I read some posts similar to my issue and even replied to an older thread but thought I'd open it to the broader community. I believe I have a small leak in my 400 jxi as I've now replaced the ignitor 3 times in 2 weeks. The combustion chamber was filled with water when I figured out how to check it through the exhaust vent but I had deduced it was possible rain water as the exhaust vent drains had appeared to have been previously clogged (minor corrosion around the base). The unit is 5 years old and there is no sign of water around the base nor inside the unit. I shop vacuumed the combustion chamber, I installed my 3rd igniter and the heater ran fine for 2 days. Today I had the ignition failure again and there is a small amount of water in the combustion chamber again. My guess is the heat exchanger has a small leak and eventually the evaporating or condensating water destroys the ignitor coil. A couple questions, 1. Any other possible causes for water in the combustion chamber outside of rain or the heat exchanger? 2. Is the combustion chamber sealed that well that I wouldn't see water leaking out of it or in the heater? 3. The heat exchanger looks fairly straightforward to replace, but anything else I should consider replacing at the same time outside the gaskets etc?
On a side note, I've also read that the coil style ignitor on this unit was eventually replaced by a rod style ignitor due to its brittleness. I managed to track down the rod style and order it. I know the water in the combustion chamber is no good but I'm also curious to hear anyone's opinion on the ignitors themselves...
On a side note, I've also read that the coil style ignitor on this unit was eventually replaced by a rod style ignitor due to its brittleness. I managed to track down the rod style and order it. I know the water in the combustion chamber is no good but I'm also curious to hear anyone's opinion on the ignitors themselves...