Teledyne Laars pool heater wouldnt turn on

[forenplayer]

I have Teledyne Laars Heater One series, 3 years ago the heater wouldnt turn on, i called service man he replaced the thermostat(see picture below) and pilot light to make it work. The following year again heater wouldnt turn on, i called a diffrent service guy, he again replaced the same thermostat, when i told him the thermostat was a year old, he said that because i didnt take it out and stored it inside during winter, that's why the thermostat had to be replaced again ( i live in Canada, very cold)
Last year, same thing, i had really hard time lighting the pilot, it wouldnt stay on and then the heater wouldnt turn on.
I called Teledyne customer support and they told me how to run a wire from red wire(see pic below) terminal on lighting assembly to high limit switch on top right of the heater. I did that and heater did turn on but wouldnt shut off. The only way to shut it off is by turning the switch off, i guess that way you bypass the thermostat.
This year same story heater doesnt turn on. I did put a jumper on the thermostat today but no luck.
What do i do, buy a new heater or attempt to fix it myself?
I am very handy, please help

PLEASE SEE THIS PICTURE, IS THIS THERMOSTAT OR PRESURE SWITCH?

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

I've never heard of that.

We have below freezing temps, below zero temps in jan/feb and an 8 year old Laars heater. Never taken any parts out and stored them inside. That seems rather strange.

I have a lite 2, my inside looks different then your pics...sorry can't help ya there.

 

[spishex]

The top picture is your pressure switch.

You're able to get the pilot lit, is that right? Looks like your gas valve is currently in the pilot position, so be sure you switch that to 'on' once you've got it lit.

Once you've done that you can start jumping individual components of your safety circuit (with the pump running) to test where the line is open, then determine whether or not it's open for a reason (overheating, insufficient water flow, etc.) or just a faulty component.

 

[forenplayer]

What about me running the wire from red cable to high limit switch, that made it work

 

[spishex]

I'm not 100% clear on which connections you're talking about, but it sounds like they had you bypass the entire safety circuit (or all but the high limits) which essentially just tests your pilot, thermopile, and gas valve. It wouldn't turn off because the pressure switch, on/off switch, thermostat, fusible link, and maybe the high limits were all bypassed. You need to test each of them individually.

 

[forenplayer]

Do i test them by placing a jumper wire on each component?

 

[forenplayer]

how do i remove burn tray to clean it? pilot light goes out every hour

 

[spishex]

I disconnect the wires and place a bare wire between them just to be sure.

The burner tray is connected to the gas valve which makes it difficult to pull. You should be able to pull out the burner that the pilot is connected to by itself. You have to push it in toward the heater first to separate it from the assembly, then move it to the side and slide it out.

 

[forenplayer]

do i have to disconect gas line from gas valve in order to pull the tray out?

 

[spishex]

In order to pull the whole tray, yes. The problem is the main gas line that comes from the valve and connects to each individual burner (The "U" shaped one). If you want to pull each individual burner out you can do that, as I described for the one that your pilot is connected to, without having to mess with the valve.

 

[forenplayer]

My pilot stays on for an hour and then goes out and i have to relight it, what would you reccomend?
I allready vacuumed the burn tray

 

[spishex]

You should pull the pilot assembly and clean both the pilot itself and the thermopile mounted next to it. The pilot may be clogged a bit and not burning properly next to the thermopile, or the thermopile itself may be too coated in soot to maintain enough power to keep the pilot valve open. I find that a metal brush, especially one that attaches to a drill, is very useful for the pilot. You could use it on the thermopile as well, but I'd use emory cloth or fine sand paper if you had it handy.

 

[forenplayer]

Do i have to unscrew anything to pull the pilot out?
If i look down on the side of the burner tray i see where pilot goes and i see a small plate in front of it with 2 screws

 

[forenplayer]

Can u please answer my previous question

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Can u please answer my previous question

You'll have to be patient - our Special Contributors aren't always on the forum like the Mods, usually they are at their day jobs, fixing pools, etc.

 

[spishex]

:-D

I think there is a small bracket that has two 5/16" head screws on it that guides the ignitor wire? that needs to be removed in order to get it out. And be careful not to kink the pilot tubing when you're pulling the assembly out.