The main problem is the heater will not ignite. I have cleaned all burners and replaced the pilot light with no luck. I have confirmed there is good gas flow to the pilot light assembly. The spark generated by the heater is not enough to cross the gap between the pole and the flame shield on the pilot assembly. In fact, if I touch the pole using a screwdriver or multi-meter pole during a spark attempt I can generate enough spark to see with my eyes yet it still doesn't ignite. The voltage generated does Not appears to be strong enough to bridge the gap needed at the pilot assembly nor ignite the gas. Keep in mind the entire pilot assembly is brand new including the ignition wire going to the board. I have unplugged and re-plugged my grounds (That I could locate) to make sure that wasn't the issue. Not sure if there is a solid way to check if the grounds are the issue or if there is a reading at the ignition module on the back of the board that I can test with a meter. Otherwise, I think I am going to have to try a new board. Any further suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Raypak Heater 406a Weak Spark
- Thread starter grahamcss
- Start date
Do you even smell gas and do you hear the valve click to open the pilot portion of the valve? If while the unit is in SPK(spark) mode, can you carefully light the pilot with a long BBQ lighter?
I have never run into a Raypak system that ever did this where there wasn't enough juice to cause the unit to ignite. How old is the heater?
I have never run into a Raypak system that ever did this where there wasn't enough juice to cause the unit to ignite. How old is the heater?
Unit was put in around 2009. I have the pilot lite connected to the gas but not under the burners while I troubleshoot. The heater clicks and the pilot lite gas starts flowing, I can easily start it with a lighter and it burns very well. This is all during the Spark Mode. The issue is it never arcs, it clearly tries and voltage is getting to the pole but it never jumps the gap. If I take something else and hold it closely to the pole I can see a tiny spark arch over to my object which is much closer then the gap, but even with the gas flowing it never ignites it.
Hmm, makes me think you have a bad ignitor assembly. Make sure it's hooked into the board all the way as well.
If I take the same grounding object (screwdriver or mulitmeter probe) and place it close to the igniter assembly (large black knob on the back of the control board where the wire would typically log into), I get the same weak spark to that object as well. It appears that is something that has to be replaced with the entire board itself. I was hoping this not be the case but looks like I need to just suck it up and buy it.
Have you checked to see if the transformer is putting out 24v? I wonder if maybe it is not putting out enough and under a load it's just not enough to help generate the spark.
The green ground wire on the raypak 406A propane heater is chewed by rodents. I can't find the replacement number for the part. also, would this interfere with the heater firing up and giving an error message "no pilot sensor"