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carver cascade mk1

N

numbskull

I cant get my heater to ignite. It has one light only on the control panel which is green and this lights up. I have 12v between the red & black terminal on the the 6 way connector block & gas supply to burner but cant hear any spark from the ignition. I have conected the 2 blue wires from the 4way block on the coil to bypass the over temp switch but this makes no difference. Can anyone be off help with suggestions as to what my next step should be.

I have a 2amp fuse on the Brown + wire of the 12v feed and the wiring diagram i have also seems to show one on the blue - Do i really need both of these?
 
Hello numbskull,

Writing that doesn't sound very nice, I'm sure you're not one, This will not be a short reply but anyhow lets answer the simple questions first.

Fuses, it should only be a 1A not 2. It is unlikely to have cause any damage though. Secondly the fuse in the negative wire was there to protect the wiring from a fault that did occur on some fridges, which basically caused the negative towing power to be fed back through the gas pipework and then used water heaters negative wire, which could not handle the 8A the fridge used. If your wire has not melted, then you should be alright without the negative fuse.

Now the problem with the actual heater.

Whilst I have some pretty clear ideas what might cause the symptoms, without being able to see and probe the necessary bits its simply not possible to give you a copper bottomed solution.

I have to point out the heater is between 26 and 30 years old (only manufactured between 1980 to 1984) and they do benefit from a service from time to time.

The symptoms you describe suggest the controller either thinks there is a flame, or the water is already hot enough and does not need heating. This will give the constant green light with no apparent activity.

It is unlikely the controller is seeing a false flame signal, as it's looking for a small negative and weak voltage on the yellow wire. This is unlikely to occur without an actual flame being present, so it is not very likely.

More likely is the possibility it thinks the water is hot enough already. The water temperature is sensed by a negative temperature coefficient Thermister. This has the property that when it temperature rises it resistance falls. Set up in comparator circuit as the resistance falls below a predetermined point the circuit turns off the gas valve and ignitor circuits, and waits for the resistance to fall. If the probe has gone short circuit the heater will not turn on.

What is left is the actual circuit board, cable loom and connectors and the possibility that some of the components have failed. The most likely would be the flame detection components, but they are only likely to be damaged if something caused an HT spark to jump to the probe.

I suggest you check out www.arksystems.biz where Gary has a lot of info, and he does have some spares and offers service for some Carver products.
 
I might be getting old John but I'm not out the Ark? it's Arc please, as in electrical Arc! lol

Anyway, I would always recommend a negative fuse, might of been a potential fridge problem in the past but it's still useful protecting from bad earths today.

My suggestion regards this fault is the control switch is not doing anything.

You should get circa 11v between green and black, and blue and black, for the first several seconds after switching on. The green LED should then begin to flash if the flame does not light.

So as you do not mention the loud clunk of the gas valve opening and shutting, or the green LED flashing, then the control switch must be faulty.
 
Thanks to John & Gary for your suggestions. I have 2.5 v between green & black & 10-12v between blue and black but these remain all the time not just for the first few seconds. The green also stays on & i cant hear a clunk from the gas valve. Does this confirm your diagnosis of a faulty control switch? if so is it possible to get one?

Your comments would be much appreciated
 
Certainly something wrong with the switch but given you have full voltage to the gas valve, you should at least hear that?

However 2.5v is no good for the spark so that explains why that's not working.

I can fix them though and you will need to contact me direct to arrange that.

Due to relentless pressure of workload, best way is by mobile phone which you can find on my website, www.arcsystems.biz - keep trying and I will answer!
 
I might be getting old John but I'm not out the Ark? it's Arc please, as in electrical Arc! lol

Anyway, I would always recommend a negative fuse, might of been a potential fridge problem in the past but it's still useful protecting from bad earths today.

My suggestion regards this fault is the control switch is not doing anything.

You should get circa 11v between green and black, and blue and black, for the first several seconds after switching on. The green LED should then begin to flash if the flame does not light.

So as you do not mention the loud clunk of the gas valve opening and shutting, or the green LED flashing, then the control switch must be faulty.
Click to expand...
Gary

Noah had a pair of the original C1's!
 
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