Club 80-90 Forums

Hi,

My truma 1800 has power and goes through the start up procedure. I can hear the igniter firing but then it doesn't catch and the red light comes on.

I've checked the gas supply and that is fine.

Any ideas about where to start.

How serviceable are these units?

Cheers

You have searched the site first? And found http://archive.club8090.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=33180 this?

Yep,

Any other ideas?

Listen carefully to the heater from start until it fails.
It should run the fan only for apprx 30 seconds (purge to clear any build up of gas in the heater)
Loud click - gas valve opening
Immediatly followes by rapid ticking - ignitor
Loud click again - gas valve closing
Fail light comes on.

Possible suspects are the ignitor not running - no ticking
Gas valve not opening - no loud click before ignitor starts
Gas valve not staying open - no loud click when ignitor stops

Putting your finger gently on the gas connection to the heater can help identify the loud click.

Check the flue during the light up sequence , can you feel the fan blowing , does it smell of burnt or unburnt gas , is there any warmth to it ?

The answers to these will help decide if the fan is running and if any gas is coming through , burn or un burnt ?
Try lighting another appliance to see if the gas supply is OK
Make sure any isolation taps are open.

Report back on what you discover ....

Ah! Very interesting!

I'm not getting a loud click, but I do get the ticking of the piezo.

What next?

Thanks for the advice!

Sorry for the time lag replying.

Normally at work I would confirm the gas valve is not opening by setting up a pressure test and then watching to see if it drops (or not) while the heater is opperated.

More questions
I assume you have tried it in the high and low flame settings with the same result ?
If you set the switch to fan only, low and high, do you get air out of the hot air vent(s) at 2 different speeds ?

Technical stuff
The heater has a double gas valve with 2 solenoids on it, one for the low setting and one for the high setting.
It has a single motor with 2 fans attached to the spindle in different sealed chambers of the heater. One for the burner air supply and one to circulate the hot air round your van.
The motor speed is controlled by the pcb and a power transistor.
The pcb monitors the motor speed and shuts down the heater by closing the gas valve if "thinks" the motor is not drawing the correct amount of power for the speed set.

Possibilities
If the heater has been out of use for a long time the gas valve may have stuck closed , unlikley but worth giving it a tap or two with a SMALL hammer while the ignitor is running.
Again due to lack of use, the motor bearings/ seals may be tight causing the motor to draw to much power. The pcb would prevent the gas valve from opening during the light up sequence so the heater fails to light.A good blow out with an air line might help , but I have found that the cure is short lived
You could have a pcb fault with the motor speed sensing.
It could be the speed control transistor.
It could just be a broken wire or bad connection somewhere.

Also just a reminder of the initial checks Truma recommend,
Check voltage at the heater as you try to run it.
Check gas supply is good at the heater.
Its all to easy to get excited about complicated stuff and forget the basics.

These are from trumas training manual and may or manot be of use.
Note that the 1800 and 2400 are very similar






This last page may be of use for checking monitoring of the fan motor, the picture shows the pcbin the remote box.
I believe there is a page missing which has wiring information for the connectors , referred to in the flow diagrams by the "X" & "B" numbers. if I find it I will E D I T and add it to this post

E1800 parts diagram

Wow, Richard you are a legend!

That's a lot of stuff to go on. Thanks for your help. Now I need to go get my hands dirty!

We just got back from a trip to the New Forest, one night the temp dropped to -3degC. I was really wishing I had a functioning heater!

Cheers
Tim

it will be the gas valve - mein had the same problem - it becomes sticky if not used. a shock with a spanner does the trick for mien if it doesnt open
works every time!

Hi,

Just one from left field, did it always work or is it a new install to your van.
I had a great one 1800e fitted and started with all the symptoms of yours then I realised it was a 50mb one and my regulator was 32mb.

Just a thought

Si

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I've got a Trumatic E 2800 that I'm having a problem with.
The fan works at both speeds when selecting cold air, but when I select 'flame' setting, all I get is a tiny click (solenoid?) and then nothing. The fan doesn't spin, just the red fail light. I'm presuming the problem is electrical (sensor) that's stopping the fan spinning, the gas valve opening and ignition taking place. Problem is, where to look first?
Any help much appreciated.

Al