Vaillant Ecotec 824e F.28 fault

iamlee2002 · Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2011 7:00 pm

Hi all, Today tried using the boiler for hot water and on the status lcd display it says F.28 I've read the manual off the net to see what fault it is, it says the following:

F.28 Appliance does not start: Attempts to ignite during start
failed
Faults in the gas supply such as:
- Gas meter or gas pressure detector defective
- Air in gas
- Gas flow pressure too low
- Fire protection tap has disengaged
Faults in the gas valve, wrong gas setting, igniter (ignition transformer,
ignition cable, ignition plug) defective, ionisation current
stopped (cable, electrode), faulty earthing in appliance, electronics defective

I have phoned a gas safe plumber to come and have a look tommorow how much do you think this can cost to fix the fault depending on what it is etc?

I aint had this boiler serviced since moving in house 4 years ago so id have this done same time.

I've checked to make sure my gas is ok plenty of gas coming to the cooker so thats ok lol.

This is the only thing i do not want to attempt to do myself not worth the risk, different if i had a leaking pipe etc thats a diy job

thanks in advance for any feedback

Lee

Boilerman2 · Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2011 7:35 pm

If boiler has not been Serviced in 4 Years
to service the boiler,
you may need Ignition electrode
Burner Door Seal

for this, expect a bill of around £100+ Vat
unless your F28 is due to something more sinister

iamlee2002 · Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 9:36 am

Hi thanks for that Boilerman greatly appreciated

Agile · Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 12:21 pm

That boiler can have leaking seals which is why its so important to have then serviced regularly!

One that had never been serviced and had still been used when clearly they should have called an engineer came to about £400. The heat burns all the plastic parts inside.

Tony

absolute · Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 12:25 pm

F.28 could be coming up because your regulator at your meter has had it (this will be fixed free of charge by the gas board, but will need to be identified by a gas man first). Have you tried pressing the re-set button? Also was any work being done in the road on your gas main? F.28 or F.29 will come up if gas supply is interupted.

iamlee2002 · Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 5:12 pm

plumber came up but couldnt manage to fix it as he said he dont normally work on vaillant boilers, he seems to think it might be something to do with the fan because he reckons it doesnt sound as it should. Have phoned another plumber who works for british gas so hopefully he can test things etc

iamlee2002 · Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 5:13 pm

I asked the plumber about the gas regulator he said he cant see it being that, no work has been done to any gas in my area. Any plumbers in south wales who are familiar with Valliant boilers? cant seem to find any Valliant engineers local in my area

iamlee2002 · Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 5:54 pm

Hi all a british gas enginner came opened boiler up checked to see if electrode was sparking nothing there, the board is gone he said.

How much do these boards cost to supply and fit? he said he will fone me with price, id just like to have a rough idea

thanks

Boilerman2 · Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 6:24 pm

I have never known a PCB to fail on one of those boilers....
but the BG engineer is the man on site, so if thats what he has diagnosed then thats what it needs can't help with a guide to price though as I have never had to order one

iamlee2002 · Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 7:47 pm

Hi yep at least we know what the fault is, just shame it wasnt something a bit simpler, While he fixes this i will have boiler serviced we do need a new boiler cover seal (the black insulated one) as when first plumber took cover off the seal was crumbling away.

SpecialK · Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 9:07 pm

Can you phone vaillant and see if they have a local engineer or will look at it themselves?
Is it possible another input to the PCB is stopping the spark? Or did the BG guy seem confident about his findings?

Bunnyman · Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:23 pm

Well I work on thousands of these an never had a pcb ignition fault so I would be wary of that! Ring Vaillant for fixed price repair pcb about £180

iamlee2002 · Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 10:06 pm

Hi all thanks for all the feedback

BG tested the pcb with meter etc and its got no power, the wire running to the pcb has power but soon as it enters the board theres nothing live there. Will post an update when pcb is replaced hopefully will be fine then. if it was something alot more sinister with cost wise then id prob look at replacing boiler but pcb supply and fit for under £200 is reasonable for a youngish boiler.

Only thing i dont like about this boiler is we cannot have a good dhw flow rate, ive measured 6 litres a min, takes 35 mins to fill our bath.

lets wait and see

thanks again for all your expertise

Bunnyman · Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 10:31 pm

should be 8 to 10 lm check your cold inlet if you got 12l on the cold you should get 8-10 lm on the hot , i presume someone has checked the fuse on the pcb 2amp?

iamlee2002 · Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 8:21 pm

Hi yes bg guy checked everything and said its board hes come across it once or twice with same brand boiler.

DHW flow is deff only 6 lm, i had to adjust the valve feeding the boiler otherwise if it was open fully the water be cold / luke luke warm coming out of bath tap, Thats the only thing i could think of what to do. Is that normal? lol hopefully bg coming monday to replace board