Worcester Ri boiler - no blue power light

[Alfie25]

I have a Worcester Greenstar 12 Ri conventional boiler. It’s got a blue power light in the front centre of the boiler which was always illuminated to show that the boiler had power to it but I’ve noticed that the blue light is no longer illuminated. The boiler appears to work fine and when heat is called for, the green ‘burner’ light comes on as normal. There are no other lights on the unit. The user manual states the following about the blue indicator lamp, but I’ve tried this and it made no difference.

Problem....No on/off indicator

Cause.. momentary power failure

Solution.. Switch off boiler, wait a few seconds then switch on again.

I’ve googled the problem and haven’t found any other examples of this happenning (just on combi models where the light had purposely been turned off but still illuminates temporaily when first switched on.) Mine does not illuminate at all – could it simply be the bulb has blown? Is it even a bulb or is it an LED? Or could it be a fuse? As the boiler still appears to work fine I’m reluctant to get an engineer out to take a look, but of course that blue light is also used to display errors by flashing in sequences but obviously if mine doesn’t light at all then I've lost that functionality! Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Agile]

Its an LED !

Probably a fault in the circuitry supplying it.

Why not wait until the next service or fault?

Tony

 

[Andygasman2010]

This is a known issue on the combi version of this boiler and it's sorted by pressing a sequence of buttons on the fascia. Obviously you don't have buttons so you can't do this. Give Worcester a call to see if there's anything you can do. If it means a replacement PCB I'd leave it until it actually stops working!

 

[Alfie25]

Ok, I had previously just turned off the boiler using the knob on the front. Last night I turned the mains power off then back on and the blue light came back on. However, it's flickering now! It's definitely not flashing a fault code sequence, it's just occasionally flickering - going dimmer then brighter then dimmer again. The boiler continues to work ok. Any ideas? Isn't the Worcester helpline just a call centre with staff who'll just read the appropriate manual and give the advice in there rather than actual experts?

 

[Andygasman2010]

Of course it's experts! They designed the boiler. What do you think engineers do when they can't solve a problem? You'll need a new PCB.

 

[Alfie25]

I phoned them up and got a rather unskilled but polite lady who talked for a while about getting being out of warranty and getting a local engineer out instead then thankfully suggested she could put me through to their technical team (and there was me thinking that she was the technical team!)

Anyway, the guy I spoke to said the only way to stop the power light flickering is to get a new board, but as long as the boiler is working then he advised leaving well alone until the board breaks completely (basically exactly what Andygasman2010 has said). I prefer preventative maintenance rather than 'wait and see' but don't like the idea of £200+ on a new board when my old board could go on for years... or could it. Does anyone know if this power light flickering indicates an impending failure of the board?? I guess I'll find out!

 

[Agile]

Anyway, the guy I spoke to said the only way to stop the power light flickering is to get a new board, but as long as the boiler is working then he advised leaving well alone until the board breaks completely (basically exactly what Andygasman2010 has said). I prefer preventative maintenance rather than 'wait and see' but don't like the idea of £200+ on a new board when my old board could go on for years... or could it. Does anyone know if this power light flickering indicates an impending failure of the board?? I guess I'll find out!

You said the light was out! Then the advisor mentioned flickering! Were you talking at cross purposes?

I suggested leaving as my reply to your original posting.

 

[denso13]

You said the light was out! Then the advisor mentioned flickering! Were you talking at cross purposes?

No, he said this subsequently

Last night I turned the mains power off then back on and the blue light came back on. However, it's flickering now!

 

[boilerdoktor]

This is a known issue on the combi version of this boiler and it's sorted by pressing a sequence of buttons on the fascia. Obviously you don't have buttons so you can't do this. Give Worcester a call to see if there's anything you can do. If it means a replacement PCB I'd leave it until it actually stops working!

its not an "issue" pal, its designed into combis to turn the light off in areas such as bedrooms. very easy to toggle it off and on.

op, your pcb is faulty. suggest you keep wb number handy until your board goes! it may last years. it may not.

 

[Alfie25]

Cheers boilerdoktor. I'm not impressed the board is faulty after just 4 years though. I thought WB was one of the best brands!

 

[Dan Robinson]

I phoned them up and got a rather unskilled but polite lady who talked for a while about getting being out of warranty and getting a local engineer out instead then thankfully suggested she could put me through to their technical team (and there was me thinking that she was the technical team!)

Isn't that a bit like complaining your doctor's receptionist can't cure your fungal infection?

WB is an average brand - not the best.

 

[boilerdoktor]

alfie by your own admission it was due to power failure ie an external source, so you can t really blame the boiler?

 

[holty]

sorry but if you cant turn a boiler off then on again and its a problem then what a load of ****. seen quite a few junior/si fans that have weirldy failed when the old push on off button was used. im not the only person i'v spoke to about this also. regards the best. personally i think the ideal logic. is better than these lumps. and i hate ideal. the cdi are good thats about all. dont get me started on there oil boilers. good advertising goes along way shame about the engineering.

 

[Jackdusty]

press spanner button for 10 seconds for service mode.when in service mode press eco button till light changes then press spanner button to get out of service mode.

Bingo

 

[picasso]

Its an ri, no spanner button ,no eco button ergo no bingo not to mention the post is nearly two years old