Harman accentra fs circuit board issues

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karhu61

Member
Dec 25, 2017
19
Philadelphia Pa
Hello,
I have previously posted about my Harman accentra fs throwing a 2 blink status code after replacing the circuit board. The stove is clean the chimney is clean. This is a pre ddm stove so no plug in for answers. Before I replaced the board it would start flawlessly. Good combustion beautiful wall of flame. As it came to temperature however the feed light would come on but the motor would not feed. This would occur with increasing frequency until the stove limped along and went out. usually about 3 hrs. I replaced the door gasket, I replaced the temp sensor I replaced the vacuum switch and I replaced the feed motor. No change. I replaced the circuit board, made sure the dip switches are set for the black tsp and now it throws the 2 blink code at around the same time frame as it began showing symptoms with the old board. I have a thermometer on the side of the stove it throws the code at 150 to 200 degrees. In the accentra manual the 2 blink code refers to the jumpers at j2 on the old board. there are no jumpers on the new board. My question is is there a work around for this issue. I've read here that the new boards take the red temp sensor. These don't fit the old Harman accentras. Is this something a Harman tech might be able tackle? I'm at a loss. Any advice is deeply appreciated .
Julian
 
Hello,
I have previously posted about my Harman accentra fs throwing a 2 blink status code after replacing the circuit board. The stove is clean the chimney is clean. This is a pre ddm stove so no plug in for answers. Before I replaced the board it would start flawlessly. Good combustion beautiful wall of flame. As it came to temperature however the feed light would come on but the motor would not feed. This would occur with increasing frequency until the stove limped along and went out. usually about 3 hrs. I replaced the door gasket, I replaced the temp sensor I replaced the vacuum switch and I replaced the feed motor. No change. I replaced the circuit board, made sure the dip switches are set for the black tsp and now it throws the 2 blink code at around the same time frame as it began showing symptoms with the old board. I have a thermometer on the side of the stove it throws the code at 150 to 200 degrees. In the accentra manual the 2 blink code refers to the jumpers at j2 on the old board. there are no jumpers on the new board. My question is is there a work around for this issue. I've read here that the new boards take the red temp sensor. These don't fit the old Harman accentras. Is this something a Harman tech might be able tackle? I'm at a loss. Any advice is deeply appreciated .
Julian


When you say that the dipswitches are set for the black ESP, do you have dipswitch #5 in the off position? I put a new board in my 2006 Accentra FS 2 years ago, and I thought it would be a good time to replace the ESP as well. They said the new board needed the red ESP, but as you know it did not fit in the stove when i went to install it. So I have the old black ESP in there, but I had to move dipswitch #5 to off, as it was in the on position from the factory.
 
When you say that the dipswitches are set for the black ESP, do you have dipswitch #5 in the off position? I put a new board in my 2006 Accentra FS 2 years ago, and I thought it would be a good time to replace the ESP as well. They said the new board needed the red ESP, but as you know it did not fit in the stove when i went to install it. So I have the old black ESP in there, but I had to move dipswitch #5 to off, as it was in the on position from the factory.
Hello,
Thanks for the reply! I do have the #5 switch set to off. Does your stove run ok with the new board? Mine starts right up but throws a 2 blink code when it reaches temperature. Been driving me pretty much to my wits end. If yours runs ok at least I know mine can and can proceed from there.
Thanks again
Julian
 
Hello,
Thanks for the reply! I do have the #5 switch set to off. Does your stove run ok with the new board? Mine starts right up but throws a 2 blink code when it reaches temperature. Been driving me pretty much to my wits end. If yours runs ok at least I know mine can and can proceed from there.
Thanks again
Julian

The stove has run fine since the new board installation. FYI-I replaced the board because my distribution fan would never shut off after cool down, so it was not for the same reason that you had.
 
Border,
I can't tell you what a relief it is just knowing the stove will work with the new board and the issue I'm having is solvable. I just need to continue troubleshooting. The answer is out there.
Thanks again
Julian
 
A Accentra never had a feeder microswitch,that was only old p61's and Invincibles. Maybe your manual is a miss print,or you have the wrong one.The new board you have will not work on those 2 older units,they have a different board.On other harmans,2 blink usually means open circuit on the feeder motor.You said you had a Harman tech come out,and tell you it does not have DDM,well,it does,if it is an Accentra,you have to remove the board cover to plug into it,and,there is a marked place,under the decal,for a technician,to break or cut that small section away,so it can be used without removing the cover.It is above and slightly left of the 50 degree mark on the dial.So,the code can be set by loss of vacuum.You can jumper across the vac. switch,and see how it runs.Here are my guesses--dirty,partially plugged intake,or exhaust,"fines" cover not on properly,or gasket damaged, a leak in one of the corner,top,bottom,or feeder gaskets,that is worse when hot, combustion blower looses speed after warming up,combustion blower cover not on properly,fins broken off combustion blower,or,impeller loose on combustion blower,gets worse when heats up.A technician would T in a magnahelic gauge to the hose to the vac switch,as far as the next step of tests.
 
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Bob,
I think you are referring to an earlier post and my reply to a member here, Daksy, Who posted a page from a p61 or Invincible? manual to illustrate where a microswitch would be. I explained to him that my 2003 accentra did not have the switch. And you replied as well that it did not. My post about my manual was the 2 blink status referring to the J2 jumper not being connected. I became concerned because the new circuit boards dont have a jumper at j2 and I thought maybe the board couldnt work with the black esp and I would have to drill to accomodate the red esp. Border1225 cleared that up for me having a working accentra with the new board installed. At any rate I much appreciate your clues to a possible answer for me. The Fines box is cleaned and closed tightly. I have cleaned the stove twice this fall including the intake and exhaust. I'm leaning toward the bad feeder gaskets but am going to wait for the harman tech to help with them next week. Also could these symptoms be caused by a bad vacuum hose? And with the new circuit board will the tech be able to check via ddm? Thank you again for all your help!
Julian
 
Your new board will not interchange with some older models,which is why it does not have the jumper connector.Yes,a tech can plug into the new board.would be easier if you had the little cutout removed.Yes,any vacuum leak might cause these problems,which is why first thing I would do is put a gauge on it,and test.
 
Bob,
I will check for the cutout and will definitely post in a week when I know whats up. But a quick question. My Harman is a first generation accentra circa 2003. When you say the board will not interchange with some older models Do you mean accentras? My fear is my stove is one of them.
Thanks again
Julian
 
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Bob,
I will check for the cutout and will definitely post in a week when I know whats up. But a quick question. My Harman is a first generation accentra circa 2003. When you say the board will not interchange with some older models Do you mean accentras? My fear is my stove is one of them.
Thanks again
Julian
Your old board interchanged with the older stoves.Your new board only interchanges with "some" old stoves.Programming updates,and such.
 
Bob,
This is where things stand now. I'm still getting the 2 blink status. The Harman Tech plugged in his ddm to the new board and the verdict was vacuum leak. He seemed to think it was the piping from the stove to the chimney liner. He also checked the hose to the vacuum switch and said it was good. Unfortunately he didnt have any steel tape on his truck and seemed in a rush so he left. After he left I purchased some tape and applied it to all the joints from the stove to the chimney liner. While it cured any smoke leaking during start up I'm still getting the 2 blink status. My next question is the feeder gasket. My manual only lists tail pipe gaskets, burn pot gaskets, window gasket, hopper lid gasket, door gasket. Are the corner gaskets the door gasket? If so that was replaced last fall. Is the feeder gasket you mentioned the burn pot gasket? Is this something I can do on my own? Seems like it might be a complicated job having to work around the combustion bits.
Again Thank You for your help
Julian
 
Did he put a magnahelic gauge on it and actually measure the vacuum?I bet not,he does not sound that smart.You can run your stove with no flue pipe at all,and,if everything is right,there will be plenty of vacuum to hold the switch closed.The feeder bolts to the back of the firebox,and has a gasket,other side of the same opening is the firepot,and it has a gasket,but on the inside of stove.Clean out the pot,vacuum it out well,you can see the layers of this steel/gasket setup,at the very back of pot,(take off flame guide). Also,look up into the auger/tube,and see if there is any sign of a crack or hole.Also,you could have an exhaust blower motor that is losing speed once the motor warms up.You could get a HVAC duct tester smoke bomb,and put in stove,to look for leaks,or even start a fire,unplug,flame will go out,but pellets will smolder,lots of smoke.Also,you can put a jumper wire across the vac. switch(unhook the switch),start and run stove,and if it still acts up,then problem would be in the exhaust motor.
 
Here is an update to my accentra saga. I had new pipe installed from the stove to the chimney liner. During this install the gasket at the rear of the stove was replaced. Once done the tech attached a magnehelic gauge... the stove started right up and but once it reached temp it threw a 2 blink code. the gauge did not show any vacuum leaks. The tech replaced the vacuum switch, replaced the door rope, basically disassembled and cleaned and reassembled the stove making sure everything was tight. Still got a 2 blink status. After all that he was able to figure out that the stove was drawing to much air at the intake. He covered it partially with steel tape and that solved the problem. The stove goes into a 30 ft stone chimney with a heavy steel liner so there is A LOT of draft. But this never caused a problem in the 14 years Ive had the stove. Until now. The Tech is going to consult with Harmon as to what might be happening. Any help is very much appreciated.
Merry Christmas Everyone
Julian
 
Did the tech check to make sure the intake flapper was working correctly
 
Reread all of this.I think your tech.is not too sharp.Pellet stoves do not burn like wood stoves.Your tall flue only hurts your draft.A leak in the flue does not decrease the draft.Drawing air in from somewhere other than the air intake screws up the draft.A weak combustion motor screws up the draft.It makes no sense that you would have too much draft,yet have a low draft problem.More likely is a combustion motor that has a problem,after it warms up.
 
Here is an update to my accentra saga. I had new pipe installed from the stove to the chimney liner. During this install the gasket at the rear of the stove was replaced. Once done the tech attached a magnehelic gauge... the stove started right up and but once it reached temp it threw a 2 blink code. the gauge did not show any vacuum leaks. The tech replaced the vacuum switch, replaced the door rope, basically disassembled and cleaned and reassembled the stove making sure everything was tight. Still got a 2 blink status. After all that he was able to figure out that the stove was drawing to much air at the intake. He covered it partially with steel tape and that solved the problem. The stove goes into a 30 ft stone chimney with a heavy steel liner so there is A LOT of draft. But this never caused a problem in the 14 years Ive had the stove. Until now. The Tech is going to consult with Harmon as to what might be happening. Any help is very much appreciated.
Merry Christmas Everyone
Julian
Was there a resolution to your 2 blink code?