Alpha CB24/28 Boiler - Fan issue?

[bodminman]

Hi there,
can someone please help me!
Last night my combi boiler decided not to give me any hot water or even heat the radiators. If I switch it to HW only and turn a tap on, I hear the boiler atempt to get going but the noise of what I think should be the fan starting up sounds different! An then the RED & YELLOW lights start flashing together on the front panel. Also there isn't anything coming out of the flue! Having looked in the manual at this flashing light sequence, it indicateds that this is either down to a faulty flue or fan.

So today I managed to get a heating engineer round to look at it and within 5 minutes he said that I needed a new board inside the boiler which is rather expensive! So said that the manual pointed to a fan/flue fault and has he checked them. He said no he didn't need to as he's had this problem loads. Have I got a cowboy? I know I can get a new fan for the boiler for around £70 but I think the main board is gonna cost alot more. Can I ask any specific questions?
Should I get a second opinion?

He's coming again tomorrow at around 11am with the part so I'll need to halt him earlier if I can.

Your help as always is greatly appreciated!

Best wishes
Cameron

 

[Biggles..]

It hes coming round tomorrow my advice would be to ensure that if he doesnt fix the fault with the new part then you wont pay for it.A heating engineer that just swaps bit after bit is best to avoid.If unsure of his credentials ask for his corgi id card, check the photo,the name and the date.Should be orange this year. However a correct corgi card will not guarentee a reliable engineer.

 

[bodminman]

Hi there,
The first thing I asked to see was that he was CORGI registered.

I'm really anxious about this as I've been ripped of before. I have a disabled wife and child and I think sometimes people know that I can't do without certain things and think I will almost accept any price quoted to me!

I'll say that I will only pay for the part that solves the issue. If he is charging me by the hour, will I have to pay for his numerous trips to the plumbers merchants if he ends up swapping parts?

 

[Biggles..]

Some companies operate on a fixed fee for repairs, find out if this is how he works.if your in any doubt get another opinion.
personally i dont touch service and repair but im sure some of the others may be able to help you, Agile,paul and chris to name but a few.

 

[ChrisR]

Sounds like the fault is fairly "reliable". If he changes the board and it doesn't fix it, then it wasn't the board! Just make sure he takes it out again if he decides say it's the fan.
In other words, if he puts a new fan in, make sure he demonstrates that it won't work with your old board.
If he changes any part, keep the old one.
As fas as I'm aware failed fans of that type can't break boards, and vice versa, so they would NOT "go" together.

 

[bodminman]

Thanks for your responses guys. I've taken my note and am ready for the task!

Thanks alot!

 

[bodminman]

Basically, I managed to dig out the installation instructions for the boiler and in the troubleshooting section, I followed the fault and it indicated that the fan was the issue.

The original plumber said that he couldn't get the parts he needed until the middle of next week so I had no choice but to look in the yellow pages and call one of those national companies who promise a same day fix. I told them that I have followed the manual and that they should make sure that the engineer picks up a fan as it was getting late in the day. They promised to be with me by 6pm Thursday. They didn't show and contacted me at 6.30pm to say that the engineer was still on another job and will be with me first thing in the morning as the first job. At 8.30am on Friday I contacted them to get a ETA for the engineer but they said that he was on another job and will be with me after that. (So much for being the first job). Having already wasted almost a day he turned up at 3.30pm. 10 minutes later he said yes it is the fan and he'll go and get one! CRAZY! It took over an hour to travel 14 miles and of course I had to pick up the tab! £62+vat p/h x2 and £98inc vat for the fan (I could have got this from my local plumbers merchant for £70 inc vat) I complined to the customer services dept of this company who's response what that the engineer had to do his own diagnostics. The engineer read the same leaflet I did and confirmed that my diagnosis was right! The customer services said that if I was so sure it was the fan why didn't I fix it myself!!!!! At this point I was speachless!!! Does anyone know if I have decent ground for a complaint here?

Please help!

 

[Rob]

unfortunatley what you should have done was buy it yourself. You cant tell them to pick one up one the way as if this wasnt the fault you wouldnt wanna buy it off of them would you. and they could be stuck with a fan or have to waste time returning it.

however we rarely drive off to get bits, especially 1hrs drive, were too busy, they should have ordered it in or then allowed yourself to pick it up and just charged labour to come and fit it.

 

[bodminman]

Thanks for the reply.

I know that these companies have a sale/return account with suppliers so if wasn't needed them they could have taken it back.

Just think I've been completely ripped off! And am angry that I was strung along for 24hrs before someone appeared and didn't even get an apology or a decent explanation. Would have thought a goodwill discount/reduction of the total cost would have been a nice gesture!

 

[ChrisR]

You can't expect people to drive around for nothing. Taking the fan back - time consuming (=£££) and not always possible.
If someone wants me to go off there and then to get a part, they pay for the time. This guy charged you trade price for the fan, retail is £129 PLUS vat, = £157. I couldn't care less if you reckon you can get it for £20. Try telling your car manufacturer's workshop that you can get cheap bits in the motor accessory shop.

Customers get the right diagnosis on the part they need, about one time in 30! Bear in miind the manuals are often wrong about diagnosis. Unless someone says a fan is squealing, for example, I wouldn't necessarily take much notice of what they say.
£62+vat p/h isn't unusual.
It takes me about 90 mins to drive 14 miles in the morning.
Last repair I did, the customer couldn't get anyone else quicker than 4 days.

You did OK.

 

[bodminman]

Thanks for your honesty Chris. I think I'm on my high horse more because they didn't turn up the night before and I had cancelled a meal out with some old uni friends so that I could get the heating fixed, which didn't happen!

Thanks for your time in replying everyone.

 

[eccoboy]

Hi, if you look at the fault finding section of the manual for the CB24 and CB28 two flashing LED's at the same time will take you down the path of a faulty air pressure switch. In short, these do not regularly fail. What Alpha fail to explain is that the PCB is the likely cause and these are approx £180 to buy.

The good news is that you can repair them and it is nearly always the same component that fails - the Relay. The news gets better in that you can buy one for about £7.50 on ebay. Search for Takamisawa relay and you'll find them there. The job of replacement couldnt be simpler. Disconnect from the mains, disconnect the cables, remove PCB, heat the 4 pins on the back of the faulty relay (see pic - its the 3rd relay on the right) be careful not to overheat the conections when removing and use a solder soaker braid or solder sucker to extract the old solder, these cost aroud a £1.00 on ebay and then put the new one in (facing same way as the others) Reasemble in reverse order and you'll have a big smile on your face for days. Alpha CB24 CB28 PCB repair for less than a tenner. Winner.

Now Alpha wouldnt put that in their manual would they?

Untitled

• eccoboy
• 15 Feb 2014
• 1

 

[pip1983]

Hi all. Is the above picture the fan relay. Thanks phil

 

[Brian45]

Hi the relay you need is ALDP124
http://uk.farnell.com/panasonic-electric-works/aldp124/relay-spst-no-277vac-30vdc-5a/dp/2095639
Don't bother with eBay.
Also the best way to identify the relay legs are to push relay to one side and break them off

 

[Agile]

How does breaking a relay help anything?

You need the pins intact so you can desolder and remove them!