Teledyne Series 2 ESC - Fires for a few seconds & quits...

[raymon212]

I have a Teledyne Series 2 325btu heater that has worked well for 2 years (since I bought my house). This year, the automatic elec pilot ignition fires and lights the burners. It roars to life for about 10 seconds and then shuts off. It tries this again automatically and then just quits altogether. Could this be the automatic flow control valve sticking? I guess whatever it is seems like it triggers the high limit switch, because it shuts off so quickly.

As a side note, the spa heater won't fire at all if the ground is wet after it rains (the pilot clicks like it is trying to fire, but no gas burns...sometimes it shuts down if it goes over 90 seconds, i understand how to reset it) - the guy who sold me the place says it is because the heater can't get a ground. Everything is grounded with a copper rod in the ground that was also installed. Is there a better way to ground? Is this actually the problem?

Thanks for any and all advice!!

Ray

 

[spishex]

A high limit problem would be a likely candidate. Do you have a continuity tester? I like to start with the entire safety circuit to be sure it's not a loose connection or the fusible link, then work my way to the high limits. You can also jump each individual component if you don't have a tester handy.

As far as the rain problem, do you smell gas? It may be that the pilot IS igniting but the flame sensor just isn't catching on to it. This could also lead to the first problem you're having. If that's the case you'd need to replace the pilot assembly (the spark wire is your flame sensor on this unit) and high voltage wire.

 

[raymon212]

I am reconsidering the fact that it could be the high limit switch. The heater does not run for long enough to trigger the high limit (only about 10-15 seconds before it switches off). Plus the high limit is on the outflow, so i doubt that it gets that hot, that quickly.

Where is the flamer sensor located? I have a continuity tester - do I just check to ensure the connections are complete? Trial and error style?

In regards to the unit not firing up when it attempts to spark when it has rained, I do not smell gas.

 

[spishex]

The flame sensor is the part of your spark assembly, and uses the same wire that sends power to the sparker, so there's no way to easily test it. However, you can turn on the heater and watch the pilot. If you see a flame catch but it still keeps doing the "click, click, click, click" trying to ignite, you've probably got a bad flame sensor.

 

[raymon212]

OK - I called the old owner and it turns out that my original problem was trash and ash that had coated the "fins" of the copper water tubes and triggered the first high limit for 135 degrees. During the process of taking the heater apart, I broke the ring clamp on the wire of the spark assembly. I just wrapped it around the base end of the flame sensor/ignitor and tightened the nuts on the bottom...it appears to be secured. The problem is now that the unit won't even spark. Did I not attached the wire to the ignitor well enough? Does it need to be soldered? I imagine the connection is very important, but I thought it was tight. Do I need to replace the ignitor - that part is 61 bucks plus shipping. Thanks!!