Quadra fire 1200 control box help

[Carnahkj]

in November I replaced the control box on my quadra Fire 1200, in December I replaced the thermocoupler and cover. Last week the stove quit working and I narrowed it down to another bad control box. After replacing the control box everything worked fine. Tonight I turned my stove on and I heard a pop. Now the stove will sound like it wants to start up but the igniter does not get hot. When I turn the stove on I get a blinking blue light on the control box for about 8 blinks then it stops. Did another control box go bad? If so why do they keep going bad? I have bought both control boxes from coastal farm and ranch a certified quadra Fire store.

 

[Jags]

Off to the pellet mill...

 

[Lake Girl]

Do you still have the old board? Many of these can be repaired. Good to have a back up! I hope you have been using surge protection... Have you gone through your wiring and connections looking for poor connections or damaged wire?

Combustion blower starts up and auger turns but pellets do not ignite? Have you tried a manual start using fire gel or hand sanitizer? If you can get enough pellets burning to satisfy the thermocoupler temperature, stove should run....

Keep us posted...

 

[Carnahkj]

I don't see any bad wires. No I do not have the old board unfortunately. Should I return the board I purchased last week? Was able to get it started with hand sanitizer. It works and feeds pellets.

 

[Carnahkj]

I don't see any bad wires. No I do not have the old board unfortunately. Should I return the board I purchased last week? Was able to get it started with hand sanitizer. It works and feeds pellets.

How do I test to see if my control box is bad? What lights should be lighting up on control box and when? Also how do I test the igniter to see if that is toast? I have narrowed it down to igniter or control board

 

[DMKNLD]

How do I test to see if my control box is bad? What lights should be lighting up on control box and when? Also how do I test the igniter to see if that is toast? I have narrowed it down to igniter or control board

With some basic electrical knowledge and a cheap analog ohmmeter you can test the igniter for continuity - disconnect the igniter connections (UNPLUG the stove first !), and touch one ohmmeter lead to each wire - doesn't matter which you connect the + vs - leads. If there is no continuity it means the filament connection inside the igniter tube is cooked / broken.

Given your stoves history of multiple control box 'defibrillations', as Lake Girl said, it would be prudent to check the wiring loom and harness for a hidden short somewhere - they often aren't visible to the eye, so that may warrant some diagnostic continuity / resistance to find a possible hidden / intermittent short. You don't want to toast another $$$$ control box if it is a short or loose wire connection somewhere that's the causative problem !

Igniters seem to be a common fail point for Quads - could have 'just been its time'. Kap advised that the new igniter upgrade is only for the AE models, which apparently has given less problems for those owners.

A Quad dealer can often test your control box, and those who can't may let you bring your box in to try on their floor model to see if it reproduces the problem. Or if you know someone near you who has a Quad model that uses the same control board, you can swap it into their stove - UNPLUG of course, before doing any control board removal or other electrical troubleshooting !

Here's a list of Quad models that use the same 3 speed control box:

• Classic Bay 1200

• Classic Bay 1200i (Insert)

• Castile

• Castile Insert

• Contour

• Santa Fe

• Santa Fe Insert

• Santa Fe-B

Good luck, and post back on what you find !

 

[Snowy Rivers]

It's possible that the igniter just took a dump and the pop was the thing going away

Does your stove have the loop type with 2 wires ???

AS mentioned, yank the igniter and check it.

 

[Carnahkj]

I called coastal and the mechanic said it is the igniter. So I replaced that and I still don't have anything. What's my next step

 

[MD_Fepellet]

I called coastal and the mechanic said it is the igniter. So I replaced that and I still don't have anything. What's my next step

Based on my experience today with my Quad Santa Fe, it is likely the appliance is not properly grounded. When you purchased the new control box, did it come with additional red and green wires with connectors? They go between the thermocouple connections and the tab gets screwed down to the ground on the chassis. This leaves the control box vulnerable as the motors and switches run at 120 V, the control box does not. This was the case for a Santa Fe, but uses the same control box.