Feed Problem - Maybe Electrical

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marvin
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Post by marvin » Sat. Oct. 04, 2008 9:51 am

Well, I woke up this morning all excited and ready to post an update to another thread on this forum; the one I had about the odor burning a DVC-500. After installing the CO detectors, building confidence, and allowing the fire to continue to burn regardless of the smell, it appears to be thinning out. I think it's possible that it was still just the paint burning off.

However, that excitement turned into pure frustration when I went to restart the fire after it had gone out during the night. The restart of the fire started out nicely but after awhile, I realized that the stove wasn't feeding. The light comes on but the motor never attempts to turn. I opened up the rear door and the arm is just sitting there idle. I tried resetting the stove and running it again it test mode. All lights come on; no status lights, but the feed would still not start. I've removed all of the coal, in case it was stuck but that didn't seem to help. I called my dealer and they said to check the wiring (GREAT). They said that they were booked with service calls close to three weeks out but I was welcome to try and resolve the problem myself (I guess that means I can't void my warranty).

Anyways, having the problem-solving determination that I do, I've pulled the wiring diagram out of the manual and am getting reading to start disassembling things/checking wiring, maybe hammering on things - can anyone stop me with what may be a simple suggestion before doing so? Are there any recommendations as to where I should start or what order? Thanks in advance!

 
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1975gt750
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Post by 1975gt750 » Sat. Oct. 04, 2008 10:02 am

first thing I would do is take voltage measurment right at the feed motor to see if you have 110volts and if so you need a new feed motor. if there is no voltage there I would goto the controller and start checking there for voltage. with out a wiring diagram in front of me I could not tell you which wires to check.

hope this helps

chris

 
steveyrock
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Post by steveyrock » Sat. Oct. 04, 2008 10:07 am

Don't assume the wires are terminated to the correct terminals in your Harman as I had an incorrect wired door saftey switch on my Harman boiler that gave me an ingnition problem on the oil gun. I got the tester out and started investigating,sure enough the switch was wired wrong at the factory.


 
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marvin
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Post by marvin » Sat. Oct. 04, 2008 10:45 am

Well, where I'm at now: I just jumped back on here to check for updates and I will check the voltage if I can get my hands on a tester. However, what I've found, is that the wires coming off of the feed motor seemed to have gotten caught in the fan on the back of the motor. I can't tell if the wires have fraid enough to break the connection as they are covered in plastic. I would assume that it is possible that if they had stopped the fan, this could have burned out the motor and/or, pulled the actual wire far enough out of its connector. I would like to cutoff the factory connectors and splice the wires directly together. I called my dealer back to see if I would void my warranty and they said, "Yes". It was in the plans today to drive to the dealer to pick up the last of the bagged coal I had ordered, so I'm going to ask if they can supply the feed motor and I will replace that as well (if they allow me to do so). I'm waiting on a call back from them, as I've explained that I cannot wait 2.5 weeks for a tech to arrive.

 
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Razzler
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Post by Razzler » Sat. Oct. 04, 2008 2:25 pm

Marvin, Can you take the hole feed assemble and motor off the stove? If so throw in the truck and drive right to the shop and have them look at it. :help2: :mad: :wtf:

 
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marvin
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Post by marvin » Sat. Oct. 04, 2008 2:38 pm

The dealer finally called me back and stated they would be out on Monday. They informed me that if I do cut the wires or remove the motor, I would void my warranty. It could be the wires, as I tried pushing them together tighter and reset the stove one more time, after this, the motor is working again. I'm still waiting for them to come out because I believe I have even larger electrical problems than it appears. The first time I turned the stove on, ran the test, started the fire, the entire thing (fans, lights, etc..) just shut off. There was plenty of 110 power but the whole thing shut off. I had to reset it then as well. ............We'll see what happens after a diagnostics test.


 
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LsFarm
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Post by LsFarm » Sat. Oct. 04, 2008 5:31 pm

At least your dealer is doing what a dealer should do.. provide customer service.. It's nice to hear that he is responding to your need for help. I was fearing that this thread and topic would turn into another Harman-bashing thread.. Thankfully it looks like you have a good dealer and they are going to take care of you.

Greg L

.

 
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orvis
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Post by orvis » Sat. Oct. 04, 2008 5:58 pm

However, what I've found, is that the wires coming off of the feed motor seemed to have gotten caught in the fan on the back of the motor. I can't tell if the wires have fraid enough to break the connection as they are covered in plastic. I would assume that it is possible that if they had stopped the fan, this could have burned out the motor and/or, pulled the actual wire far enough out of its connector.
There is no excuse for something like that. Eng. should have a design where this cannot happen in Mfg. Mfg in turn should have a procedure to make sure there are no loose danglies hanging around inside the stove. Very, very sloppy. It's only a stove, not a Saturn 12. Get it right. :roll:

 
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marvin
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Post by marvin » Sun. Oct. 05, 2008 2:13 pm

LsFarm wrote:At least your dealer is doing what a dealer should do.. provide customer service.. It's nice to hear that he is responding to your need for help. I was fearing that this thread and topic would turn into another Harman-bashing thread.. Thankfully it looks like you have a good dealer and they are going to take care of you.

Greg L

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No, I'm very pleased with the stove and in manufacturing, there is always a chance for something to go wrong. I did not intend at all to start a Harman-bashing or even a dealer bashing thread. The dealer has been pretty good to me all along and I can understand that this time of year they are very busy. I didn't intend on passing blame; just sucks that I have an issue. I will update after they have come and gone.

 
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marvin
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Post by marvin » Mon. Oct. 06, 2008 3:42 pm

Dealer was here, checking all connections and fixed wiring. Everything is working great. :D

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