Mt. Vernon AE Ignition issues

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Classic case of "magic smoke loss". I would make sure of the correct fuse before powering it back up after repair.
 
I’d draw the same conclusion-obviously the fuse is supposed to let go before the circuit does-that’s it’s whole job after all. But I can assure you that I use the correct 15A fuses.
I can’t explain why this gave way. I was blowing fuses a lot a year or so ago, so maybe this connection got weakened over time? Not for nothing, but that copper strip is (was) pretty thin. I could see it giving way after a while. I may have damaged it over the last 8 years of taking the thing out/putting it in... who knows?
Either way, we’re back up and running! Flattened a piece of wire out of 20A Romex and soldered it in.
 

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Copper on standard pcb’s are 1oz. 1.37 mills
 
Nice find. Glad you were able to fix it. kap
 
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Nice find. Glad you were able to fix it. kap
So-quick update in case anyone uses this thread in the future to help diagnose their similar problem: the repaired control board would work for a couple cycles, but we would always have repeat problems (blown fuse, blown igniter, and sometime a tripped breaker in the house). So, there had to be something in the board that would malfunction and leave the circuit open. I went through a few more igniters and fuses before I finally gave up and just replaced the board. I also had to replace both thermocouples, since the old ones had the wrong connectors on them. New setup is about a week old, and has gone through several startups and shutdowns and seems to be okay. Hope this helps someone down the line!