Heater controller making it cold in here?

Posted by Steve on December 30, 2008, 12:05 pm

> >>>>>>>>I have a gas furnace, comfortmaker RPJ2 and suspect that it needs
> >>>>>>>>a
> >>>>>>>>new controller general 90 50A50-110 replacement number is
> >>>>>>>>50A55-843
> >>>>>>>>symptom:
> >>>>>>>>The igniter works and burns bright, but intermittently the burners
> >>>>>>>>will not ignite and the the blower will just keep blowing as the
> >>>>>>>>house
> >>>>>>>>gets colder.
> >>>>>>>>Recycling the power to the unit seems to fix this for a while.
> >>>>>>>>Is there a good test I should do?
> >>> The HSI itself is NEVER used for 'rectifcation'.
> >>Never? Rheem drum comes to mind...

> > OK - '...except for those that do' :-)
> > Now - in this situation, are you interested in the amp draw of
> > the HSI or not ? If not, why do you assume it's good ? Or do you
> > just shotgun HSI and controller both ?

> I'd bet money this furnace hasn't saw any maintenance and the problem lies
> with that... along with a burner upgrade.

The upgrade and maintenance are rather vague terms, it is like a
mechanic telling you that your car stalls because you didn't buy a
tune up. (Tune up is mechanic code for just give me your wallet and
don't ask questions).
I can see that the burners are quite even and they seem to function
well.
I am curious, What would you upgrade the burners from and to?

The Inducer and main fan work well (by my observation). The HSI burns
very bright and was replaced 2 seasons ago, I don't have an amp tester
but I believe that it should have ignited if gas was present.
Presently the furnace is working again, so I can't do any more
troubleshooting. (often "as a mechanic" I have found that when
problems are intermittent and flakey, they are more likely to be
electrical) also due to web searches I kind of suspect the controller.
but would like to know
What are the other possibilities given the symptoms?
What should I test when this happens again?
Any other suggestions?

Thanks,
Crzzy1

PS: Symptoms:
Fan/HSI-Ignitor/inducer all appear to work ok,
The gas does not kick on and no flame happens,
The blower stays on as if it thinks it is heating the house
---

----------------------------------
It could be any of a couple of things.... This is beyond your capabilities,
and I would highly recommend that you call a *competent* tech to correctly
diagnose and repair the furnace.

Posted by KJPRO on December 30, 2008, 11:53 pm

> I'd bet money this furnace hasn't saw any maintenance and the problem lies
> with that... along with a burner upgrade.

The upgrade and maintenance are rather vague terms, it is like a
mechanic telling you that your car stalls because you didn't buy a
tune up. (Tune up is mechanic code for just give me your wallet and
don't ask questions).
I can see that the burners are quite even and they seem to function
well.
I am curious, What would you upgrade the burners from and to?

The Inducer and main fan work well (by my observation). The HSI burns
very bright and was replaced 2 seasons ago, I don't have an amp tester
but I believe that it should have ignited if gas was present.
Presently the furnace is working again, so I can't do any more
troubleshooting. (often "as a mechanic" I have found that when
problems are intermittent and flakey, they are more likely to be
electrical) also due to web searches I kind of suspect the controller.
but would like to know
What are the other possibilities given the symptoms?
What should I test when this happens again?
Any other suggestions?

Thanks,
Crzzy1

PS: Symptoms:
Fan/HSI-Ignitor/inducer all appear to work ok,
The gas does not kick on and no flame happens,
The blower stays on as if it thinks it is heating the house
---

===================

Upgrade and maintenance are not vague to a trained technician.

What you need is a tech to properly test and diagnose your furnace.

Case Closed... or replace parts till you stumble across a solution.

Posted by KJPRO on December 27, 2008, 7:13 pm

> -----
> I have a gas furnace, comfortmaker RPJ2 and suspect that it needs a
> new controller general 90 50A50-110 replacement number is 50A55-843
> symptom:
> The igniter works and burns bright, but intermittently the burners
> will not ignite and the the blower will just keep blowing as the house
> gets colder.
> Recycling the power to the unit seems to fix this for a while.
> Is there a good test I should do?
> Also,
> Is there any local place in northern Virginia preferably Sterling/
> Herndon/Leesburg that I can get one of these? or HVAC parts in
> general?, all I can come up with is mail order.
> Thanks,
> crzzy1
> ------

I suspect your diagnosis is inaccurate.

Posted by Steve on December 27, 2008, 10:55 pm

Lets keep this real simple.... How do you know its the board??

Posted by on December 30, 2008, 10:19 am

> > -----
> > I have a gas furnace, comfortmaker RPJ2 and suspect that it needs a
> > new controller general 90 50A50-110 replacement number is =A050A55-843
> > symptom:
> > The igniter works and burns bright, but intermittently the burners
> > will not ignite and the the blower will just keep blowing as the house
> > gets colder.
> > Recycling the power to the unit seems to fix this for a while.
> > Is there a good test I should do?

> Lets keep this real simple.... How do you know its the board??

----------
Sorry I haven't gotten back to all the responses yet.
The heat has been working It seems to have only flaked out for a few
times there.
So I suspect that it will be OK until it gets really cold. :)
I don't really know that it is the board,

Since the ignitor works (at least visually), and the fan works, and I
have checked all the connections, it seems to only leave 2
likelyhoods, the gas valve and the controller. (Let me know if you
suspect any others that fit the symptoms).
From previous posts, it seems to be more likely the controller.

I don't have an inline amp meter to "amp test" the ignitor, but I
replaced it 2 years ago and it sure is bright, I don't see how that
could not ignite gas if it was present.

I suppose I will have to wait for the problem to reoccure to test it
again, so let me know if there are any tests I can prepare myself
for.

Also if there is a 75% chance that it is the controller I would be
willing to accept that risk and just order it, (because that will take
days and I would rather do it now than when the problem crops up
again).

Thanks,
Crzzy1

--------

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Heater controller making it cold in here? - Page 3