We've been running our P68 for 6 days now. Now, it won't start. We've gone through the book and think its either that the feeder is jammed or the combustion blower went out. Maybe a blown fuse inside the unit. How do you tell the difference? We're contacting the dealer as well but I've gotten such good advice here, I thought I'd ask. Thanks in advance for your help!
New Harman P68 won't start
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hi,
sorry to hear your misfortune. if the fuse is blown, you not have any lights on the panel. hopefully it's something minor. i hope i don't have the same problem with mine(P68A) which will be in anytime soon after waiting an eternity.
sorry to hear your misfortune. if the fuse is blown, you not have any lights on the panel. hopefully it's something minor. i hope i don't have the same problem with mine(P68A) which will be in anytime soon after waiting an eternity.
Only 6 days running, I would just let the dealer talk you through a few things to check over the phone, and if that don't work, let them come out and fix it. Pick the technicians brains while you have them on the phone or at the house. They, if experienced have seen at all, and can give you all types of hints and tips for troubleshooting. Hope it is a simple fix. At least you have the Warranty to fall back on. Good luck and keep us posted on results. Us P68'ers appreciate all that we can learn from others.
rgros:
Do you have any lights on your control board lit up as "Ivanhoe" mentioned? If so, are any flashing? What exactly does your stove do and not do when you turn the "mode Selecter" to on? Is your ignitor switch in "auto"? Also, if you have power to the controller (indicated by the lights) do the motors and auger work in TEST mode?
Do you have any lights on your control board lit up as "Ivanhoe" mentioned? If so, are any flashing? What exactly does your stove do and not do when you turn the "mode Selecter" to on? Is your ignitor switch in "auto"? Also, if you have power to the controller (indicated by the lights) do the motors and auger work in TEST mode?
codebum said:
Hey that is a really good question about the igniter switch.
Always start with the simple things first I think then go from there.
So are there lights on?
Do you have a blinking status light? If so how many times does it blink before it repeats?
Mark
Greetings: This may not be the answer to your problem but worth a try. Unplug the stove cord from the outlet and wait a couple minute and plug it back in and try to re-start. I understand that resets the electronic control unit. It worked when my P-68 went dead once and wouldn't restart.
Fixed Blade
Fixed Blade
Hi Guys,
Thanks for all the suggestions. We unplugged the unit first, waited a few minutes, then plugged in again but nothing different. We do have lights on the panel, so I guess its not a fuse. Tried the Test mode but the feeder won't work and the combustion blower won't go on. No blinking lights though. We talked to the dealer and they're going to come out tomorrow morning. They think it is the circuit board and will replace it. Hopefully that's it. I'll see what happens tomorrow and post the outcome. Aside from this, we're lovin' the P68. We finally figured out how to make it work best for our house. Its a great stove, assuming that little things don't keep breaking. I'm going to believe this is just a fluke for now.
- Rosemarie
Thanks for all the suggestions. We unplugged the unit first, waited a few minutes, then plugged in again but nothing different. We do have lights on the panel, so I guess its not a fuse. Tried the Test mode but the feeder won't work and the combustion blower won't go on. No blinking lights though. We talked to the dealer and they're going to come out tomorrow morning. They think it is the circuit board and will replace it. Hopefully that's it. I'll see what happens tomorrow and post the outcome. Aside from this, we're lovin' the P68. We finally figured out how to make it work best for our house. Its a great stove, assuming that little things don't keep breaking. I'm going to believe this is just a fluke for now.
- Rosemarie
I think it probably is a fluke as Harman have been known to be the most reliable stoves. From what I read on internet posts and I think even consumer reports says they seem to be the most trouble free.
You have had some issues with your stove though and I hope that goes away! I am sorry about your bad luck.
I'm glad there is a forum like this for you to write and read and share your experiences. It makes it a little easier I think.
Keep us informed!
Mark
You have had some issues with your stove though and I hope that goes away! I am sorry about your bad luck.
I'm glad there is a forum like this for you to write and read and share your experiences. It makes it a little easier I think.
Keep us informed!
Mark
rgros said:
I'm assuming in test mode the distribution (room blower) came on..
If so, while you're waiting for them, try to spin the combustion blower and make sure it spins free....
If not this could be the problem.
No combustion blower=no vacuum= draftswitch open= no ignitor or feeder......
The lights will come on for the ignitor and feeder but they will not run..
Hopefully they will also have a combustion blower on the truck........I've heard here that they have had alot of them fail this year...
In a nutshell I'm leaning towards the comb blower first..... control board second..
Hi GVA,
The distribution blower comes on in Test Mode but the not the feeder or combustion blower. It does spin freely though. When out of test mode and in operation mode, it does not feed at all. Since its not feeding, the ignition light won't go on and the comb blower won't go on either. We're stumped but glad its under warranty. I'll post back tomorrow after the tech comes.
- Rosemarie
The distribution blower comes on in Test Mode but the not the feeder or combustion blower. It does spin freely though. When out of test mode and in operation mode, it does not feed at all. Since its not feeding, the ignition light won't go on and the comb blower won't go on either. We're stumped but glad its under warranty. I'll post back tomorrow after the tech comes.
- Rosemarie
Well the tech came out and we've got our answer. It was the overload on the combustion blower. Circuit board was fine. Luckily, the tech everything he needed with him and in less than an hour the stove was up and running. Its a shame that we had a problem with it but I have to admit that the service was great and all under warranty. Now off to burn those Lignetics...
-Rosemarie
-Rosemarie
By overload, do you mean a separate fuse was blown? I don't know much about the P68. Also, did he have any idea why there was an overload?
Is there some way to prevent this from happening in the future?
Mark
Is there some way to prevent this from happening in the future?
Mark
No way to prevent it that I know of. The tech didn't seem to know why exactly it happened. We had only been running the stove for about 5 days so it must have just been a bad piece. We are, however, starting to hear a clicking sound when the feeder auger is turning. My husband somehow looked it up on youtube and there's a video that shows the chain catching or slipping as it operates. I think that may be our next issue. Hopefully it won't shut down b/c of it.
- Rosemarie
- Rosemarie
Yeah, that is exactly what I was afraid of. Him not really knowing why it happened just fixed the symptom. I saw that video you are talking about.
Two things that I have read about before buying my stove.
One, the chain will sometimes make a popping sound when the slider is breaking long pellets up.
Two, preferably with the stove shut off, you or your husband take off the back cover and look at both chain pulleys in reference to the chain and look to make sure everything is lined up straight.
You could watch this while the stove runs but KEEP YOUR FINGERS OUT OF THE WORKS! Watch the chain and see if the chain moves from one side to the other as the pulleys turn and then skips back.
If the pulleys are not in line, that will bind a motor/kill a reduction transmission in a hurry. This I know from working on another machine.
I am so sorry you are having these issues.
You really shouldn't have to trouble shoot a new stove.
Or, you could just let it go and if it breaks call them out again and try and demand they bring you a new stove as yours is a lemon.
In Maryland the law is if they fix the same thing three times, they have to take it back. At least I think that is the Lemon law. I have never had to use it.
mark
Two things that I have read about before buying my stove.
One, the chain will sometimes make a popping sound when the slider is breaking long pellets up.
Two, preferably with the stove shut off, you or your husband take off the back cover and look at both chain pulleys in reference to the chain and look to make sure everything is lined up straight.
You could watch this while the stove runs but KEEP YOUR FINGERS OUT OF THE WORKS! Watch the chain and see if the chain moves from one side to the other as the pulleys turn and then skips back.
If the pulleys are not in line, that will bind a motor/kill a reduction transmission in a hurry. This I know from working on another machine.
I am so sorry you are having these issues.
You really shouldn't have to trouble shoot a new stove.
Or, you could just let it go and if it breaks call them out again and try and demand they bring you a new stove as yours is a lemon.
In Maryland the law is if they fix the same thing three times, they have to take it back. At least I think that is the Lemon law. I have never had to use it.
mark
Thanks Mark for the info. I think we'll give that a try tomorrow to see if its really the chain. We did just switch to Lignetics pellets when we started hearing the popping so maybe its that. I noticed the Lignetics pellets have some long ones in there that the O'Malleys didn't. Hopefully its that simple. Its just unnerving to hear sounds you don't think you should be hearing without knowing if there's something wrong. Definitely we'll investigate tomorrow and if necessary that tech will just have to come back out next week. If one more thing goes wrong with the stove, they're going to have to pull it out and bring me a new one.
- Rosemarie
- Rosemarie
P68 is a direct drive... no chain...
I pulled the slide plate and ground a bevel on it, it makes slicing the long pellets easier on the motor....
Check with the dealer before modifying this though......
could be a alignment problem between auger and motor mount, or loose setscrews on shaft coupling perhaps.....
do you have a link to that you tube vid?
NEVERMIND......... Is this it?
the chain was too loose and based on where the cam is when it's binding, it bound once when the slide plate was closing and once when the slide plate was idle.........
chances are the burnpot needed to be scraped of clinkers. and the chain tightened....
I pulled the slide plate and ground a bevel on it, it makes slicing the long pellets easier on the motor....
Check with the dealer before modifying this though......
could be a alignment problem between auger and motor mount, or loose setscrews on shaft coupling perhaps.....
do you have a link to that you tube vid?
NEVERMIND......... Is this it?
the chain was too loose and based on where the cam is when it's binding, it bound once when the slide plate was closing and once when the slide plate was idle.........
chances are the burnpot needed to be scraped of clinkers. and the chain tightened....
Thanks GVA. Yeah, that the video. I appreciate the info, saves me some time. I have no knowledge of the inner workings but we were going to try looking at it today. Unfortunately, the hubby and a few of the kids are sick so I'll have to wait. At least I can tell him that it wasn't what we were thinking.
Thanks GVA,
Good to know the P68 has no chain. Do you happen to know, what that video is of? Which model?
mark
Good to know the P68 has no chain. Do you happen to know, what that video is of? Which model?
mark
If I remember correctly didn't you say your stove was made in Nov 08 in another post?? So is mine & coincidentally I had a bad distribution blower right out of the box. Had the tech pull the one out of the floor model (unused of course) and swap mine out. Hope thats the extent of any issues with it.
Marty
Marty
Harman has an issue with some of it's combustion blowers. The overload fuse inside the blower can fail. New blowers are available from your dealer with an auto re-setting fuse. They are covered under warranty. If the combustion blower won't run, the draft pressure switch will not close and and the feed motor and ignitor will not ground out. NEw stove made after dec 2008 have the new blowers on them. IF your stove is less than two months old and this is an issue, contact the dealer you purchased it from.
I think Nov. 08 was a bad month for Harman P68s. Mine was squeaking and squealing out of the box. After 4 trips out to my house and grinding and sanding of augers, slide plates (which was put in upsidedown), it is borderline OK. I keep the stove immaculate and do get an very occasional squeal, but not enough to drag the dealer out. I love the heat, but have doubts this will be the end of my troubles...
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