Quadrafire Mt. Vernon AE insert - "Comb Blower Over I" error

[ljkelly1]

Hi -

I cleaned and fired up my pellet stove yesterday and it ran fine through the night. At around noon today I received the error "Comb Blower Over I". I unplugged the unit, waited a few minutes and plugged it back in. After the stove fired up, I left for a couple of hours. When I returned, the error was back. I did clean the exhaust blower yesterday - it was pretty full of ash. I had removed the entire assembly, motor and housing. I also cleaned the flue pipe. Any thoughts as to what it can be? Would there be any benefit to removing just the motor without the housing to see if there's more ash in there? I'd appreciate any advice.

Thanks, Lee

 

[ARC]

This error code means that there is an issue with electric current flow in the exhaust fan circuit. 4 causes, 1)wire harness and connector molexes, 2)exhaust fan connection terminal corrosion, 3)motherboard connection terminal corrosion, 4)motherboard. #1 is the least expensive and usual culprit.

 

[ljkelly1]

Thank you so much for your prompt and helpful reply. You mentioned an issue with electrical flow and that's what it turned out to be. As I mentioned, I had removed and cleaned the exhaust blower and housing to get it ready for the season. When I put it back together, I had routed the wires for the exhaust fan incorrectly and the wires were rubbing up against the (hot) housing. Fortunately the wires didn't melt, but they got hot enough to introduce enough resistance to impede the current flow. I unplugged the wires to the circuit board and re-routed them away from the housing and haven't had a problem since. Fingers crossed. Thanks again for the help!

 

[ARC]

Good job trouble shooting and thank you for the update.

 

[Whitenuckler]

Thank you so much for your prompt and helpful reply. You mentioned an issue with electrical flow and that's what it turned out to be. As I mentioned, I had removed and cleaned the exhaust blower and housing to get it ready for the season. When I put it back together, I had routed the wires for the exhaust fan incorrectly and the wires were rubbing up against the (hot) housing. Fortunately the wires didn't melt, but they got hot enough to introduce enough resistance to impede the current flow. I unplugged the wires to the circuit board and re-routed them away from the housing and haven't had a problem since. Fingers crossed. Thanks again for the help!

The next time you are in there, double check the wire insulation for damage. You cannot heat a copper wire up enough to impede current flow without first melting the insulation. You could have also just corrected a bad connection.

 

[ljkelly1]

Thanks, I will. The insulation wasn't melted and didn't show signs of distress. I was surprised because the housing was very hot. It is possible that corrected a bad connection. I appreciate your follow up.

 

[Whitenuckler]

Thanks, I will. The insulation wasn't melted and didn't show signs of distress. I was surprised because the housing was very hot. It is possible that corrected a bad connection. I appreciate your follow up.

No problem. That stove appears to have good built in error codes. Over I stands for "overcurrent" I is used to describe current. Could have been a partial ground, or a blockage of the blower ect. Good luck and have a warm winter.