Trouble with Whitfield Advantage Plus - Help!

[toro1966]

Hey guys - having a problem with our Whitfield Advantage Plus. Didn't even know this forum was here until I Googled.

When you push the start button, all of the lights come on for about a second or so, and then they all go out again. There is no blower start and no noise of any kind. It has been cleaned, but I am thinking this is a control panel issue given that it won't do anything.

Does anyone have any advice? Thanks!

 

[skinanbones]

sounds like it could be a bad ignitor, first place i would check would be the back of the board for fuses and see if one is blown. If not you could try disconnecting the ignitor and see if the stove will start. I was just looking through the manual and your stove can be started with out the ignitor using a firestarter

 

[toro1966]

But if it was a bad ignitor, wouldn't the blower start as it is supposed to? Where is the ignitor by the way? Thanks!

 

[Stovensen]

Hi toro1966, and welcome to the forum. The issue with your Advantage Plus has much in common with what several other forum members with the same touch pad control board have experienced.
Forum member Coffeeman5 came up with a fix that cured the issue on his stove. Please read about it here. I hope it might do the trick for you, too.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...plus-do-i-need-a-new-fan.102726/#post-1403312

Good luck and take care. Please keep us posted with what you find.

 

[toro1966]

Thanks. I'll definitely check that.

 

[toro1966]

Ok - found the problem but gonna need a new CP. My micro-minature repair skills are pretty good, but not sure I want to take the time for this one. Gonna be quite a bit of work. Bottom line is a lot of corrosion on the pcb has caused some fo the trace to disintegrate as well as the connections for the diodes to be removed. Anyone have a good high resolution picture of the top and bottom of one of these? If so, I can probably repair the traces and use some light gauge wire to repair the connections. Problem is the traces are gone in a couple of spots and the corrosion has made it so I can't tell what's connected and what's not. Pic below.

 

[Stovensen]

Now that's corrosion for sure. No wonder it didn't work. But hey, let's think positive: The lights DO turn on when you push the start button, and the fuse hasn't been blown, has it? I would say that this circuit board is absolutely worth saving.

With a suitable brush like for instance an old tooth brush you should be able to clean away the layer of oxides/salts on the surface in order to determine precisely how many copper traces are missing, if any? From what I can see on your photos ( good sharp photos, btw ) it doesn't look so bad. I have salvaged pcbs that were more corroded than this.
You'll have to experiment with different solvents to dissolve the oxidelayer, but my guess is that a LITTLE water will be the best solvent. Perhaps with a little tooth paste to get some mild abrasive action.
If you dry the pcb with a heat gun quickly after cleaning, the water will do no further harm to the traces or components.
If your pcb is double sided like mine, then what about the traces on the other side? Are they as badly corroded , too?
Unfortunately the pcb in my Quest Plus stove is different from yours ( see photo ), so it won't help you much, other than enabling you to recognize the use of similar components ( relays, triacs, and so on ).

Looking forward to hear about your progress
Good luck and take care.

 

[toro1966]

Thanks! I ordered a new one in the interest of time and in my wife's case - cold! I do intend on trying to fix this one after I swap them out. Thanks again.