Potterton Prima 40f boiler which does not ignite

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Hi there, can anyone help with this problem ??

I have a Potterton Prima 40f boiler system which intermittently does not ignite.
The system pilot light comes on and the boiler ignites, the heating is on for roughly three to five minutes before cutting out, the pilot light is still ignited. There is an overheat limit thermostat reset switch which when reset ignites the boiler again but as soon as I take my finger away from it it cuts out again. All the time the pilot light is on.
I have turned of at the electrics and from the thermostat knob and tried again but problem persists.
This had happened before on and off but was recently working ok. Now that the cold weather is here I need to get this sorted.
Are there any simple checks I could do to try and narrow down what the problem may be or at least understand it a bit more as I don't want to be stung by a cowboy engineer by not knowing what I'm on about.
:confused:
 
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Your symptoms do not make sense to me but if the pilot is still alight ( the electrode is still sparking) this points to either a broken down electrode lead or pcb. The bit that doesn't make sense is the over heat reset button allowing main gas to light as if the boiler has overheated the o/h stat should also cut the pilot out.
 
Thanks for the reply
The reset switch has not fully popped out as such, It had happened before and I reset the switch and the heating worked. (It was a while back and can not remember if the pilot light was out)
It probably sounds a bit kamikaze but when it doesn't ignite or cuts of I put pressure on this reset button (it has not popped out) and it ignites, it sometimes stays on after doing this but now it mostly cuts out.
Have spoke to Potterton technical helpline and the guy I spoke to mentioned the circulatory system and also spoke to a local engineer who mentioned a new pump, would these be speaking about the same thing is the circulatory system related to the pump or are they speaking a load of nonsense !!!
 
Yes. If the system was having circulation problems the o/h button would pop out ,so I don't think that this is the case with your boiler.
 
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ok cheers mate so in your opinion it sounds like a new electrode lead or a new board is required,
is it worth checking anything else ? is there a possibility of anything else causing this ? I know my description isn't the best !
thanks for your help here
 
Did you ever solve this? I have the EXACT same problem and same boiler :(

Any help from anyone most welcome :)

1 Fan is running, constantly throughout the whole process. As is pump upstairs (this was replaced not so long ago).
2 Sparks and ignites pilot fine.
3 Main burner comes on OK
4 After a short period of time main burner goes off
5 Pilot burner is still ON, there is NO sparking at this time
6 After a while main burner reignites and we go back to (4)

How would you diagnose this? If it's air pressure related can I bridge the APS temporarily to find out if the burner remains on for example?
 
Another potentially dangerous DIYer!

You should NOT be touching the APS yourself ! Call a registered engineer.

If it really were exactly the same as the original post that indicates a probably PCB fault.

In the meantime turn down the temperature control knob and see what difference that makes.

Tony
 
Another potentially dangerous DIYer!

You should NOT be touching the APS yourself ! Call a registered engineer.

If it really were exactly the same as the original post that indicates a probably PCB fault.

In the meantime turn down the temperature control knob and see what difference that makes.

Tony

Noted and thanks. I am electronics trained to the point to know not to kill myself or blow up the house - and also old enough to know my limitations. Don't panic :)
 
I am panicing because you are proposing to disable a combustion safety device!

Furthermore you seem to think that having a little electronics knowledge also includes gas combustion and control.

Tony
 
I am panicing because you are proposing to disable a combustion safety device!

Furthermore you seem to think that having a little electronics knowledge also includes gas combustion and control.

Tony

I asked a question, you inferred I was going to do it. Chill. Not the case, and as stated I know my own limitations. Engineer called.

Additionally, I don't think I made claims about gas combustion and control either! Amazing what people read into things isn't it? ;)

Thanks again.
 
there is a difference between not panicking and being a patronising pratt :rolleyes:

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OP have you been through the fault finding in the mi's first :!:
 
there is a difference between not panicking and being a patronising pratt :rolleyes:

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OP have you been through the fault finding in the mi's first :!:

Oh Christ - seriously - not the intention - and a perfect example of people reading things into posts! Apologies if you felt otherwise but I can assure you that's not my objective - I'm too old for such nonsense! :) Merely trying to clarify (and obviously stuffing it up entirely).
 

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