Harman Advance status 6 blinks

[Signoremint]

I have a Harmon Advance that will run for about 30 to 45 minutes and then throw a status light with 6 blinks and shut down. I've tried it on both stove temp and room temp and controls maxed out with the same results and a very weak flame. So far, this is what I have done after countless hours of research:
Disassembled and thoroughly cleaned the entire stove including the heat exchangers, removed and cleaned both blowers, fines pot (door is properly installed), igniter area, intake flapper, exhaust, and esp. I also replaced the room temp rod. I am certain that the auger is not getting blocked and no bridging is occurring. I'm leaning more towards an air leak issue but I dont know how to proceed in finding it other then just replacing all the seals, etc.

 

[johneh]

Have you cleaned the exhaust from the stove to termination?
does it have an oak? and is it clear?
6 blinks is a combination air problem

 

[Mt Bob]

Here is the Harman tech manual part----
A six blink error code is rare and it occurs when the controller registers a series of lower than normal exhaust temperatures over a 25 minute span of time. Your owner’s manual will indicate that this could be caused by a very dirty stove/ vent scenario but it’s not usually the cause. To be fair, cleaning the unit should be considered whenever an error code presents itself. Start there, however; 6 blink error codes most often have to do with too much air entering the burn chamber and overcoming the fire. This causes the fire to collapse and for the expected heat output to drop instead of rise. If you get a 6 blink status light error follow these steps.

The most common culprit is the fines box cleanout area on the back of the stove’s feeder assembly. If this door is not put back on, typically you’ll get a #2 error but if it is put back on and not tightened properly, as the stove gets going the heat output will be low.
Removing the door gasket and forgetting to put on a new one
Forgetting to reinstall a combustion blower cover in the Harman Accentra FS
On the P series stoves, putting the ash bin in backwards
A disconnected feeder gas bypass hose
Missing gasket between the hopper and the feeder body
Loose burn pot and missing burn pot gasket
BUT it would seem you have done most all, so make sure fines cover is on properly,and gasket is good, then what I would do is replace the exhaust probe.

 

[Signoremint]

Thanks for the replys so far. The exhaust is very clean from the fan all the way out the exhaust. I am not sure what an OAK is? I am very confident the fines cover is on securely and the seal is in great condition. Is their any way to test the exhaust probe? Mine has the red wires and I'm not exactly sure if they are original as I got this stove second hand.

 

[Mt Bob]

Outside air kit, or fresh air feed. As far as testing, yes,no and maybe,lol.As there are no specs and charts,and you would have to test it over a wide temperature change, most people would just replace it as part of the diagnosis.But if you want to read an older post about them--
harman temp probes. red ones are between 1,000 to 1,100 ohms of resistance depending on what your room temp is (remember if the stove has been off for a while the probe may be much colder from the cold air outside coming through the OAK. All other ESP probes that are NOT red should read around 650,000 to 550,000 ohms resistance. After taking a good initial read you can breath on them or use any heat source and the resistance should lower as the probe heats up except the red which should rise.
But,look at the price from pellethead for a new one-

 

[Signoremint]

Ahhh okay. I dont have an outside air kit, just the intake air flapper on the rear of the unit behind the covers. I just picked up new fiberglass rope seals for the glass door and the bottom ash pan as they were definitely old. I plan to test it out again tomorrow after the seal adhesives dry and see how it goes. Next, will be a new esp.
I'll keep updating the thread.

 

[bogieb]

Ahhh okay. I dont have an outside air kit, just the intake air flapper on the rear of the unit behind the covers. I just picked up new fiberglass rope seals for the glass door and the bottom ash pan as they were definitely old. I plan to test it out again tomorrow after the seal adhesives dry and see how it goes. Next, will be a new esp.
I'll keep updating the thread.

Make sure nothing has been sucked into the intake and restricting air flow and that the flapper will move appropriately. Also, make sure that under the burnpot is clean - reach way back with your fingers to make sure no ash is partly blocking the airflow coming at that end.

 

[gfreek]

Outside air kit, or fresh air feed. As far as testing, yes,no and maybe,lol.As there are no specs and charts,and you would have to test it over a wide temperature change, most people would just replace it as part of the diagnosis.But if you want to read an older post about them--
harman temp probes. red ones are between 1,000 to 1,100 ohms of resistance depending on what your room temp is (remember if the stove has been off for a while the probe may be much colder from the cold air outside coming through the OAK. All other ESP probes that are NOT red should read around 650,000 to 550,000 ohms resistance. After taking a good initial read you can breath on them or use any heat source and the resistance should lower as the probe heats up except the red which should rise.
But,look at the price from pellethead for a new one-
View attachment 290408

Spare parts on hand just in case.

 

[Mt Bob]

Spare parts on hand just in case.

Yep. ESES has been having some great prices, putting Mountainview to shame.

 

[rickwai]

Empty your hopper and check to be sure there is not something in the bottom partly blocking the pellet flow. I have found pieces of cardboard, parts of ink pens, pieces of cloth ect. reach in around the corner in the bottom of the hopper and check. This is a classic symptom of a partly blocked slide plate.

 

[Signoremint]

So I replaced the door seal along with the ash catch bin seal and still the exact same results. I also emptied the hopper completely and their is no restrictions in there. I put it on test mode just to confirm the slide was moving properly etc. I'm about to throw this thing away and find another one.

 

[Mt Bob]

So I replaced the door seal along with the ash catch bin seal and still the exact same results. I also emptied the hopper completely and their is no restrictions in there. I put it on test mode just to confirm the slide was moving properly etc. I'm about to throw this thing away and find another one.

View attachment 290692 View attachment 290693

How many cars have you thrown away because you could not fix them by yourself?
Your stove has only 2 sensors inside, the vac. allows the auger to run when safe.
The probe does everything else, and one of it's biggest jobs is to make sure the stove has ignited itself, yet you refuse to see the connection, for such a inexpensive and easily replaceable part.
It's really kind of simple, if the vac, switch acts up, no pellets are being fed to burn. if the stove is burning, starts to blink 6 times, therefore goes into shut down, probe thinks it is not lit. Probe is ignored until the start up mode is completed. If you are feeding pellets in startup mode, highly unlikely there is a vac. problem.

 

[Washed-Up]

I’m wondering if the components inside the fines box aren’t set properly….should be level inside the box…even if the gasket and fines box door are reinstalled correctly…if any of that moved out of place, it could cause feed issues

 

[Signoremint]

I will order the probe and give that a try since it's so inexpensive. I still dont believe it will fix it but it's worth a shot. I dont think it's a feed issue at all. Starts great and feeds fine until it starts blinking 6 then stops feeding and burns out. I will update as soon as I replace the probe.

 

[rickwai]

I’m wondering if the components inside the fines box aren’t set properly….should be level inside the box…even if the gasket and fines box door are reinstalled correctly…if any of that moved out of place, it could cause feed issues

What are you referring to? There are no adjustable parts inside the feeder

 

[gfreek]

What are you referring to? There are no adjustable parts inside the feeder

Maybe the fines deflector is in proper position if you have one in the feeder ??
Post any updates,, thanks

 

[SciGuy]

I have a Harmon Advance that will run for about 30 to 45 minutes and then throw a status light with 6 blinks and shut down. I've tried it on both stove temp and room temp and controls maxed out with the same results and a very weak flame. So far, this is what I have done after countless hours of research:
Disassembled and thoroughly cleaned the entire stove including the heat exchangers, removed and cleaned both blowers, fines pot (door is properly installed), igniter area, intake flapper, exhaust, and esp. I also replaced the room temp rod. I am certain that the auger is not getting blocked and no bridging is occurring. I'm leaning more towards an air leak issue but I dont know how to proceed in finding it other then just replacing all the seals, etc.

Does the distribution blower ever get turned on? It comes on at a specific ESP temperature so gives you a bit of check that the ESP is working. I have encountered several folks who were certain the fines cover was on correctly when it actually wasn’t, including myself.

 

[Icemanxxxv]

fines cover was on correctly when it actually wasn’t, including myself. Been there done that!

 

[Signoremint]

So I just got back in town and installed the new ESP exhaust probe with the same results. Starts, runs for a while with a weak flame, blower turns on low for a while, then starts flashing 6 and then it stops feeding and burns out....stumped

 

[Mt Bob]

Well, a technician with a Harman DDM could diagnose it very quickly. But if you want to try some things, try jumping the vacuum switch, start stove and observe. The next steps would entail having and using a voltmeter connected to the auger motor, watching while goes through start up and warming up.

 

[rickwai]

So I just got back in town and installed the new ESP exhaust probe with the same results. Starts, runs for a while with a weak flame, blower turns on low for a while, then starts flashing 6 and then it stops feeding and burns out....stumped

With stove off and burnpot cleaned out put it in test mode. watch your auger. Be sure it is turning at 4 rpm. 1 revolution every 15 seconds. If that is good empty the hopper and check for a obstruction in the slide plate area. In the past week I have had 2 stoves not running correctly and 1 had a bunch of fines built up in that area choking it down and another had got pellets that had a bunch of longs. 1.5" long pellets, they can pixie stick in the bottom of hopper and partly block flow and cause erratic issues. Also reach around the corner and check for any foreign objects from the pellet bags. Cardboard, ink pen cap, piece of skid wood, ect. From my experience a 6 status is a feeder blockage more often than a ESP issue.

 

[Signoremint]

I have confirmed their are no blockages in the bottom of the hopper and the plate is sliding properly. In test mode, I'm definitely not getting a full rotation every 15 seconds though. Can the motors just slow down or could it be a voltage issue?

 

[Mt Bob]

Don't think he explained it well,I will try. When you first go to test mode, auger shall run for 60 seconds straight.As your auger motor is 4 rpm's, you should be able to see auger turn 4 times. After 60 seconds, it may or may not run, but will probably be only a little, as it should go to "low burn" auger mode. Door must be shut, as vacuum switch allows the motor to run.

 

[Signoremint]

Okay so mine is only doing 1.75 rotations within the 1 minute test cycle.

 

[Mt Bob]

OK,that may be OK, as I believe there were 2 auger systems, one has the motor mounted directly on the back of the auger, the other th emotor is off to the side, with a chain driving it. Which do you have?