Need some help!

TPOL

Hi Everyone,  I just found this site and glad I did. I need some help with my gas furnace.
It has been 2 weeks now I haven't had heat on my main floor, my basement heat worked fine. I spoke to an HVAC guy, and send a few picks and told me that relay box was probably bad, ok, so after spending 3 or 4 days trying to find one, I ordered one online, when I got it, I took lots of pics before I took it apart, but I still only did 1 wire at a time, well, when I turned on the furnace, the load wire hit the box, sparked and threw the breaker. I shut the switch off, ordered a new box, wired it again, this time taping anything exposed that I was using that won't be getting shorted again. I turned on the furnace, turned up the t-stat upstairs, which it made a loud "click" like before, went douwstairs and nothing, furnace didn't light, cur pump not on, so I went and turned up the t-stat for basement and same thing, furnace not lit and that pump not on. The original box, I had heat in the basement, now nothing. Is it possible, I mean I know it is, I got a defective RA832A 1066 box? 
I am going to put the original back on and see if I have heat in basement or not, I am also thinking of putting first RA832A box in that I think I tried to see what happens there..
Thanks in advance!

EBEBRATT-Ed

@TPOL

Without a test meter your just guessing and buying and replacing parts doesn't always work out as you have just found out.

You have 2 choices:

Call a professional and get him in there to troubleshoot and fix the problem or

Go and buy a cheap test meter and try and figure it out yourself

BTW you have a boiler not a furnace

Check the water pressure on the gauge it should be 12-15 psi with the boiler cold

And post some pictures of the boiler stand back 8' or so with a few up close to the controls.

You probably tripped the circuit breaker or fuse

TPOL

Yeah, it's a boiler, I always say furnace, and I do have a meter and I have checked , should have put that in there, but in the meantime, I put the original one back in and the basement heat works again, I had to lite the pilot of course, but the pump came right on, then the boiler fired up, no time at all, the p ioe was hot for basement, it feels like the other pump is on, and the relay is closed I have the thermostat upstairs set to 75° and it's 66°, but that pipe is warm about a foot and a half up from pump, then cold, so either the pump is bad, which I replaced that like 6 years ago, or I'm back to square one and that relay box is bad

TPOL

Oh, and here's the thing too, I have a switch that's wired into the box, the load wire is connected to term #3 in the box, that's the same term that main pump is connected to, there is  120vac there, wouldn't that make that pump spin all the time? The neutral wire is connected to term #1 like all the others, it shows that in the diagram, I would think that pump would spin all the 

EBEBRATT-Ed

If you have a meter check and see if you have power at the pump terminals. Is the pump motor hot? Is it spinning?

If you have power to the pump and have no heat the three most likely things are the pump is bad, the system is air bound or not enough water in the system.

That's why I asked in the first post about checking the boiler pressure.

If the boiler pressure is low the basement may heat and the upper floors will not. You could also have a bad pressure gauge. Put a new gauge on a drain valve to check

STEVEusaPA

This is another one of those "shaking my head" posts.

TPOL said:

...It has been 2 weeks now I haven't had heat on my main floor.."

Why did you wait 2 weeks?

TPOL said:

...I spoke to an HVAC guy, and send a few picks and told me that relay box was probably bad...

Figured that over the phone, did he?

TPOL said:

...the load wire hit the box, sparked and threw the breaker. I shut the switch off, ordered a new box, wired it again, this time taping anything exposed that I was using that won't be getting shorted again....

Why is there 'anything exposed'?

TPOL said:

... it feels like the other pump is on, and the relay is closed I have the thermostat upstairs set to 75° and it's 66°, but that pipe is warm about a foot and a half up from pump, then cold, so either the pump is bad, which I replaced that like 6 years ago, or I'm back to square one and that relay box is bad

You're getting warmer

TPOL said:

Oh, and here's the thing too, I have a switch that's wired into the box...

Can we see a picture of that? What kind of 'switch'?

Calling in a competent professional would've been easier, probably cheaper, and definitely quicker. Basic troubleshooting wasn't performed, and not in the proper order.

@EBEBRATT-Ed asked for pics...got any?

Here's what should've happened.
1. Confirm with another gauge proper amount of water in system (proper pressure).
--If yes, go to step 2. If no add water, initial purge of air.
2. Confirm zone is calling, confirm proper power into the relay, and proper power out to the circulator.
--If that passes, go to step 3. If not, properly replace relay.
3. Confirm power at the circulator and that it's running, check amp draw.
--If that doesn't pass, replace circulator. If it does, simply check both sides of pipe, a few feet away to see if it's circulating water. Confirm a flow check, if applicable, isn't closed or stuck closed. If all that passes, purge the zone.

10 minutes to diagnose, before you fire the parts cannon at it.

Depending on how it's piped, wired and controlled, it may have been a good time to replace the relay with a two zone relay, simplifies the wiring and diagnostics.

HVACNUT

TPOL said:

Oh, and here's the thing too, I have a switch that's wired into the box, the load wire is connected to term #3 in the box, that's the same term that main pump is connected to, there is  120vac there, wouldn't that make that pump spin all the time? The neutral wire is connected to term #1 like all the others, it shows that in the diagram, I would think that pump would spin all the 

Hot is terminal 1, and usually jumped to 3. Terminal 4 should go to the circulator. Terminal 2 is neutral. 

JUGHNE

The HVAC guy gets pictures but we don't??

TPOL

EBEBRATT-Ed

That whole thing needs rewiring

TPOL

My neighbor is an electrician, he's gonna stop over this weekend and do just that, I showed him and he freaked, said that's all gotta go, so he's gonna redo all that mess

mattmia2

Were those neutrals just twisted together and taped, not soldered?

TPOL

Yes they were