Teledyne Heater Won't Shut Off

[Luptanpitman]

Just joined - this is an amazing resource! I have an 18K gallon pool with a natural gas heater (see photos via dropbox link - Dropbox - Pool Heater ). I had it running for 8 hours to heat up my pool despite the 60 degree weather. At the end of the day when I went to turn it off I realized the switch didn't do anything. The dials which should also turn the heater off if the temp is high enough (which it was) should also turn it off however that didn't do anything either.

The only thing that turns off the heater is shutting off the pump/filter which keeps water from flowing through and shuts it down.

The problem is that now I can't run the pool without wasting $$ while the heater running (until I get it fixed). I can turn the gas off and run the pump but then I hear the auto lighting feature clicking over and over trying to light nothing and I don't like the idea of leaving that on.

If I had to guess, the wires coming from the switch/thermostat dials went bad or the fuse they run to went bad, but open to hear any diagnoses that could be possible? It would be great to get a sense of what needs to be repaired (or even repair myself if I can).

Much appreciated!

Andy

 

[ps0303]

So if you turn the dials all the way down to the coldest setting, the unit still tries to light? Which exact model Teledyne do you have?

Could be one of a few things that are wrong.

 

[Luptanpitman]

Correct. When I turn on the pool pump (regardless of whether the switch is on high, low or off ) it lights and ignites immediately to heat. If I turn the dials all the way down does not do anything. If I shift the switch to high or low it doesn't do anything and doesn't seem to change the level of heating.

having no real understanding of engineering, if I had to venture a guess I would think whatever fuse controls the switch and or thermostat has blown and it is stuck in the High position from where it was on for 8 hours leading to the issue.

MODEL INFO: model es-400. See photo for specific info : Dropbox - Photo Dec 26, 6 38 03 PM.jpg

The only other potentially relevant info I can remember from last night is after 8 hours I came outside to find that the heater had turned off for some reason. I turned it all the way up to try and get it to relight because the pool wasn't warm enough and it didn't reignite. Then I turned the dial all the way down and it reignited instantly and from that point on has never turned off (unless of course I shut down the pump.

Thanks for even taking the time to consider all this! Much appreciated.

Andy

 

[kadavis]

Try taking red wire off of transformer, located in your picture with a yellow wire connection. This will kill power to all the controls in the heater. This heater is very old and some parts could be obsolete, sounds like the electronic thermostat board is bad.

 

[ps0303]

That unit is very old as stated above and parts are scarce for it. Instead of trying to work thru what issues there might be, I would elect to replace it with a new more up to date more efficient unit.