Raypak Model: P-M206A Ignition Problem

[ARSayeed]

Hi - I have two identical green Raypak heaters (model: P-M206A-EN-C). One is for the hot tub and the other for the pool. The spa heater circuit board went out about 2 months ago and I had it replaced for $450. Works great now but i wish i would've found TFP before I spent all that money and probably could've done it myself with TFPs help for a little cheaper

The pool heater has been acting up since last season. It will CFH and then stay in perpetual SPK mode but will not always fire up. I usually here a sparking sound when in SPK mode for a few seconds and then a loud click and it fires up. For the last few days, it will not fire up but just stays in SPK mode and I can smell gas. I followed the instructions on the label of the heater to open the panel, turn off the electronic ignition, turn off the power switch, wait 15-20 mins and try again. This is how I've been dealing with this problem since last year. Now that won't work either and it just stays in SPK mode.

Any help is greatly appreciated!!

 

[danpik]

CFH is a status code that means "Call For Heat"
SPK is a status code meaning spark ignition mode.
If you are not hearing a spark then it could be the igniter or the control board. If you are hearing the spark and smell gas I would suspect that the burner near the igniter is clogged and not allowing gas to get to the spark.

 

[ARSayeed]

Thanks. How would I clean out the burner near the igniter?

 

[ps0303]

OK so you hear it sparking, then you hear a click, and then smell gas. So this tells me that the unit thinks that the pilot lit, thus telling the gas valve to open, thus you smell gas. However, it doesn't ignite sometimes. So you could be looking at maybe one or two issues.

First, please use caution when looking at this. I sure wouldn't want you getting hurt. In fact with your issue it would be advisable to have a professional look at it and let them take the risk. However, if you feel compelled and want to risk it do the following. Remove the front door of the unit. As you turn on the unit, kneel down and look under where the pilot is and as it sparks see if the pilot actually lights. If it does, it then should send a signal to the board to open the main valve on the gas valve, then your burners should ignite. Be care, I've had units shoot flames back at me while they light. More so on propane but natural could do it as well. I see yours is a natural gas unit. This is why I say to use caution or have a professional look at it.

Now if the unit lights the pilot, burners light, and you still hear the sparking and see SPK on the display, then the ignitor is not sending the message back to the board that it's lit or the board doesn't care about the message. Bad board probably or ignitor is bad. If the units sparks, pilot never lights, and gas valve opens, probably bad board.

Burners on Raypaks hardly ever get clogged. This is one of the things that makes their units better than many others. My guess is a bad board and or a bad pilot. You could visually inspect the pilot to see if it has rust or corrosion, not lit of course, and determine if it is bad. Also, there is a grounding screw that is connected to the pilot. Make sure it's not lose or something.

So as you can see, there are several things to look at to determine what might be wrong here. Use caution when working on it as I said above. Easiest thing would be to try a new board first as it's the quickest thing to try.

 

[ARSayeed]

Thanks Paul. I called Raypak in California to see if they can help me troubleshoot the heater. They said they have an authorized tech that can look at it. I called that pool company and they said someone will call me to come out and look at it. Never got a call - that was 3 weeks ago!

Any other suggestions on who I can call to look at it? Can it be a furnace/heater company? The pool companies here in the KC area are not too reliable.

 

[ps0303]

If you can't find a reliable pool company to look at it you could try a heating/AC company. Just explain to to them that you are needing repair on a gas pool heater, Ask them specifically if they repair them so they don't dome out and tell you they can't look at it and waist your time.

 

[danpik]

I am not 100% certain what type of ignition system that unit has...With that I can only offer the following.

The sequence of events that happens when a circuit board controlled burner fires up is as follows:
1. call for heat.
2. energize ignition circuit
3. Light burners.
4. monitor flame presence.
5. If no flame presence after ~5 seconds shut down gas flow.
6. If flame is detected, then allow burners to fire untill call for heat is satisfied.

Can you please clarify what is happening when you try to start this unit?
Do you hear the spark ingition sparking?
Can you tell if the pilot flame lights? (posibly thru a view window)
Do you hear the gas valve "click"?

As PS0303 indicated, a heating contractor should be able to figure out what is happening. Pool companies in my area don't have any trained "experts" to fix these things

 

[ARSayeed]

@danpik - I'm not sure of the exact name of the ignition system but it is an electronic ignition system - there's a label on the inside of the unit that says its an electronic ignition and to not light it by hand.

So this is what happens - I have an Aqualink by Jandy RS8 control panel. When I press the pool heater button on the panel in the house while the heater is in REMote mode, the unit tries to CFH (Call For Heat). Then the LCD on the heater reads SPK and I hear a sparking sound every few seconds. In the past, after a few seconds of sparking, there would be an audible "click" and the unit would fire up. It doesn't make the audible click anymore. It just stays in SPK mode and keeps making the sparking sound. Sometimes I smell gas and sometimes I don't. It does the same thing even if the unit is not in REMote mode.

 

[Pool Clown]

it will not fire up but just stays in SPK mode and I can smell gas.

If this is true...

Then you may have an obstructed pilot. Not blocked (you can smell gas), but something is interfering with the gas reaching the spark gap. This could be something as simple as a piece of soot. You may be able to dislodge it by gently tapping the pilot assembly with the handle of a screwdriver.

Or you may have a bad ground to the jacket, or pilot assembly.

 

[danpik]

it will not fire up but just stays in SPK mode and I can smell gas.

If this is true...

Then you may have an obstructed pilot. Not blocked (you can smell gas), but something is interfering with the gas reaching the spark gap. This could be something as simple as a piece of soot. You may be able to dislodge it by gently tapping the pilot assembly with the handle of a screwdriver.

Or you may have a bad ground to the jacket, or pilot assembly.

I Agree with this. Sounds like the pilot is not getting lit thus the flame sensor does not see any flame which causes the system to shut down. If you can see the pilot lighting and it still shuts down then the flame sensor needs to be cleaned.

 

[ps0303]

You need to pull off the front cover and look at the pilot like I said earlier. Then you will know what's going on.