Harman Accentra, another semester another ignitor...

[Amaralluis]

Well it seems I am going to have to replace the ignitor again soon.
In less than four years I've had the stove this will be the sixth ignitor giving up. The stove is using two ignitors per year at this rate.

The warranty is gone, I am going to have a little chat with the dealer that this is unaceptable and something has to be done.

 

[Lousyweather]

I beleive the warrantee on replacement parts is a year, but please, correct me if Im wrong. Some ignitors have been replaced with ignitors which werent any better than the ones they replaced. If you do get a new ignitor, I'd check the resistance of the new one prior to putting it in....should be around 45-50 ohms....old series ignitors were less than 45 ohms.....any of the new ones we have replaced have worked well, and I dont THINK we've replaced any of them. We have also seen ignitors burn out prematurely because they never seem to shut off (thats a circuitboard issue).........if something HAS to be done, other than replace it with a "new-series" ignitor, might I suggest a new circuitboard?

 

[Amaralluis]

Thanks for the reply.
I think that the problem is not the ignitor but something else. It not normal having to replace them every six months.
I did know about the bad batch of ignitors but it has been almost fours years now and this will be the seventh ignitor that will have to be installed on my stove, I am pretty sure that the dealer does not have a stock of ignitors from four years ago?
The problem now is that the stove is out of warranty, the dealer can come out now and just say that theres nothing wrong with the stove and I have to pay for another ignitor or to replace the circuitboard as you suggest.
What can I do?? I feel that the stove has had a problem since the day I got it, but the dealer never bothered to troubleshoot it, just said that it was an ignitor problem and came out and replaced them at no cost even when it was out of warranty but how much longer will they continue to come out and replace the ignitor at no cost?
I also cannot continue having to worry about the stove every six months or so and now that I think about it, the timeframe is indeed around six months, it doesnt really matter how may times the stove has had to ignite which could well be the circuitboard problem that you are mentioning.
I will have to call the dealer monday morning and see what they say. I might have to get in touch with Harman directly. Anyone has a drect contact to Harman that could help me by having the dealer do the proper troubleshooting and fix this stove?

 

[GVA]

Verify the polarity of the recepticle that the STOVE is plugged into, make sure the hot / neutral is not reversed

 

[Lousyweather]

Verify the polarity of the recepticle that the STOVE is plugged into, make sure the hot / neutral is not reversed

Foolish me, but I figure thats already been done GVA. We've got a plugin thats got 3 lights on it....plug it in, if they dont come up all green, its not our issue.....get the power fixed, then we'll deal with any other issues.....and it isnt all that uncommon to see hot neutrals, etc. The plug diagnostic is nice because anyone can read it, even without a rudimentary knowledge of electricity. Its up to an electrician, not us, to rectify power supply issues.

 

[Amaralluis]

If that was the case then I would be having trouble with all my appliances. Did I mentioned that I have the stove plugged to an UPS unit with surge protection etc???

 

[johnny1720]

Amaralluis,

FYI: You can purchase new ignitor for about $15 that will work in your stove from McMaster Carr. Also I have seen stoves that leak air either around the door or the ash pan, a leaky stove will usually go through more ignitor's than a tight stove. Also reading that some of the circuit boards keep the ignitor on for too long can be easily tested with some faston's and light bulb. Make a Y connector that will allow your ignitor to be operational and when it is on the light will illuminate.

I have done this on a stove for a customer to prove to them that the ignitor was not always running. He was convinced that the 200 watt ignitor was running 24/7.

Good luck with your issue.

Johnny

 

[Amaralluis]

Johny thanks for the reply.
Is there a website for McMaster carr shop?
I can replace the ignitor myself, I thought they would be alot more expensive.
At that kind of price replacing it every six months is a non issue almost.
I like the lightbulb idea, I might test the stove myself to check how long the ignitor stays on.
But still, isnt the ignitor supposed to stay on for long periods of time?

I am not sure if there are any leaks, is there any way of testing that?

 

[Lousyweather]

Johny thanks for the reply.
Is there a website for McMaster carr shop?
I can replace the ignitor myself, I thought they would be alot more expensive.
At that kind of price replacing it every six months is a non issue almost.
I like the lightbulb idea, I might test the stove myself to check how long the ignitor stays on.
But still, isnt the ignitor supposed to stay on for long periods of time?

I am not sure if there are any leaks, is there any way of testing that?

rather than hooking up lightbulbs, why not simply just attach a multimeter to the ignitor leads on the circuitboard?

as for leaky gaskets, if they leaked truly badly, you'd not get any feed. You can always hook up a magnehelic to test draft tho...if the leaks really bad, it'll show up.

as for the replacement ignitor, I am not familiar with the McMaster one....maybe they make Harman's? I do know that out of spec replacement parts will invalidate your warrantee, but from what you say it's already out of warrantee, so, what the heck? be careful, but try it.

 

[johnny1720]

http://www.mcmaster.com/

Look up Cartridge Heater.. measure the width/length and watts of yours and you will be all set.

The reason I suggested a light bulb is everyone has one of those, not every home owner has a multimeter. If you have one by all means use it. But you might get a little tired holding it so prop it up good and watch it close.


I was just talking to a customer that purchased a replacment ignitor from the Avalon Dealer and got charged $129.99 + tax. And I thought to myself that dealer should be arrested.


Good Luck

Johnny

 

[imacman]

......I was just talking to a customer that purchased a replacment ignitor from the Avalon Dealer and got charged $129.99 + tax. And I thought to myself that dealer should be arrested.
Good Luck

Johnny

Your right about the highway robbery on the ignitor. I bought one from a dealer, and it was $75.00

 

[GVA]

http://www.mcmaster.com/

Look up Cartridge Heater.. measure the width/length and watts of yours and you will be all set.

The reason I suggested a light bulb is everyone has one of those, not every home owner has a multimeter. If you have one by all means use it. But you might get a little tired holding it so prop it up good and watch it close.


I was just talking to a customer that purchased a replacment ignitor from the Avalon Dealer and got charged $129.99 + tax. And I thought to myself that dealer should be arrested.


Good Luck

Johnny

Mc master doesn't have the correct type in the correct size, for the harmans....