Hayward 200FDN - Error Code IF

[kholling]

Hello,

Just opened the pool for the season (30*15 inground). Started all up, ran fine for a day or two now getting error code IF on heater. Turned heater off over night, tried next day. Heater ran as normal for approx 90 minutes now getting IF error code again.

Any ideas?

Much appreciated!

 

[ps0303]

Do you know if it ran constantly for that time or was it cycling on and off?

IF usually indicates that it had an issue lighting which means it went out for some reason and tried to re-light. So did it run constantly and when it went out did it lit and go out three times before posting the IF error?

 

[kholling]

Yes, I believe it ran consistently for a good few hours, as the temperature rose from 64 to 80 over night then ran all the next day to keep it at 80 degrees. 3rd day, checked on heater and got the IF. Turned heater off over night, fired it up again next day and again ran for 2-3 hours and now getting IF again. Currently turned off as I don't want to cause more damage.

Thanks

 

[ps0303]

Without babysitting it, you won't know what the issue really is. Can you grab a lawn chair and turn heater on and sit by it to see what it does? Yes it is hard to diagnose this unless you watch it to see what is happening.

 

[kholling]

Ok, what am I looking for? Is it safe to leave on with IF error code?

Thanks

 

[ps0303]

When the IF code comes up it is basically stopping the unit from firing. So it would not hurt it if it were to be like that for a while.

I'm just curious as to what really happens when it stops running and is trying to re-light. Trying to find out why it stopped working and trying to re-light is what we have to figure out.

Have you added any new gas appliances or items to your house? Wondering if maybe something is causing the gas pressure to drop.

 

[kholling]

Ok, will watch tonight. Nothing new added and this is the 3rd summer with heater, no issues in the past.

 

[kholling]

Here is my update from tonight. Tried turning on the heater, it took the 4th spark to turn on....could hear the blower start and then the clicking, would start by die within 2 seconds. On the 4th attempt, it started and stayed running for 2 hours and 5 minutes then the IF error code. I could not switch between Standby, Pool, Spa mode as it would only show IF.

Turned everything off, took out the flame sensor and cleaned it, then turned it all back on. Started on the first attempt and has been running for about an hour. Will update as it goes.

One question, if it runs for over 2 hours, how can it be a ignition failure? It runs for 2 hours, so adequate gas supply, etc? Or am I missing something?

Thanks

 

[ps0303]

Yes it is an odd thing that it would run for that long and then pop the IF error. Usually the IF code pops right away after the initial three/four times of trying to light.

I was thinking maybe something like a new gas device was turning on and the heater lost gas flow and then it was trying to re-light.

Maybe cleaning the sensor will work. It could be an intermittently bad sensor but that is one I haven't seen yet. Also of concern could be the board it's plugged into.

 

[kholling]

It's been 2 days since the flash sensor was cleaned and all good...thanks for your help! If it happens again, I will post any new symptoms.

Thanks

 

[danpik]

I usually see this symptom with a Forced air furnace but have seen it occasionally with boilers as well. With forced air furnaces, the heat exchanger has a crack that opens up after it heats up a bit and causes the flame to move up off of the burners and dance around. I have seen this a couple times with boilers as well when the heat exchanger is clogged up. Usually though the flame rolls out and trips the rollout sensor. I would check to see that the flame is burning steady throughout the cycle. It could be the flame is dancing a bit and breaking the connection to the sensor and with a dirty sensor it has a smaller area to work with

 

[ps0303]

On these units it's hard to see the flame as it's a closed type of system. It does have a very small peep hole/glass but only to see if the flame exists. This is another reason why I dislike these units.

If cleaning the flame sensor worked, then hopefully that was all it was.