Fault with Vaillant ecoTec Plus 831

[electroman68]

Hi There,

Firstly, I hope you had a great Christmas.

I had the above boiler fitted in June of this year and it failed on Boxing Day with a F28 Fault Code, which is failure to ignite.

I have had a Vaillant engineer visit my property to investigate the cause and he reckoned it was a Faulty gas valve so one was ordered as he didn't have one on his van.

Another Vaillant engineer visited this morning to fit the new gas valve but same problem exists. He replaced several other parts, including PCB, Electrode, Mass Flow Sensor and cable assemblies, but problem is still there. He then said that he was convinced that there's a problem with the Flue. He told me to contact my installer (since they don't go as far as the Flue) and so I duly contacted him. He came over this afternoon and checked the flue and all is ok. He also reset/changed various parameters on the boiler and also checked the flow of Gas into the boiler. There is a slight fluctuation apparently but he says it isn't enough to prevent the boiler from firing up and is within tolerance. He also found a F54 fault code logged when in the installers menu. There is also a Spanner symbol on the display that the engineer was unable to get rid of, even by setting the service interval.

So, back to Vaillant I went and they have now ordered another 8 parts to fit so I need to wait for them to arrive so the engineer can book a visit to install them.

So, I have now been without heat and hot water since boxing day and have no idea when the engineer will be back to 'hopefully' sort the problem.

I thought I would ask on here in the meantime if anyone has any idea as to what may be causing the problem? The boiler is basically igniting but going straight out again.

Thanks very much in advance for your help, it's most appreciated.

Regards,
Rob.

 

[Bunnyman]

spanner on display? I doubt vaillant eng would leave that? A few porkies being told here I think?

 

[Phill Peck]

I know of a few f28 faults on the new ecotec and that the gas valves have been a bit problematic but this seems extreme.

I the gas valve pcb and harness have been changed I'm not sure there are another 8 parts they could change

 

[Bunnyman]

Plus the fact gas85 we know its not true coz of the spanner!!

 

[electroman68]

Thanks for your comments. The Spanner is still on the display as I've checked and not one but two Vaillant engineers have left it like that, supposedly because they couldn't find the reason why the boiler won't stay lit.

Out of interest would the boiler still stay lit if the spanner symbol was there?

I can't see how another 8 parts can be replaced either to be honest, and the boiler is barely 6 months old.

Regards,
Rob.

 

[Bunnyman]

I cant see 1 vaillant eng leaving the spanner there let alone 2. Were they proper engineers? Ur boiler wont work? I cant tell u y as we cant give gas advice on here although i do smell a rat? R u trying to mend urself or a non reg installer??

 

[St0rmer66]

I think we can afford to give a little more info than that...

The spanner is because it hasn't been set up to use the correct type of gas. To think that TWO Vaillant (Group Service) engineers would leave it not set up seems ridiculous!

 

[Bunnyman]

And not possible! Especially as no engineers were workin Boxing Day 😄

 

[St0rmer66]

And not possible! Especially as no engineers were workin Boxing Day 😄

To be fair, he said it failed on Boxing day, not that the engineer attended that day.

Not all Bunnies are created equal as we have discussed on here before! . It's not beyond reason that he really did get two who didn't know the new range properly.

 

[Bunnyman]

Have we crossed before?... All engineers would know that spanner fault code..

 

[St0rmer66]

Not directly, I was just talking generally.

To be clear, I wasn't questioning YOUR knowledge, just the attending engineer for the OP .

 

[Bunnyman]

Aha I see, ..it does sound weird tho..in Buckingham, and my an Oxford areas the engineers I know there are all experienced...don't think a subby would be used down there..

 

[electroman68]

Hi Bunnyman. I get the impression that for some reason you don't believe me regarding the spanner, which unfortunately is detracting from the fact that my boiler is broken and I was asking for views on here as to what the problem may be.

The two engineers that attended both had Group Service sweatshirts on and were sent out to me as a result of me phoning Group Service. The first engineer replaced the pcb in a 'suck it and see' approach and the spanner has been on display ever since.

We've now had 3 engineers look at problem and not been able to fix it. They are now throwing a load of parts at it and hoping for the best! Seems a bit extreme on a boiler that is only 6 months old!

First engineer came out on 27th, not Boxing Day. Not sure how much longer they expect me to be without heating and whit water. I have two young children, one of whom has health problems so am hoping for a speedy resolution! It is putting me off Vaillant boilers to be honest with you.

I am going to phone for an update today as still no date set for engineer visit yet!

Regards,
Rob.

 

[Bunnyman]

Hi Rob, something is amiss here. First group service eng only wear collared shirts an black zip jackets there are no jumper or sweatshirts etc. they certainly wouldnt throw parts at it... All engineers would fix this first visit. Next day call is 100% at the mo. This is y i auestion it. Also after the second visit senior tech would now be on the scene. An just to cap it off u would hav been given a date when parts would be fitted when they were ordered??

 

[Bunnyman]

Txt ur postcode??