Harman Pellet stove igniter issues...any thoughts?

[Blarson79]

Hi all...

I have a 12 year old Harman Accentra 2 that I have to replace the igniter on about every 2 or so years- so I have done it numerous times. Well, recently, I went to change it again, and upon going to remove it, something touched, and CRACK- big sparks and a decent shock. Never had that happen before. Found that one of the wires that connects into the end of the actual igniter coil had come loose, and obviously contacted other metal. Ouch...

Well, got the new igniter in, and went to check the fuse, which I was certain blew in all the excitement earlier- but was surprised to see it hadn't. Still, just to be safe, I installed a new fuse. Started it up and.....nothing. Burnpot cold. So I rechecked everything...everything plugged in tight, brand new igniter, wires tucked way back, whole nine yards. Still nothing. Tried the other brand new igniter I bought at the same time. Again, nothing.

Is it possible that in the surge, I fried that section of the motherboard? I'm thinking of picking up a new one...but want some thoughts first.

Thanks much!
Ben

 

[Montecarlossfan]

I’d check the new igniter first and verify it’s good and installed properly..it’s probably a triac that blew on the board... about a .80 cent part. In laymen’s terms a triac is a solid state relay. Look around the forum some have had good luck swapping these out vs a board.

 

[Blarson79]

Thanks for the info. Looked around and found info on someone who did have the igniter section of their board go, and they successfully repaired it. Looked at my board and it looks fine, unlike the blackened area on the post I looked at. So I don't see anything with the board, and I have traced the wires to the igniter numerous times, and just did again- everything good. Might be time to call for a repair....

Thanks

 

[Montecarlossfan]

Thanks for the info. Looked around and found info on someone who did have the igniter section of their board go, and they successfully repaired it. Looked at my board and it looks fine, unlike the blackened area on the post I looked at. So I don't see anything with the board, and I have traced the wires to the igniter numerous times, and just did again- everything good. Might be time to call for a repair....

Thanks

The parts don’t always fail in a catastrophic manner which would pass a visual inspection...if you have an ohm meter, unplug the stove, set it to read ohms and disconnect the 2 wires that feed out of the back to the igniter and verify you get a reading around 44-50 ohms , all this is done while igniter is still installed. This will verify the igniter is actually ok electrically and plugged in correctly and the wiring from the board to the igniter is intact.
It’s possible although not likely the new igniter is a dud... , you could also uninstall it and wire 110 to it and plug it in and see if it heats up as well.

 

[Ssyko]

95% of the time when triac’s fail they fail internally with no trace of damaged visually. and the only way to test them is with a curve tracer( in circuit) or DMM (out of circuit). Now when they fail they can fail open or closed usually open. If you find anything burnt or exploded there is always more wrong than just the components.

 

[Tonyray]

Hi all...

I have a 12 year old Harman Accentra 2 that I have to replace the igniter on about every 2 or so years- so I have done it numerous times. Well, recently, I went to change it again, and upon going to remove it, something touched, and CRACK- big sparks and a decent shock. Never had that happen before. Found that one of the wires that connects into the end of the actual igniter coil had come loose, and obviously contacted other metal. Ouch...

Well, got the new igniter in, and went to check the fuse, which I was certain blew in all the excitement earlier- but was surprised to see it hadn't. Still, just to be safe, I installed a new fuse. Started it up and.....nothing. Burnpot cold. So I rechecked everything...everything plugged in tight, brand new igniter, wires tucked way back, whole nine yards. Still nothing. Tried the other brand new igniter I bought at the same time. Again, nothing.

Is it possible that in the surge, I fried that section of the motherboard? I'm thinking of picking up a new one...but want some thoughts first.

Thanks much!
Ben

Harman P61A here. Did exact same thing couple yrs ago along with the shock from bare wire.. although no visible signs on the board, it took out the triad that controls the ignitor. Replaced the board and all was working again.