Pool Heater Hayward h400idl - IF ignition failure error

[swamprat69]

That is your inducer blower assembly sitting on top of your heat exchanger cover. We basically have the same heater as I have a Hayward H400idl2bh. Is your heater wired for 120Vac or 240Vac supply? The three wires coming from the motor ( red, white,black ) and terminating in a 3 wire plug should go to a three wire plug at the wall between your control chamber and the inducer assembly . You can remove the male plug from the female plug ( it may have clips holding it in place that you would need to squeeze to take it apart) by gently wiggling it. I can't see from your photo if the motor has a capacitor ( silver oval cannister) attached to it? The wiring diagram on the motor should be labeled 120Vac. The leads on the wiring diagram should show white=(common), red=(low) and black=(high) and two other leads to the capacitor if you have one. If you try to start the heater with the motor leads unplugged, you should read 120Vac on the plug that goes towards circuit board between the white wire and the black wire, as mine starts on high speed. If you measure ohms for the motor windings at the plug hat goes towards the motor, you should get ~ 14 ohms between the black lead and the white lead. Let me know if you show voltage to the motor on start up and what the motor windings ohm out at. Your heater may be a different series/version than mine as the controls/circuit boards are different. I see that your connection plug from the motor seems to make a male/female plug connection at the wall between the controls and the inducer assembly. When disconnecting this connection measure voltage at start up at the part of the plug that goes towards the controls and ohms at the connection that goes towards the motor. It might help me to see a close up of the motor nameplate and the other side of the inducer assembly.

 

[deveron22]

Thanks for your Very detailed response, I've done some troubleshooting, pretty sure i need a new blower - $360, should get it next week and I'll report back.

 

[deveron22]

Had a pro come out and look at it. Said if he put the new blower in, it'd probably burn out after a few times. So...looks like i'm in the market for a new heater

 

[swamprat69]

Why would a new blower assembly burn out after a few times??? Sounds like he wants to sell you a new heater. My heater is a few years younger than yours, ~ 2005. I have had it apart to repair a leak at the water header ( new O-ring gasket) and at the time I inspected both the inside and outside of the heat exchanger and both looked OK. Since the heat exchanger was in good shape, I figure I can replace parts to keep it going for some time now. Newer heaters do not show a great improvement in efficiency as I haven't seen a 90% efficient heater advertised yet. Of course it would be a personal choice as to repair or replace as a brand new heater would have a warranty period and be less likely to give you continuing parts failures right away.

 

[JamesW]

I would not put a new blower in.

The heater is too old.

How much for parts and labor to replace the blower?

 

[swamprat69]

$321.90 for blower assembly with gaskets. 3 screws to remove and it plugs in. Hayward Combustion Blower 240V IDXLBWR1930

 

[JamesW]

$321.90 for blower assembly with gaskets. 3 screws to remove and it plugs in. Hayward Combustion Blower 240V IDXLBWR1930

Ok, so 421.90 when you charge for a service call.

What if the heater still doesn’t work?

Do you still expect the customer to pay or do you take the loss?

If the heater still doesn’t work, the customer won’t want to pay and you won’t want to take the loss.

Now what?

It’s a stalemate and everyone loses.

You could chase more parts, but you’re just getting in deeper.

What if the customer says, that it’s no longer worth repairing if they have to keep replacing expensive parts?

If you’re going to replace an expensive part like that, you need to be 100% certain that the heater will work after you do the repair.

How sure are you that the heater will work correctly for a significant amount of time after the repair?

 

[swamprat69]

As I said, it is a personal choice whether to repair or replace. The replacement of the blower assembly is not very difficult as a DIY. Having worked in the HVAC service field for over 40 years, it irritates me that a large number of HVAC companies use scare tactics in order to sell customers new equipment at highly elevated prices during an emergency in very cold temperatures in the winter. For a number of years I volunteered my time at a ( now defunct ) website "all experts.com" even when working 60-70 hours a week to answer questions regarding HVAC problems. A pool/spa NG heater normally being outside unlike a NG furnace is much less likely to present a Carbon Monoxide hazard to the owner. Not knowing the shape that deveron22's heat exchanger (the most expensive part @ ~ $600-800) is in, makes it difficult to make a firm recommendation. At least in the HVAC field, I could recommend to customers to use companies that had NATE certified technicians ( like I was certified ) to insure competency of the technician ( although this does not always reflect the moral stance of the company itself ). The "pro" that devron22 had come out stating that a new blower assembly would burn out shortly after it was installed is a "scare tactic" and I personally would not ever use this company again. It does seem to me that it is much more difficult to get a competent company to work on a pool/spa heater be it NG, Propane or Heat Pump, than it is in the HVAC field. I only try to offer advice/direction as well as I possibly considering my experience.

 

[JamesW]

It's like putting a new engine in a 17 year old car. You can do it, but it's usually not a good choice, in my opinion.