configuration. At issue is if that will mess with a functioning j-box capacitor and potentially cause your new auger motor to not function and/or reverse cycle.

So I private messaged kap, our resident forum Quad tech to get his take on this, and he's contacting Quad corporate tech support and sending them the pics of your auger motor to get the straight scoop on how to hook it up right. One of us will get back to you soon, OK? Regards, DK

 

[Bkins]

You just can't get a better response then this. 2 busy professionals, working together, going out of their way to help a forum member......

 

[DMKNLD]

You just can't get a better response then this. 2 busy professionals, working together, going out of their way to help a forum member......

Thank you for your kind words Bkins. It's about 'paying it forward' on this fine forum. I've had many people on here, to include kap when he was on the iburncorn forum before that site sadly folded up, who helped 'talk me off the ledge' on more than one occasion when I was having stove problems, and ready to turn my Castile into a decorative planter in the front yard !

But thanks for the shout-out, and back at 'ya for your willingness to jump on here and share your time and expertise as well. 'It takes a village'. Cheers, DK

 

[slls]

I always went to icorn just to get Kaps knowledge and experience, im glad he wandered over here.

 

[DMKNLD]

Unfortunately that also doesn't match my setup. The new motor already has the capacitor on it and my existing hookup from the stove has three wires, not two. Judging by the video it shows the offset wire and is only using two wires so I'm guessing thats the intended setup. Anyone have any idea what the third wire is for and why its not apparently needed anymore?

I just finished a series of PM 'chats' with kap, who conferred with Quad tech support, and confirmed that you can hook up the auger motor molex as it is to your wiring harness molex. The molex pin connectors are offset in order to bypass the existing capacitor in your junction box and utilize the in-line capacitor that is on your new motor's wiring.

As I said to kap, I have a knowledge of capacitors that is somewhere between zero and the null set, so I learned a lot from the on-line discussion with him and from the past forum thread reading ! Hope this helps clarify things for you, and others who will no doubt scratch their heads over this, as you and I have !

Post back on how things go for you after you've reinstalled the auger motor, to 'close the loop'.

Regards, DK

 

[CaptnIgnit]

Hooked it up and it's like its brand new again

Thanks DMKNLD for all your help!

 

[DMKNLD]

Hooked it up and it's like its brand new again

Thanks DMKNLD for all your help!

Good to hear you're back up and running. Happy to help out.

Your CBi is a heat output beast. If I hadn't of inherited my Quad from the prior owners of our ME farmhouse I would have gone with the FS CB, as my 1st generation Castile is under-sized for the area I'm heating.

Not such a big deal in a warm winter like this one has been out East, but last year I could have used more stove. Enjoy the warmth ! Cheers, DK