Electronic Ignition assembly or control module

MikeG

I'm trying to troubleshoot a failure to ignite on a Burnham boiler in my son's house. Burnham P-206-WP1 serial # 17 209707 vintage 1987 date tag. Honeywell gas valve VR8304M 4507. This is onLPG. Burners tubes all cleaned yearly. Gas pressure OK. Has been OK since 2010 when son bought house. This boiler is in a damp old farmhouse basement. When it failed to ignite the EI would spark for quite a while, never timed it but maybe 10 seconds. We found the pilot orifice and assembly rather corroded. Tried to clean it and could see pinhole but not sure if it's right. Now when we try it the EI only sparks for 3 seconds. There is gas to the pilot and it continues for about 45 seconds so that safety works
OK. I think the pilot assembly is not letting enough gas through because of the corrosion, but is there another issue also with the short spark time. How long should it spark? What is the spark gap measurement, although the spark looks good. I cleaned and checked the ground connection. I will probably replace the pilot assembly. Thanks in advance for any guidance. Mike

Abracadabra

Replace the pilot assembly and if issue continues, replace the ignition module.

jonny88

Another alternative is to switch to standing pilot.A lot simpler but nothing wrong with changing spark pak .

MikeG

In this environment a standing pilot would be better, but right now that would mean a different gas valve etc. Just try ing to find the part right now. I'm getting all kinds of conflicting info and part numbers. Thanks Mike

Tim McElwain

Have you tried lighting the pilot with a match when sparking takes place? If it will light then see if it brings the burner on which would indicate the microamps are okay.

What is the inlet and outlet gas pressure? The pilot is not regulated so it gets whatever the inlet pressure is.

What is the module number?

The pilot will have its part number typically on the backside of the pilot scratched into the metal.

Is it a single rod pilot or a dual rod pilot?

The spark gap should be 1/8".

When the sparking stops do you still have 24 volts coming out of the module to the pilot valve?

By the way changing spark ignition over to a standing pilot is a code violation.

MikeG

Tim,
Yes, when it stopped sparking I tried lighting it with a match and it did light off the burners. That is why I figured it was because the pilot assembly was possible still restricted. The gas to the pilot did stop after about 45 seconds, so that worked OK. The LPG supplier checked gas pressure and it is within specs. I do not have the pilot part number although the manual for that boiler says it is Honeywell Q348A1010. I will have to see if I can read the actual number on the part to see if it matches that. I do not have the modual number. I will get that. It is a single rod pilot. I was looking at some Honeywell crossreference charts and it looks like there is a Q348U universal assembly that has multiple orfices for NG and LPG. Burnham tech says use Burnham part number 8236164 which is the pilot assembly and this one has a longer molded spark cable with heat covering. What is in there now has a detachable boot like a regular spark plug. I did not check to see if there is still 24V to the pilot valve. Thanks Mike

Tim McElwain

Put the info on Utica in the wrong posting. Sorry

MikeG

Replaced the pilot assembly and everything works. This new assembly has the cable integral along with a heat shield covering. The biggest issue in all this is trying to verify the correct part for this install. Burnham tech gives me a Burham part number XXX. Supply house says that number is changed to YYY which was changed to ZZZ. It is still a Honeywell part. I took in the old part and calipers to check all dimensions. All the part numbers did agree on the orfice size for LPG. Pressure is good and the gas valve functions properly. Thanks Mike