Ignition Failure Year Four, Check Ground - FG6RA 072C-12A
#1
02-27-12, 09:31 PM
Ignition Failure Year Four, Check Ground - FG6RA 072C-12A
I have a Nordyne / Frigidaire Furnace from 2006.
The model # is: FG6RA 072C-12A
Here is a link to the manual: http://www.nordyne.com/Literature/708291b.pdf
Every year around this time the furnace stops working (the gas burners fail to light).
The LED blinks 4 times for ignition failure, check ground error.
When watching the process I observe the following:
1. I hear the fan start up
2. I hear a click
3. I see the HSI glow
4. 5 seconds pass
5. I hear a click
6. The HSI powers down
7. The process repeats 3 times
Finally the furnace gives up and the red led on the control board blinks 4 times which according to the manual is ignition failure.
The gas is feeding both a furnace and a hotwater tank from the same line. The hwt is working fine.
Could I confirm/eliminate a problem with the HSI by using a bbq lighter and trying to manually light the burners when the HSI starts glowing?
I've verified the signal from the control board to the gas value, so I am thinking possibly the gas valve or the HSI.
The HSI looks fine with no hot spots or cracks but it is 6 years old now.
Other suggestions?
Thank you,
Mike
The model # is: FG6RA 072C-12A
Here is a link to the manual: http://www.nordyne.com/Literature/708291b.pdf
Every year around this time the furnace stops working (the gas burners fail to light).
The LED blinks 4 times for ignition failure, check ground error.
When watching the process I observe the following:
1. I hear the fan start up
2. I hear a click
3. I see the HSI glow
4. 5 seconds pass
5. I hear a click
6. The HSI powers down
7. The process repeats 3 times
Finally the furnace gives up and the red led on the control board blinks 4 times which according to the manual is ignition failure.
The gas is feeding both a furnace and a hotwater tank from the same line. The hwt is working fine.
Could I confirm/eliminate a problem with the HSI by using a bbq lighter and trying to manually light the burners when the HSI starts glowing?
I've verified the signal from the control board to the gas value, so I am thinking possibly the gas valve or the HSI.
The HSI looks fine with no hot spots or cracks but it is 6 years old now.
Other suggestions?
Thank you,
Mike
#2
02-28-12, 03:07 PM
Banned. Rule And/Or Policy Violation
>
Yes, after the HSI has warmed up, you should get 24 VAC being applied to the gas valve, which should cause the main burner gas to turn on and light off the HSI. Usually you can hear the gas coming out and smell it if it doesn't light.
Yes, you can use an open flame to light the gas, but be cautious about doing that. It can be a hazard if the burners don't light promptly.
Make sure that the shutoff valve for the furnace is turned on and that the valve on the electric gas valve is turned to the on position.
If you still aren't getting gas from the electric gas valve, use a multimeter to check for electrical continuity across the valve. (Disconnect one wire to the gas valve while doing that test). If it's an open circuit that would confirm that the gas valve is burned out and would need to be replaced.
I recommend against DIYers replacing gas valves, since the BTU input to the furnace needs to be set correctly to have the furnace operate safely.
Good description of the sequence of operation of your furnace!
Yes, after the HSI has warmed up, you should get 24 VAC being applied to the gas valve, which should cause the main burner gas to turn on and light off the HSI. Usually you can hear the gas coming out and smell it if it doesn't light.
Yes, you can use an open flame to light the gas, but be cautious about doing that. It can be a hazard if the burners don't light promptly.
Make sure that the shutoff valve for the furnace is turned on and that the valve on the electric gas valve is turned to the on position.
If you still aren't getting gas from the electric gas valve, use a multimeter to check for electrical continuity across the valve. (Disconnect one wire to the gas valve while doing that test). If it's an open circuit that would confirm that the gas valve is burned out and would need to be replaced.
I recommend against DIYers replacing gas valves, since the BTU input to the furnace needs to be set correctly to have the furnace operate safely.
Good description of the sequence of operation of your furnace!
#3
03-02-12, 04:05 PM
Had a tech out. This is the 3rd visit for this problem in the last 4 years.
Thanks for the reply !
I tried a few more times jiggling the wires before trying to get it to go before the tech arrived.
Nothing worked. I had previously tried this a couple other times and I had someone else try it.
I also tried to light the gas manually when the HSI was glowing but that didn't seem to work. I took a temp reading off the HSI and I watched it climb up to about 500 degrees celcius... was hard to keep the dot on the glowing portion though so not sure what the end temp was.
Tech had it going to literally 15 seconds - he jiggled a few wires and _might_ have reset the flameroller over sensor. He says might as he wasn't sure. He did, however jiggle the gas valve wires while the HSI was glowing. I am not sure I tried doing this while it was glowing so it might be that after i finished jiggling the wires they were out of contact again and when he did it they made contact in one of the movements of the jiggle.
I then had him finish his hour of work by checking everything he could think of but he couldn't get it to fail again.
That night it stopped working again. Jiggling the wires while the HSI was burning got it going again.
At this point I suspect it is still the electrical portion of the gas valve. I had him check out the contact going to it and those checked out.
I didn't realize that the other sensors in the furnace had reset buttons attached to them that could be tripped. I guess if nothing else I learnt something this time. Still not sure what I should do about the problem - replacing the gas valve still seems like the most sensible solution if the electrical portion of it isn't working properly. I am not sure if I could get some sandpaper or something into the gas valve electrical contacts to possibly remove corrosion - there isn't any visible corrosion... or maybe I could get some contact enhancer?
Thoughts?
I tried a few more times jiggling the wires before trying to get it to go before the tech arrived.
Nothing worked. I had previously tried this a couple other times and I had someone else try it.
I also tried to light the gas manually when the HSI was glowing but that didn't seem to work. I took a temp reading off the HSI and I watched it climb up to about 500 degrees celcius... was hard to keep the dot on the glowing portion though so not sure what the end temp was.
Tech had it going to literally 15 seconds - he jiggled a few wires and _might_ have reset the flameroller over sensor. He says might as he wasn't sure. He did, however jiggle the gas valve wires while the HSI was glowing. I am not sure I tried doing this while it was glowing so it might be that after i finished jiggling the wires they were out of contact again and when he did it they made contact in one of the movements of the jiggle.
I then had him finish his hour of work by checking everything he could think of but he couldn't get it to fail again.
That night it stopped working again. Jiggling the wires while the HSI was burning got it going again.
At this point I suspect it is still the electrical portion of the gas valve. I had him check out the contact going to it and those checked out.
I didn't realize that the other sensors in the furnace had reset buttons attached to them that could be tripped. I guess if nothing else I learnt something this time. Still not sure what I should do about the problem - replacing the gas valve still seems like the most sensible solution if the electrical portion of it isn't working properly. I am not sure if I could get some sandpaper or something into the gas valve electrical contacts to possibly remove corrosion - there isn't any visible corrosion... or maybe I could get some contact enhancer?
Thoughts?
