Please help, Glow Worm 30 cxi blowing 3a fuse

[jon0881]

Hi,

Im really hoping someone could help me with some useful advice. My Glow Worm 30 CXI is about 3-4 years old and two days ago we had no hot water or heating. I went to the boiler to find an F1 fault which the book says is a connector, ignitor or gas supply issue. After a reboot it was back up and running. The morning after the same but this time the external 3A fuse had popped. (the PCB one is fine). The plumber thought it was a blocked condencer outlet or the flue but this does not seem to be the case. The fuse usually pops after about 15-30 secconds of the boiler working i.e it fires ignites burns, pumps and pop.

The strange thing is if i turn the HW and CH off on the boiler and switch it on, it still pops the fuse. I cannot se any sparks all i hear is a click and the fuse is gone (although the click is likely a shut off valve). Ive also turned of the thermostat to see if it was that.

I tried it again this morning with the room pitch black to see if i could see anything, the CH and HW was still off. Nothing, it ran, i waited 10 mins and fired up the HW and it ran then the CH and it ran. About 25 mins in it popped, again with no visible spark just a click. After replacing the fuse again, it went straight away upon switching the boiler on.

I dont want someone to start replacing the pump, PCB willy nilly without isolating the issue. Surely if it were the PCB it would blow the board fuse.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Best wishes

Jon

 

[adlplumbing]

get some test the wires as they may got wet

 

[jon0881]

I cannot see any signs of water in the PCB area or the insides. I also left an oil radiator in the boiler room for a day.

An electical engineer is coming tonight to test the PCB and the connections, after that i think i might use one of my life lines on the home insurance.

/Jon

 

[jon0881]

OK, the sparky guy managed to see a small amount of smoke before the pop. The diverter valve appears to be leaking and its got into the plug and this popping the fuse. New one on order, hopefully thats the end of it.

 

[jon0881]

The part i have ordered is a new diverter valve motor. I assumed that this was leaking into itself but im not sure water is meant to go near it. Ive blown down the motor and felt air coming out of the plug socket. I suspect the motor is working fine even though its been wet and the problem is that the diverter is sending some water over.

Its been nearly a week now. Does anyone have any ideas so i can tell the plumber? After reading some posts about the cartridge in these things i think it could be that leaking. Does anyone know where i can get one on a Saturday? The CH and HW both worked for the 20 mins i had it working last time so maybe it just needs a cleaning??? im near Liverpool

Cheers

/Jon

 

[twgas]

It may be water (condensate) got into the box where the electric supply comes into the boiler, if it's similar to the hxi, it's underneath and fills with water - turn power off to boiler - remove said box - dry with tissue - then dry a bit more wit a hairdryer - reinstate power and give it a go.

 

[jon0881]

Thanks Mick,

There was water coming out of the diverter motor, that was defo the cause of the short. I just need to know where the water is coming from. Ideally i dont want to replace the cartridge if i dont need it. It looks like an O ring somewhere to me