The H400 heater just won't ignite. I've had the repair man out to fix it. He claims that mini spiders have clogged up the ports and it just needed a good cleaning. . . to the tune of $125! It is under warranty for parts only at this stage of it's life.

History:

The first season was great, started every time, the first time.

The second season was a different story, Ignition Failure every time for the first 2 or 3 cycles. The 4th cycle seemed to get it ignited.

This season, it simply won't ignite, no matter how many times you try.

Of course it worked just fine after the service tech left! He suggested I fire the thing up every week to "clear it out" when I do my weekly maintenance. Well, after a week, i give it a try. No go. It will not ignite again. I refuse to pay $125 an hour again. If it is a part that is covered under warranty, it will still cost me $125 to find out.

Any suggestions?

$125/hr!! I suggest I increase my rates. Wow.

Is this a millivolt or electric ignition heater? You can tell by the connections: gas only = millivolt, gas + electrical conduit = electric ignition.

Do you hear anything when you try to turn it on?

Sorry it took so long to reply, been on Holiday.

I'm at work and can't look at it now, but i swear it has an electrical conduit. Pretty sure there is a breaker for the heater in the electrical panel. Plus, the controls on the heater are all digital push buttons. It tells me the temperature of the water and has a "spa" or "pool" setting. I can set the temp via the digital panel on the heater.

When I turn the thing on, it starts up a fan (whirling noise) and then I can smell gas, there is a click, and then the fan slows down. After a few seconds, the fan/blower starts up again and the cycle repeats. It attempts to light up 3 times before finally giving me the Ignition failure error code on the panel.

When the tech was out, he stated that there wasn't any problem with the gas, just the ignition thingy not getting spark where it is supposed to be due to spider webs clogging/blocking the spark from reaching the gas.

I'm going to start tearing this thing apart when the weather clears up later on this week.

I've seen what he's describing happen a few times on other heaters. You can remove the ignitor and turn the heater on and watch for a spark (don't hold it, you'll get zapped). If you don't see one, try adjusting the spark generator relative to the metal ground around it. Clean out the area where it mounts as best you can.

If you aren't able to generate a spark, check to be sure it's getting power before replacing it.

"IF" Ignition Failure often indicates that the sensor wire to the ignitor is bad, rather than the ignitor itself. Inspect this wire, and if the sheathing is cracked or worn, replace it. This is quite often the culprit.

If the gas pressure and supply is OK, the proper order for parts replacement would be the sensor wire, then the ignitor, then the gas valve.

Good luck.

I have found that after heavy rains the combustion fan switch gets water in it and then the heater will
cycle like you describe. There is a small rubber hose that connects to the sensor, be sure there
is not water in it. This sensor tells the controller that the combustion fan is running and it is OK to
start up. Although the combustion fan maybe running OK if the sensor does not close the controller
thinks the fan is not running and won't let the heater start.

My remedy is to power cycle the heater and see if the sensor will trip, if you are lucky it will
start. Otherwise wait for a dryer day and try the heater again.

Cliff s

Is there a diagram or pic that will show the location of the white wire and the ignition as well? thanks for the help!

Check here for manual and diagrams on all Hayward products

http://www.haywardnet.com/inground/products/manuals.cfm

could I get specific directions on how to remove the ignition module for the gas (millivolt) h400? the manual offers littel help in locating and removal. I am having the "spiderweb" issue... thank you in advance

first time user with a dumb question. how do you get into the unit to clean all the cobwebs that may or may not be the problem?