Success!!! Board Level Repair on Controller Complete!

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Snowmobileaddict

Burning Hunk
Oct 12, 2012
133
Cedarburg, WI
Maybe you read my recent post about my recent igniter failure that took out my control board.

That post is here:https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...d-took-my-control-board-along-with-it.161418/

Anyhow, after getting a replacement board courtesy of the original manufacturer ( Applied Control Electronics - http://www.appconx.com/products/controlsystems.html )

I wanted to find out if I was able to repair my damaged board on my own. I am here to say that I was. It cost about $3 worth of parts.

The first obvious failure was a blown trace on the printed circuit board. It was the trace that provided 120v line voltage to the igniter.

Here is that failure:

[Hearth.com] Success!!! Board Level Repair on Controller Complete!

I was able to re-establish that connection on the other side of the board with a section of a wire staple that was cut to size and soldered to the existing pads.

Here is that repair:
[Hearth.com] Success!!! Board Level Repair on Controller Complete!

Thinking that was only issue, I checked the repair and noticed (2) other failures after additional testing with an ohm meter and with the stove. The igniter triac had failed in the "ON" position. Essentially, line voltage was being sent to the igniter leads any time the stove was running, even after the stove got out of the start-up sequence.

I also noticed the same issue with the exhaust blower. That triac had also failed in the "ON" position. These (2) triacs were about $1.43 a piece on Newark.com. They are part T835-600G. I ordered 5 pcs and set about the repair. The old ones came off nice and easy with a basic 45W soldering iron. Nothing fancy. Not even any desoldering wick.

The replacements also went on with incident. It was kind of hard to get them straight, as you can see, but the finished product works great.

[Hearth.com] Success!!! Board Level Repair on Controller Complete!

Now I've got a proper spare board that I can have at-the-ready in my parts bin. Although, considering I have wired up a SPST relay to handle turning the igniter on and also fused the igniter, I'm hopeful that I won't need the spare control board for a LONG time.
 
Bravo! Nicely done Snowmobileaddict.
 
Instead of repairing tracts...I usually just solder wick and use a small gauge jumper wire. 2 sides of the same coin.

I love it when you get a PCB that died and there is a big black spot on the back showing you the obvious failure. That is a gold mine from a troubleshooting point of view. :)
 
Yeah, the smoked trace was easy to identify for sure.

It's weird that the shorted out igniter took out the combustion triac too though. That one had me puzzled.

I'm just glad that it's all good now. And I've got 3 extra triacs on hand too.
 
Nice work. Reminds me of my welder circuit board. I've repaired that about 3 times over the years. As the 8 semiconductors would burn out one by one, eventually it would take out the optocoupler and blow some traces and it would quit. The parts cost next to nothing. It's nice having a board with discrete components you can replace yourself.

For the pellet stove it's smart to have a spare board already done, that you can just plop in quickly. Don't have to resort to backup heat when it's below zero out.
 
Well done man...

you and I are cut from the same mold. (2015 Polaris AXYS Switchback 800 and a 2016 Skidoo Endure ACE 900 (Family Sled)).

Addiction sucks.

Mal
 
Sorry to drag up an old thread, but a Well Done is deserved for your repair!

Bill
 
Sorry to drag up an old thread, but a Well Done is deserved for your repair!

Bill


Thanks!

I hope this thread helps others that find themselves in a similar situation. Best advice, install an inline fuse for your igniter and size it an amp or 2 less in value than the fuse on the control board. The igniter will fail some day, when it does, there is a great chance it will take out your board too.