Mt. Vernon AE bad TC fire pot

[tsmith]

So I tried to fire up my quad last night and I got the bad TC fire pot warning. When I removed the TC wire from the motherboard, I found that the 2 wires were loose in the connector and pulled right out. I tested the TC and got 22 mv. I then pushed the ends of the wire back into the connector and tested again by touching the connector ends and I got 22 mv. When I connect it back to the motherboard and try to start it I immediately get the bad TC warning. So can I assume that because the wires pulled out of the connector that it is not connecting right to the board or could I have other issues? I figure I need to purchase a new TC, But I am not certain because it does read millivolts properly. The stove is 7 years old and the TC was never replaced.

 

[kappel15]

If it is producing millivolts, it should be good. You may want to take the tcouple to a shop that can make sure the wires are in the connector good and permanent. There are some other things to check. Sounds like there might be some issues with the connector on the board. You need to check it to make sure it is seated properly as the connector is a friction fit with 2 locator pins. You can also check the female pins to make sure they are making a good connection. You can use a pin to make the holes smaller. You can also check the board by unplugging stove, then pull the connector off the board. Put a jumper wire on the pins. Then plug stove back in and check the wall control. If error code for firepot t-couple goes away the control board is good. If the code pops up again, the board is bad. kap

 

[tsmith]

Thanks Kap, I will try that and get back to ya.

 

[kappel15]

If you take the connector off the board, make sure to put it back the right way, or the tcouple will be out of polarity. (Latch side must be towards the drop tube tcouple connector. kap

 

[tsmith]

Ok, it worked with the jumper wire. So the latch needs to face up or down?

 

[kappel15]

See above post. lol Latch towards droptube tcouple

 

[kappel15]

Down. Did you push the female pin holes closer for better connection?

 

[tsmith]

So if I looked at it right, the latch faces down on the board, should the red wire be on the bottom of the connector towards the drop tube coupler? also you say I can use a pin to make the female connectors smaller, just stick a pin in the connector and push the female pin together to make it tighter?

 

[kappel15]

Yes, red wire on bottom. And yes, use a pin or thumb tac to push on the female" 0" pins to make hole smaller for better connection on male pins. Just don't over do it. kap

 

[tsmith]

Hey thanks Kap, that did the trick, sorry for the above repeated posts, I did not refresh my browser in between talking to you and working on the stove so I did not see your answers before I asked the same thing again. Didn't mean to sound stupid.

 

[kappel15]

No problem. Glad to help. Stay warm. kap

 

[stovelark]

Good info Kap- was afraid the pins on the board might be done and the board was gone. I also like your pointers to make the pins different sizes. Thanks for the input so all of us can be a little better with the AE... take care.

 

[kappel15]

Thanks