New pool build with Jandy JXi heater that doesn't work

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golovko

golovko

Gold Supporter
Nov 24, 2021
81
Raleigh, NC
Pool Size
20000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
Hi all,
Looking for guidance from those with experience with new heater installs as part of a new pool build. The heater has never been able to complete the startup sequence and always results in a fault with 3 LED flashes for IGN SEQ FAILURE.

My pool construction was completed early August and ready for use. We've been using it everyday since (unrelated to my issue).

My concern is we had a Jandy JXi heater installed as part of the build. The heater is the only equipment that does not work and has never worked. Truth be told, when they delivered the equipment, the heater stood out to me as possibly being used. I only say this because it had a lot of webs on the inside and some red clay stains, corrosion on some of the ground leads, etc. To the untrained eye I would say this was installed at another site before but for all I know, these things sit in a warehouse and sometimes outdoors for long periods of time and this is normal for a new unit.

The PB came out a few weeks ago and replaced the igniter since we originally thought it was a bad igniter. Still no startup. They pointed to the gas as the issue saying the gas pressure is too high.

I've had the gas sub-contractor come out twice now, they checked the gas pressure going into the unit and out which is well within the specified range (4.5 - 10) in the manual. They even replaced the regulator just in case with no change to the startup sequence. They lowered the pressure to just above the minimum, they increased the pressure to just below the max, they measured the pressure during startup etc.

Waiting on the PB to come back out and continue troubleshooting. I've read a lot of older posts on here about this specific unit and people having issues with it after 1 season. I followed some of the troubleshooting steps to try and determine the issue with no luck.

Is this common to have startup issues on a new heater or should I request they replace it rather than try to fix it?
 
PoolGate said:
Your builder should be doing everything they can to fix this. When you start it do you smell gas at all?
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Yeah, definitely can smell it after it tries to start up. I asked about it if it was a concern and the gas/mechanical sub-contractor said its normal because its not igniting so its just the excess gas. (or something along those lines which made sense to me)

The builder is coming out tomorrow to fix it. This would be the second attempt after confirming its not a gas line/supply issue.
 
Did you buy the heater new with your build? If so, I would insist the PB remove and install a NEW heater. You paid for a new one, not one that needs to be fixed right "out of the box". Did you let the PB know that the heater looked used when it was delivered?
 
SecoSteve said:
Did you buy the heater new with your build? If so, I would insist the PB remove and install a NEW heater. You paid for a new one, not one that needs to be fixed right "out of the box". Did you let the PB know that the heater looked used when it was delivered?
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I did buy the heater new as part of the pool build. All equipment should have been new. I did mention it looked a bit rough for being new, and have mentioned its condition a few times now that they're working on it.

I had the same thought as you in terms of requesting a new heater that doesn't need fixing out of the box. Given my lack of experience, I was unsure if this is normal/expected for new pool equipment or if this is an outlier.
 
golovko said:
Yeah, definitely can smell it after it tries to start up. I asked about it if it was a concern and the gas/mechanical sub-contractor said its normal because its not igniting so its just the excess gas. (or something along those lines which made sense to me)

The builder is coming out tomorrow to fix it. This would be the second attempt after confirming its not a gas line/supply issue.
Click to expand...

This is typically the ignitor then. It is possibly a defective ignitor was put it.
 
PoolGate said:
This is typically the ignitor then. It is possibly a defective ignitor was put it.
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They replaced the igniter it shipped with for a new one but still not completing the startup sequence. I do see the orange glow/light inside the gas/combustion chamber though during startup. However, there is no hot air blowing from the blower out the vents. The gas/combustion chamber does get hot to the touch though, at least the nuts and bolts attached to it.
 
PoolGate said:
When it starts it sounds like a jet engine. Maybe your fan has failed. 3 flashes is a fairly generic warning.

View attachment 453082
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I can definitely hear the jet engine sound during startup then feeling the air blowing. Followed by the click to start and a click to stop. After 3 attempts it locks out. I was hoping to get more information than that from the error code. I've even tried the "blow into the air supply tube during startup" as outlined in the guide on here with no luck. There is really good suction on the intake for the blower as well.
 
golovko said:
I can definitely hear the jet engine sound during startup then feeling the air blowing. Followed by the click to start and a click to stop. After 3 attempts it locks out. I was hoping to get more information than that from the error code. I've even tried the "blow into the air supply tube during startup" as outlined in the guide on here with no luck. There is really good suction on the intake for the blower as well.
Click to expand...

Ah ok so it lights and then goes out. Maybe the flame sensor.
 

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Not sure how much you want to dig into yours but here are some pics when I took mine apart to replace the heat exchanger. Maybe something obvious will stand out like a disconnected or mis-routed hose.

photos.google.com

Heater Issue Jandy JXI400N

48 new items added to shared album
photos.google.com photos.google.com
 
PoolGate said:
Ah ok so it lights and then goes out. Maybe the flame sensor.
Click to expand...
Since I was seeing a lot of webs on the inside, I was thinking maybe the fire box (not sure the proper name) was dirty or had webs/bugs in it. I had read that could be a common issue if its been sitting unused for a long time. However, I have been unable to find any guide on how to actually clean it.
 
PoolGate said:
Not sure how much you want to dig into yours but here are some pics when I took mine apart to replace the heat exchanger. Maybe something obvious will stand out like a disconnected or mis-routed hose.

photos.google.com

Heater Issue Jandy JXI400N

48 new items added to shared album
photos.google.com photos.google.com
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing! That is helpful. I did notice on the Air Pressure Switch it looked like something was disconnected but its the same in your photo as well. Has 3 leads but only 2 wires connected to it.

You really did break that down to its individual components! That looks like a lot of work.
 
golovko said:
Since I was seeing a lot of webs on the inside, I was thinking maybe the fire box (not sure the proper name) was dirty or had webs/bugs in it. I had read that could be a common issue if its been sitting unused for a long time. However, I have been unable to find any guide on how to actually clean it.
Click to expand...

The fire box really is totally sealed. I guess bugs could get in via the blower. But if yours ignited, that cleared everything out.

I worked on this for a couple weeks. A day to troubleshoot, a day to take it apart and a day to put it back together over a 2 week or so period. Mostly it was waiting for the heat exchanger which is around $1000.
 
PB tech came out today. Issue is a bad logic board which will need to be replaced. Given that this is a brand new unit and already needs critical components replaced (igniter was swapped out twice) and now logic board. I've reached out to the PB about replacing the whole unit instead.
 
golovko said:
PB tech came out today. Issue is a bad logic board which will need to be replaced. Given that this is a brand new unit and already needs critical components replaced (igniter was swapped out twice) and now logic board. I've reached out to the PB about replacing the whole unit instead.
Click to expand...

I'll take, "What is shot-gunning parts" for $1000. :laughblue:
 
golovko said:
They’re going to replace the unit with a new one. Just waiting to find out when.
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That's the best thing to happen. It's a shame that you had to live with the bad one for all this time, and then finally they decided to swap it out. It should have been swapped out immediately when it was found to be broken. You paid for a new one, not one that was fixed.

That is one of the reasons PB's get a bad rap. They try to pull things like this and it makes them look bad. I've gone through it with my builder, and eventually the issue is corrected, but there's a lot of baggage that can be avoided.
 

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