Ideal Icos h15 died

kiesh · 27 Mar 2009

Hi, first post so please bear with me!

My boiler started making a loud vibrating noise when firing up (it sort of pulsed for 10 seconds then went quiet) this went on for a couple of weeks.

Then i started finding it had failed to light and was showing a fault code L/F and the burner light would flash.

Recently it stopped firing all together and popped the fuse on the box on the wall next to the boiler. i replaced the fuse and turned the boiler on and
there was a pop from the boiler and it has been completely dead ever since!

I had a problem with low gas pressure in my house which was sorted last night, could this have damaged the boiler? any suggestions very gratefully recieved!
Kieran

gas4you · 27 Mar 2009

A total guess, but I would plump for the fan has taken out the pcb.

A common failure on Ideals

GodKnows · 27 Mar 2009

Why wait weeks to address the problem? If there was a gas pressure supply problem, why didn't the RGI who corrected this address the boiler? i.e. gas rate the appliance to make sure that the gas rate was correct for that model? Or, the person who "corrected," the gas supply wasn't an RGI? How was it corrected, please elaborate on the work involved/completed. How long since it was serviced by an RGI?

hect · 27 Mar 2009

Low gas pressures cause explosive ignition and LF faults - prob was fan thats taken out pcb - get someone qualified to check resistance on red blue terminals at fan - 2 outside terminals, expect 110-130 ohms

kiesh · 28 Mar 2009

OK, thanks for the info so far, the fuse on the PCB has popped, so hopefully the PCB is ok. didnt get the gas pressure sorted cos ive not had chance, stupid i know, but hadnt realised how important it is! the chap that came out was from NPower and replaced the meter and some valve that wasnt operating properly in the box outside the house, gas pressure is mega now. looking at the boiler wasnt part of his remit. Ive checked the fan and it reads 111.3ohms, does that mean its OK? any other suggestions? I havent changed the fuse and tried the boiler again yet as im concerned it will cause further damage, is this a reasonable concern or shall i just try it? by the way any thoughts on the wierd pulsing vibration noise when it was firing up? (although i should say its stopped doing that a short time ago, could be good or could be bad!?)
Kind Regards
Kieran
p.s what does the LF fault actually stand for?

hect · 2 Apr 2009

Lack of flame detection - can be caused by:
blocked condensate sump
no sparks at ignition electrodes
gas valve faulty
fan faulty
flue seals not correctly fitted
detection electrode faulty
incorrect gas pressures

Agile · 2 Apr 2009

To give added protection against damaging the boiler if you try to retry it you could put a 1A fuse in the switched fused spur.

This will run the boiler but might give occasional blowing but would be preferable to damaging a boiler part.

To anyone else reading, if your boiler is not working properly dont wait, get a professional to see it ASAP before any further damage occurs.

Tony

shambolic · 3 Apr 2009

Sounds like a possibility of blocked condense boiler then fills with water fusing poor combustion and failure followed by water getting into be valve and electrics??

kiesh · 3 Apr 2009

Ok where could i find instructions on how to empty/clean the sump? my boiler warns that the cover plate should only be removed if the sump has been drained, i cant see a drain other than the pipe on the bottom, but this would automatically drain the sump, so why mention it? little confused by that... anyway of checking the spark without blowing up half of south cumbria?

gas4you · 3 Apr 2009

The trap must be removed before the sump plate is removed.

The trap is the black plastic 'container' to the left of the wiring connector, that has the flexible rubber pipe off the back.

kiesh · 14 Apr 2009

OK been busy the last few days so will have a look at the trap if i can find it ok, Thankyou for all your help so far people, its really appreciated!

kiesh · 2 May 2009

hi again, i have removed the black plastic 'u bend' type unit and cleaned that out, is that the sump or is there more? ive also replaced the fuse on the circuit board, and now get an alternating E/H code on the boiler! any ideas what that code means?
kieran

kevindgas · 2 May 2009

from the manual
66 L.... E..... & H..... E...... (board error)

internal fault with PCB - press reset for 2 seconds does boiler operate
yes ok
no - turn boiler off and wait 5 seconds turn on

does boiler operate
yes ok
no - replace PCB

kiesh · 2 May 2009

thanks for that, i was expecting it to be the PCB, as this seems common... pressing the reset button seems not to do anything at all, does this mean the reset button is knackered too!? i try turning the boiler off and on again and still get the code, so looks bad. any idea where a good place to get the PCB replaced is, or is now the time to get a chap in to look at it?
(by the way i found the sump plate and removed/checked that, all was well)

Kieran

kevindgas · 2 May 2009

with the problems you have had i would get ideal in to fix it as a PCB is £16 a go and that is a lot of money to chance - if they blow it up it's their problem and the can find out if anything else is wrong.

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Ideal Icos h15 died

hect

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