Harman PF 100 keeps blowing fuse

[DoWnAqT]

As the title states, the PF 100 keeps popping the fuse on the back side of the control panel. The fuse is a glass 4 amp fuse. The weird part is the machine turns on, all blowers, igniter, feed etc. Just like it should and then randomly it blows the fuse on the back side of the board. Sometimes it will go 5 mins before it blows it. Nothing seems to set it off...I'm kind of lost.

Anyways, I did just buy this thing and it needs a pretty severe cleaning, and a lot of surface rust to be cleaned off. The auger/feed wasn't moving either until I took it apart and got it all moving(thought the auger motor was shorting out). I bought it knowing it may need some help and I'm very mechanically inclined. Just not with circuit boards. So I'm wondering if the board I have is bad. I'm hoping someone here will chime in and know exactly what I need to do to get this resolved and stay running.

 

[smwilliamson]

You have a bad motor... Most likely the combustion one

 

[DoWnAqT]

Should I unplug it and then 'turn it on and see if it blows the fuse again?

 

[smwilliamson]

Unplug it, turn it off. Plug it in and turn the feed knob to test and let the unit. Cycle through the components.

 

[DoWnAqT]

Just unplugged the unit, disconnected the white wire on the fan for the combustion, plugged it back it, turned the feed to test, put in service mode, and it was on for about 3-5 mins. then just the combustion light was lit, for a bit, and then the fuse popped again. nothing was actually on when it popped.

 

[DoWnAqT]

And just to clarify, I plugged the unit back in, not the fan, the white wire of the fan was disconnected the whole time and the fuse still blew.

 

[MountainSean]

Try the same test with the igniter. Do you have the old fin style igniter or the pump igniter? If it is the pump igniter also try disconnecting that. *Do not disconnect the pump and leave igniter on it WILL burn out

 

[heat seeker]

I would suggest the same thing, but a different order. I'd unplug every item that could be disconnected on the stove - motors, ignitor, etc. Plug it in to see if the fuse lasts. If it does, connect one item at a time and let it run for a while to see if the fuse lasts. When the fuse blows, it's most likely that last thing that you plugged in.

Note: make sure you're putting the correct size fuse in. The previous owner may have put the wrong fuse in.

 

[Lousyweather]

basically, youre gonna disconnect everything, then plug stuff in one at a time, till the fuse blows......FWIW, new units have a 6 amp fuse these days, with no mods concerning the fuse being made to the circuit board.......blown fuses are usually a short-
1. corrupted comb. blower
2. bare spot on igniter leads, touching auger tube (usually will short out almost immediately in the ignition cycle)
3. bad spot in wiring harness
4. bad board

 

[DoWnAqT]

Finally getting around to messing with the stove again tonight, I found that unplugging the ignitor did the trick. The stove stayed on the whole time I was cleaning it and never blew a fuse. So I will be ordering a new ignitor for it tonight. I'll report back if it does fix it completely.

 

[smwilliamson]

yeay!

 

[DoWnAqT]

I got the new igniter today, installed it, added some pellets to test fire the stove for the first time. Success I not have a PF100 ready to be installed! Thanks for everyones help!