Valliant VCW 242 igniting and cutting out every few seconds

Hi guys, I've got an ancient but usually reliable vcw boiler, we've had it for over 20 years and its been trouble free till now, its been service every so often.

The problem is as follows; On the hot water side the has ignites and cuts off every few seconds whilst the hot water tap is running, it also happens on the central heating side.

So far ive called out a number of engineers quite a few refusing to work or take a look at it saying its an uneconomical repair

The last person that came out did a system flush and that did absolutely nothing to solve the problem.

I cant afford a new boiler atm, I am handy with spanners but i know very little about boilers, can someone please help point out where the fault may lie, if its something simple I can have a go myself i just need a good diagnosis, since these are pretty old someone might have come across this before? Many thanks for reading

not many engineers will know this boiler, and the flush was a complete waste of time, post where you are and someone might want to come and sort you out, not really a diy repair

20 years ago these boilers were getting thin on the ground...all that time to save up for a replacement. Gotta love customers.

Dam shame you can't afford a new one because that is really your solution. If you have had it for over twenty years, you have well and truly had your money's worth even for a Vaillant. Interest rates are historically low at present so IMO you must consider borrowing some money and usually the cheapest way to do this is to add to your mortgage or if you don't have a mortgage and own the property, many building societies and banks will grant you one. If you are not sure how to go about this, most mortgage brokers will be only too happy to help but don't automatically jump on the first band wagon do a bit of research first - it's really not much different from going to the shops and looking for the best bargains.

Thanks for the replies, I just like older stuff, built to last. I'm in Leicester, if its a reasonable cost, I'm happy to repair it, if its electronics im ok with that etc, but i wont touch the gas side, just really need a diagnosis and weigh up if its an economical repair

Depends where you are in Leicester and I don’t know if he goes out that far but Ian Rice at Gastech is possibly the most knowledgable person in the country in these boilers. He is on here but doesn’t usually post in the general section.

I’d give them a call. If he says it’s repairable it is but if he says it’s skip time I’d believe him

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