Eco choice p35 not feeding

[Westernmassguy]

Hey everyone,
I bought an old heatilator eco choice p35 on clist for 250. Doesnt feed. So i clean it all out, no clogs. I plug it in, red feed light stays on, control board blinks blue. Exhaust fan runs, thats it. No feeding, no igniting.

I jumped wires, independently, got the auger running, the convection blower going. I also jumped all snap discs independently to find a bad one. Ive got nothing. Jumped vac switch as well.

Is it my control board? I would hate to spend 200 on a board if I missed something. Please help.

 

[Ssyko]

Jump you vac switch again and see if it will feed

 

[Westernmassguy]

Jump you vac switch again and see if it will feed

Positive. I ran a dryer cleaning brush all the way through from above the burn pot into the hopper. Took out auger, put it back in. Blew out and vacuumed the unit. I took the positive wire from the vacuum switch, connected it to the positive lead of the auger and made the auger run.. I downloaded my manual online. Everything independently seems to work ( Haven't seen the igniter turn on ). Just not together.. Per my manual I tried resetting snap discs, taking #2 out and installing it in reverse. This is quite the mystery. I've read a lot of threads where people never find the answer or do not share it. Tried several times jumping the vacuum switch. No new results. Also, yes there is a thermostat hooked up as well. This is my first stove and I have already learned a lot about my p35. My manual says another culprit could be the thermocouple. Not sure about that because the unit never gets to load pellets or ignite them. Red call light is on, works with thermostat. If it was thermocouple, red call light would blink manual says. Having jumped the other culprits (snap discs and vac switch) I just have no answers.. Hope not control board.

 

[Ssyko]

I would take the thermostat out of the equation and just put a jumper across the connector. The way they are wired, the line wire from the control board goes To the vac switch then out of the vac to the snap disc the out of the snap disc to one side of the auger. The other wire on the auger is the common/ground(white). When you first plug the stove in the box should have a blinking blue light and with the tstat terminals connected, it should go into start up and feed some pellets and the igniter should glow red. Is it doing any of the start up?

 

[Westernmassguy]

Yes, when I turn on the unit, the control box blinks blue, the red call light comes on, the exhaust starts blowing. Thats it. It will run for 10 minutes like that before it shuts down. Igniter never gets warm, auger never moves.

 

[Ssyko]

Ok is the line wire from the vac switch hooked to the auger? Hopper switch making contact (magnetic)?

 

[Westernmassguy]

heres a pic if it helps

 

[Westernmassguy]

Yes the hopper switch does function properly and is making contact.

 

[Ssyko]

Yeah its wired just like the quad sante fe. You will have to jump all the swithes together with paper clips or wire. 2 vac together, 2 #2 snap disc together and the hopper lid together and see if it starts.

 

[Westernmassguy]

Thank you for your replies, I really appreciate it. Awesome.

I will attempt that tomorrow after work. If I jump all of those things and it works, what would that indicate is broken?

 

[Ssyko]

Hook up ea switch 1at a time, the one that stops the start up would be what i would replace. If the stove doesn’t start with them all jumped its the control board itself.

 

[Westernmassguy]

Sounds like a plan. I will report back after the experiment to tell you what happened. Thanks

 

[Ssyko]

Cool

 

[Westernmassguy]

Have been working a lot!Finally tested everything again. I jumped all the switches, no change. I took the positive wire from the vac and hooked it to switch #3 by the auger motor. That got the auger going and with a slight "running noise" if you will. Again, independently everything works, but not together regardless of jumping. Is it now safe to assume I need a control board?

 

[Westernmassguy]

Just doesnt feed, igniter works though

 

[Westernmassguy]

Solved! This was so hard to diagnose because it wasnt just one thing wrong but two at the same time. It was both the controller and the vacuum switch! This is why jumping the switch didnt help the first time. My heart sank when I put the new controller in and it still didnt work. It was when I followed diagnostic mode instructions which came with the controller,I figured out it was also the vac switch. With the old controller in, jumping the vac switch doesnt get the auger going, so that proves its both parts that failed. I know its an old stove but I hope this thread can help someone.

 

[Westernmassguy]

I will add I had to jump the vac switch with the new controller in to actually determine it was both parts that failed.***

 

[SidecarFlip]

Hope you have a quality surge suppressor on your power cord.