Mt Vernon AE Issues...

[Mdfarmer]

Hello,

I have a Used Mt Vernon AE of which I am trying to get the bugs out of before installation. I am currently running this in my shed (about 10 degrees F.)

Last week I installed a new control board. It fired up right away and went into startup mode. The combustion blower turns on and the pellets drop and ignite. (Typically I will put in about half a cup of pellets after the autoclean cylcle,) I am getting a nice flame and the exhaust seems to be burning clean.

The convection blower does not turn on, and I am getting an error "Bad TC Firepot." I have unplugged the thermocoupler from the board and have tested it with a multimeter. At this time it is reading 21 millivolts.

I am not sure if the problem is that the unit is below freezing during startup, and the drop tube TC may not be warmed enough to work properly. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[kappel15]

Try using a thumbtack or pin and push the" o" connections smaller on the wire harness molex connector that hooks to the board. They are a friction fit and sometimes don't have a good connection. Just don't over do it. Make sure to reinstall properly or it will be out of polarity. Latch side must be towards the drop tube tcouple connector. And the conv fan won't come on till it registers enough heat. kap

 

[saxofonist]

Kap,

I am having the same problems. I don't have a new board, but I installed a new tc for the firepot. I cleaned the stove. Pellets drop in and light. A good flame is produced, and then it throws the bad tc firepot code. I installed a jumper on the tc connection at the board and the stove was stuck in startup, and would not drop pellets after the initial drop. Any thoughts???

 

[kappel15]

If you jump the prongs on the board, and still get a fptc code, the board is bad. And did you install the new tc the right direction on the board? And what was happening that you got a new fptc? And what revision board do you have? kap

 

[saxofonist]

When I jumped the tc at the board, the stove just stayed in startup; it didn't give a bad tc firepot code. The board is a rev c March of 2008. I have installed the new tc correctly to the board. Just performed another cleaning. Testing to see if any progress was made from the cleaning. I just cleaned it, but you always find a little more.

 

[saxofonist]

It threw the bad tc firepot code again. I have been working on this bugger for the past week. Because the jumper didn't give a code it makes me think the board is probably not the issue.

 

[kappel15]

Not getting out of startup is a sign of a faulty thermocouple. Even tho it is new, have you tested it yet? Have you tried making the female o's on the molex connector smaller for a better fit as they are a friction fit. And it does take some care to install a new tc. Being bent too much can cause damage. kap

 

[kappel15]

Also installed back on the board the right way is important or it will be out of polarity. kap

 

[saxofonist]

Kap, I installed the new tc with the tab pointing towards the tc drop tube connection. I can't even get the connector to plug into the board in the reverse fashion, with the tab pointed up.

My first tc was a braided wire and my new tc is a solid smooth wire. I did drill a new hole to move the tc closer to the firepot like the directions said. I have repeatedly checked to make sure the tc is all the way to the back of the cover. I have not tried testing the voltage of the tc. I will try that tonight or this weekend.

I tried to lightly bend the female connectors on the firepot tc, but still got the bad tc firepot error. Is there something other than the thermocouple that can cause the bad tc firepot error?

I checked the autocleaning area and all the holes are open. This is getting really frustrating. I have a service guy coming out but not for a month. I would really like to cancel that appointment and get this fixed.

 

[kappel15]

When you lightly bent female openings, was it on the wire harness or the connector that goes on the board? It is suppose to be the connector on the board as it is just a friction fit over the locator pins. And is the tc and cover sticking into the pot an inch? kap

 

[saxofonist]

Hi Kap et al,

I had a "Quadra Fire Tech" over and he had no idea what was wrong with my stove. Better yet, he is the only quadra fire repair person in the area. He diagnosed the whole system and the TC at the firepot kept failing, but that was the only thing that failed in the testing. I bought the more expensive TC, made by Quadra Fire, and it should arrive today. I will let you know if the new TC works. Anyone else have trouble with the $60 TC vs, the closer to $120 TC?

 

[kappel15]

There are only three things that will cause the fptc error. Bad control board, bad tc, or bad wire harness or connections. Just went thru this with another guy, He bought a new tc and stove wouldn't work. Luckily he had two stoves and other stove worked so he pulled tc off of it and put it in other stove. Stove worked, so even the new tc was bad. As far as cheap or more expenseive tc's, depends on if they are the same ones or not. kap