No power to heater or pump

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You are going to think I'm a complete wacko...

So I headed down there today to get the pics, etc, etc. First thing I did though is decided to check out the serial cable at the pump. My daughter was the one who pulled it out for me when I was first testing and I remembered she said it was spinning and wasn't coming off. So I plugged it in and made sure it was nice and tight.

Hit the power on the easytouch. And bam! Pump comes on. And then the heater. Even through the screenlogic app on my phone everything is working.

I'm suspecting that the initial problem was that the company that closed it had loosened the cable (why???) and that "partial" connection was what was fowling everything up. Even when I had my daughter plug it back in to test it, she just stuck it in there and didn't screw it down tight.

Now...on to the next issue... :(

I have gas the gas turned on and the heater is running and fired up...but no warm water coming out of the jets... Any suggestions there?
 
Thanks for the patience. :) Not looking forward to disassembling the mastertemp to see the lights on the back of the board. Comes on, blower runs for a few minutes, then it shuts off and the service heater light flips on at that point. The gas valves are open to it but who knows...
 
Okay...well, no diagnostic lights. Running through the troubleshooting, it looks like I have one of these problems:
1) No Gas
2) A bad control board
3) A bad ignition control module
4) A bad gas valve
5) A wiring issue between the ICM and control board
6) A wiring issue between the gas valve and the control board

This is where I'm a little stuck...where exactly is the ignition control module and the gas valve inside the mastertemp? There's a box behind all that paper that has screws on the side. Is it behind there?

Inside_mastertemp.jpg
 
You have to open up the other sides. Look at the side where the power line goes into.

The ignition control module is marked Fenwal. See if its LED is blinking when it does not start. If so read Heater Flame Sensing - Further Reading

418px-Fenwal_Flame_Control_Box.jpg
 
Those green and red wires in my picture are where the power comes in, so I think that's the same box only yours is open?

Also - where is the gas control valve? If that got flipped to the off position, could that be it as well?
 
Yeah, it could be in the box with the paper label on it. I haven't been in my heater in a long time to remember.

The gas control valve in the heater is electrically opened and closed by the Fenwal. The gas control shutoff valve is external to your heater. Some folks have found they had more then one gas shutoff in their line. Others have found their gas line corroded over the winter and got blocked.

You should be able to follow the gas line into the heater into the gas control valve.
 

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Thanks James! Huge help! It was indeed off...however, still the same problem. :( And I was so excited when I saw that it was off, I didn't check anything else.

Getting dark and cold here so I'm probably done inside it for a couple of days.

gas_control_valve.jpg
 
I wish it was just that. :( There's a valve inside the house that's on and there's also one right next to the heater, which is also on. Checked those first.
 
Looking through a bit further, I guess my full list of possible culprits is:

1) No Gas
2) A bad control board
3) A bad ignition control module
4) A bad gas valve
5) A wiring issue between the ICM and control board
6) A wiring issue between the gas valve and the control board
7) A bad igniter

Is there a good way to actually check that there is gas flow? Despite having all the valves I can find be open, I have yet to smell any gas around the heater. In the manual, it says to check the gas meter when you call for heat and I guess that's okay as long as I can limit other gas activity.
 
You can check the gas pressure at the inlet tap. It's the allen head plug on the right side of the gas valve where the gas comes in.

Turn off the gas valve outside the heater, remove the plug, screw in a 1/8" npt brass barbed fitting (comes with manometer), connect manometer, open gas valve and check the pressure, start heater and watch the pressure.

Can you post some pictures of the heater with the gas plumbing and the main gas meter?
 
Well...first I would need a manometer. :( Short of that, I could either watch the gas meter or just open that plug and quickly open and close the shut off by the heater to see if anything comes out. That's a tad on the dangerous side though, so think I may avoid that.

I can get a pic, but the main gas meter is not even near the heater.
 
I didn't post the main gas meter, but there's nothing separate for the heater - it just branches off the main line. However, here are a couple of pics of the heater. I may take a stab at some more troubleshooting yet this afternoon...

back_of_heater.jpgheater_shutoff.jpg
 
I watched the ignition control module everything was copasetic until it failed and flashed 3 times (ignition lockout). I'm looking at the info above (heater flame sense) and it looks like I need to check the flame current. I think I'll have to try the voltage but I'm not real clear on exactly what means what.

If I've read through things right, the "flame sensor" is part of the hot surface igniter, which is original (2011). So I'm kinda thinking I should just go ahead and replace that regardless of whether it's an issue anyway as I'm told that's a part that will degrade over time and need replacing.
 

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