Welcome! Here are the website rules, as well as some tips for using this forum.
Need to contact us? Visit https://heatinghelp.com/contact-us/.
Click here to Find a Contractor in your area.

Need some help!

Options
TPOL
TPOL Member Posts: 6
in Gas Heating
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!

Comments

  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 15,523
    Options
    @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
    TPOLmattmia2
  • TPOL
    TPOL Member Posts: 6
    Options
    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
    TPOL Member Posts: 6
    Options
    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
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 15,523
    Options
    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
    SuperTech
  • HVACNUT
    HVACNUT Member Posts: 5,835
    Options
    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. 
    TPOL
  • JUGHNE
    JUGHNE Member Posts: 11,061
    Options
    The HVAC guy gets pictures but we don't?? :(
    Peter_26SuperTech
  • TPOL
    TPOL Member Posts: 6
    Options

  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 15,523
    Options
    That whole thing needs rewiring
    Rich_49SuperTechSTEVEusaPA
  • TPOL
    TPOL Member Posts: 6
    Options
    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
    JUGHNERich_49SuperTech
  • mattmia2
    mattmia2 Member Posts: 9,639
    Options
    Were those neutrals just twisted together and taped, not soldered?
  • TPOL
    TPOL Member Posts: 6
    Options
    Yes they were 

Categories