ideal isar L9 problem. surprise, surprise! :(

[baldy874]

hi. i wonder if anyone can shed any light.

i have an ideal isar he30. error code, L9. on reset it went onto 3 horizontal bars which according to the book, they do this until the heat exchanger drops below 50.

i've read a load of posts here, and so far i have drained the boiler down, removed the condense trap and cleaned. all fine. removed plate exchanger and washed through, but that was all clear too.

not sure if my multimeter is pants because i can get any readings from the dry fire thermistor or the control thermistor.

fired it back up and it went straight onto L9 again and fan went beserk and all got rather hot, rather quickly,

any ideas please? got the wife whining she's cold already!

 

[diamondgas]

Put some water in the system!!!

Re-pressurise to at least 1 bar.... You GSR?

 

[baldy874]

pressurised to just over 1 bar.

not GSR. fairly competent and know my limits.

 

[diamondgas]

Then next sage is check the pump is working and the boiler is filled with water ... AAV open etc!

🙂

 

[baldy874]

pump appears to be running ok. AAV not touched. all went cold when i filled it back up and pressure went down to half a bar when i opened isolators, so assume all full with water.

 

[diamondgas]

re-pressurised to 1 bar for sure ... if the aav is open then 't' will run untill hot water pre-heat is satisfied then the boiler will change to 'c' and circulate through heating ... what stage does the boiler shut off to L-9?

 

[baldy874]

just drained down and refilled again.

fired it up, went onto "d", burner light came on, heated up very quickly then went onto L9 in about 20 seconds.

 

[baldy874]

oh. on fire up display went "0" - "5" first before "d" and burner light.

 

[diamondgas]

Definitely sounds like the heat exchanger is dry ... 'd' is hot water demand .. same a 't' as far as the diverter is related ... I'd be checking the aav to make sure its open .. a nightmare of a position to be honest!!!

If you're sure the pump is running then then it sounds like water is not! Could be pump impeller has dislodged? Unusual!!!!

 

[stevetheplumber]

should show three vertical bars to represent the prison cell the designers of these boiler should be in

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

sounds like a pump,air,circulation issue getting hot water?

 

[baldy874]

wierd.

got some air out of the AAV but still goes to "d" and fires the burner on start up? hot taps all bled btw.

 

[baldy874]

and yes, the designers of this trash should be locked up! i've read about a LOT of problems with them.

 

[diamondgas]

Alas until you get the water to heat up the integral plate hex you are at a loss ... Unless you can remove the actuator and mess with the diverter?

 

[baldy874]

aye. will whip that out next. just had pump out and quicklt flicked power on for a couple of seconds. pump 100% working.

cant understand why as soon as i turn it on, it's calling for hot water and firing up?

 

[SimonJohns]

aye. will whip that out next. just had pump out and quicklt flicked power on for a couple of seconds. pump 100% working.

cant understand why as soon as i turn it on, it's calling for hot water and firing up?

They have a built in preheat. If Hws thermister says cold it will heat that first

 

[baldy874]

They have a built in preheat. If Hws thermister says cold it will heat that first

i see. so if the thermistor is toast it will think it's calling for DHW?

 

[SimonJohns]

No of that's toast it just won't work

 

[baldy874]

would a toasted thermistor cause it to demand hot water first on fire up pre heat?

if i recall, it normally goes to "t" then stright to "0" and ready for action.

 

[SimonJohns]

It's 12:20. Call a GSR in the morning.

 

[baldy874]

It's 12:20. Call a GSR in the morning.

good point! had a chat with my usual GSR guy earlier and he's stumped! tomorrow is another day.

many thanks for all the help guys. 🙂

 

[armourer]

Hope I am not to late for this one.

I have had 2 of these faults this week.
Look at the front of the pump and if it is an MP61 pump they intermittently stick or run slow giving this fault.

I have had a hell of a job tracking it down as the pump does run and Diverter and motor changed.

Try using a screwdriver as a stethoscope on the pump head and you normally hear a ticking noise (impellers catching).

If not the fault in this case I hope it helps someone?

 

[happymoo2007]

your right there the designers who thought of this boiler want stringing up by there balls ive had nowt but trouble with my boiler this year

 

[baldy874]

it was the pump sticking in the end. i took the pump out and fire it up and it span nicely, which is why i ruled it out as a problem!

got it all sorted when my trusty gas man came round the morning after. 🙂

they are indeed a totally sheite boiler and we are now putting a bit of dosh aside to replace with a nice worcester bosch in the spring!

BIG thanks to all the advice and help here. true gents! 🙂

 

[jaguar66]

God these boilers are cak
ive got this problem on an isar he30 3 horizontals im looking at this afternoon before anyone asks yes im gsr and can work on boilers problem is im new to diagnostics yes i have done a course but still greener than th hills. if im successful and it works i will be chuffed gonna disconect the dryfire thermistor for 5 mins if that fails try turning the pump manually if that fails i will ask advice from the wiser heads.

 

[SimonJohns]

God these boilers are cak
ive got this problem on an isar he30 3 horizontals im looking at this afternoon before anyone asks yes im gsr and can work on boilers problem is im new to diagnostics yes i have done a course but still greener than th hills. if im successful and it works i will be chuffed gonna disconect the dryfire thermistor for 5 mins if that fails try turning the pump manually if that fails i will ask advice from the wiser heads.

For the price of a dry fire thermister. Pick one up and keep it to test with.
They can read good when normal. But when heated they can get a bit erratic

 

[jaguar66]

Thanks i will take your advice and pick one up let you know how i get on.

 

[jaguar66]

Hi just an update the dryfire thermistor being disconected got rid of the problem boiler fired and works fine for the time being anyway . When i opened up the case to get to the thermister it was all wet with like a brown sludgy goo round it what is this ???i dried it and plugged it back in and the boiler fired up ok but im not happy with this brown stuff i know the boilers are cak but they should not ooze it. thanks

 

[GrahamM]

You are spot on in your initial description of these.
If wet inside you will have a bit more work to do.
First I would check/clean sump and condensate trap. You will also need check/replace the turret gasket. Most start leaking at some point.
But if brown sludgy, sounds like you better order up a AAV and gasket kit.

Check the burner, earth pins, electrodes while you are at it.

 

[jaguar66]

Thanks for that Graham its the mother in laws boiler so ive got time to tinker with it but thanks for the explanation of what it is.

 

[Backboiler]

Baldy, was it the head only or the whole pump including the body?

 

[Kewat66]

Made a mistake today by attending a breakdown and forgetting to ask on the phone what was the make and model of the boiler!! Ideal Isar!! A small job turns into a real pain of a job. School boy error"

 

[JAH HEATING]

Rip it out an take it the scrap yard