Raypak 266A Not Lighting

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jimarbuckle

jimarbuckle

LifeTime Supporter
May 12, 2010
29
My Raypak 266A (installed in 2007) sparks, the pilot light is lit, and occasionally the main burner will light briefly, but then quickly extinguish and the unit will start sparking again. Or, the unit will spark and spark and spark and the main burner will not light. It seems to be hit or miss. The unit is not displaying any error codes. Can anyone help me as to how to do a diagnostic to figure out which component is bad? I do have a multimeter, and while not an expert, I know the basics. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
 
ajw22 said:
Post pics of the interior of the heater and burners.

@swamprat69 @1poolman1 @wireform may have ideas.
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On those heaters, the pilot burner assembly is also the flame sensor. It is the "fork" above the flame itself. Many times all it takes is for that part to be gently cleaned with an abrasive like a Scotch scrubber or very fine sandpaper. Also, that green wire in the picture, the burner-tray ground is what completes the circuit of the sensor. May need to remove it from the tray and clean the area that it is attached to or even add another ground to a different part of the cabinet.

While the burner tray is out to clean the pilot, the orifices should also be checked for spider nests. Near impossible to do with the tray in place and the burners themselves will have to be removed individually. They just lift at the far end from the orifices and the "pop" off.

Take a picture of all the wiring to the gas valve, etc. for reassembly. Be sure to use new sealant on the gas piping.
 
1poolman1 said:
On those heaters, the pilot burner assembly is also the flame sensor. It is the "fork" above the flame itself. Many times all it takes is for that part to be gently cleaned with an abrasive like a Scotch scrubber or very fine sandpaper. Also, that green wire in the picture, the burner-tray ground is what completes the circuit of the sensor. May need to remove it from the tray and clean the area that it is attached to or even add another ground to a different part of the cabinet.

While the burner tray is out to clean the pilot, the orifices should also be checked for spider nests. Near impossible to do with the tray in place and the burners themselves will have to be removed individually. They just lift at the far end from the orifices and the "pop" off.

Take a picture of all the wiring to the gas valve, etc. for reassembly. Be sure to use new sealant on the gas piping.
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Thanks 1Poolman1. I did check the ground continuity and it is good, so I don't think that is the problem. I'll try cleaning the pilot assembly as you suggest.
 
jimarbuckle said:
Thanks 1Poolman1. I did check the ground continuity and it is good, so I don't think that is the problem. I'll try cleaning the pilot assembly as you suggest.
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I cleaned the fork, ground wire contact, and sheet metal around the ground screw, with 000 steel wool and put everything back together, and turned it on. The good news is it came on right away and fired up full throttle within 15 seconds. The bad news is it turned off after about 20 minutes and isn't lighting again. Does this offer any clue? Should I replace the pilot assembly? I don't think spider webs in the orifices are the issue as all the burners were fired up and the flames were all a nice uniform blue with no wavering yellow anywhere.
 
jimarbuckle said:
I cleaned the fork, ground wire contact, and sheet metal around the ground screw, with 000 steel wool and put everything back together, and turned it on. The good news is it came on right away and fired up full throttle within 15 seconds. The bad news is it turned off after about 20 minutes and isn't lighting again. Does this offer any clue? Should I replace the pilot assembly? I don't think spider webs in the orifices are the issue as all the burners were fired up and the flames were all a nice uniform blue with no wavering yellow anywhere.
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Pilot burner looks to be in pretty bad condition, and I would still run a new ground wire.
 
1poolman1 said:
Pilot burner looks to be in pretty bad condition, and I would still run a new ground wire.
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I replaced the pilot burner assembly with a new Raypak pilot burner assembly and ran a new ground wire. No change in the issue. The pilot still lights, but the burners don't light. Do you know how I can check whether I have a bad board or a bad valve?
 
jimarbuckle said:
I replaced the pilot burner assembly with a new Raypak pilot burner assembly and ran a new ground wire. No change in the issue. The pilot still lights, but the burners don't light. Do you know how I can check whether I have a bad board or a bad valve?
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If the pilot lights, that side of the valve is good. For some reason it is not finishing the ignition sequence because it either doesn't sense the pilot (does it stop sparking?) or the board or IID device (a second, grey box with a bunch of wires going to it) is bad.
 

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jimarbuckle said:
It does not stop sparking. Even though the pilot is lit, it keeps sparking and the dispay reads SPK.
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Not sensing the pilot flame. On the back of the board, with the power off, carefully pull each long connector, the locking tab may break off but that won't hurt anything. Don't worry about the yellow one or the temp sensor with the green/black very small wires, just the ones with the longer connectors. Be sure there are no insects of corrosion issues, particularly at the terminal marked "GND" below the green wire on the end of the longest connector. Check the green wire on the main gas valve as well. Replace the connectors. See if it will fire.
 
1poolman1 said:
Not sensing the pilot flame. On the back of the board, with the power off, carefully pull each long connector, the locking tab may break off but that won't hurt anything. Don't worry about the yellow one or the temp sensor with the green/black very small wires, just the ones with the longer connectors. Be sure there are no insects of corrosion issues, particularly at the terminal marked "GND" below the green wire on the end of the longest connector. Check the green wire on the main gas valve as well. Replace the connectors. See if it will fire.
Click to expand...
Hi 1poolman1, I want to thank you for all your time and help on this issue. It does not fire. I pulled all the connector bodies (you were correct, I broke locking tabs) and all the pins were bright and shiny, and I did not see any signs of corrosion in any of the connector bodies (I used a magnifying glass--I have "experienced" eyes). I pulled off the green ground wire from the gas valve and polished the post with 000 steel wool and replaced it. I didn't see any corrosion in the connector. What is the next step?
 
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