Glowworm Micron 50FF - no electrical supply

[MattH]

Hello there,

We've been experiencing problems with our Micron 50FF boiler for a while now, but it came to a head a couple of days ago whereby the circuit the boiler is on kept tripping out. Plumber has changed both motorised valves (one was leaking and the other has been on its last legs for the best part of a year), as he suspected this was why the pump wasn't working - not that it was the pump itself. Since then, he advised that the pump was dead, so replaced that too - but alas, now the electricity is flowing through all valves/pump it's not reaching the boiler downstairs to fire up the pilot light. There are simply no lights, so it's not a question of fault finding via the Glowworm diagrams, nothing at all comes on. He's due to come back later, with a new fuse for the PCB, which is what he thinks the issue is, but I wondered if there was any advice anyone could give on this first? I have 2 questions - should the fuse have been removed in the PCB before he changed the pump (being replaced after the pump was fitted) and should he have checked before replacing anything that electricity was reaching the boiler in the first place (or would it have not because the pump wasn't working?). Many thanks in advance.

 

[chris watkins]

You have employed this plumber to fix your boiler / heating system now let him fix it, if he can not fix it do not pay them & get someone who can.
You would not dream of taking your car to a garage & then ask others how to fix it better still pay the garage when they say they do not know how to.
Have you agreed a price for the work required to fix the fault, as it sounds like this could run & run!!

 

[MattH]

I've only paid for the cost of parts - which at present is only one Honeywell 2 port valve and Wilo pump (can't confirm actual models as not at home at the moment). So not paid for any labour as yet - but did agree on a price before the work started, thanks for the heads up though.

I was merely enquiring as to whether anyone had come across this before as he seemed genuinely baffled as to why there was no electricity reaching the boiler unit now that both valves and pump are working correctly.

 

[galaxy_plumbing]

agree with Chris. Pay for the fix or find somebody who can fix it. You can always post your location and somebody from the forum can pop around.

 

[gassafe]

If there is no power to boiler then changing fuse is pointless... Or do you mean power to boiler, but no lights?

May be an external wiring fault but we can't advise you about working on the gas boiler itself for safety reasons, let your plumber do his job & check he is gas safe registered.

 

[MattH]

If there is no power to boiler then changing fuse is pointless... Or do you mean power to boiler, but no lights?

May be an external wiring fault but we can't advise you about working on the gas boiler itself for safety reasons, let your plumber do his job & check he is gas safe registered.

This is what I suspected - he used a mains tester screwdriver and can't see that there is any power supply reaching the boiler, for reasons he cannot fathom as it was firing up (albeit temperamentally) before he replaced valves/pump. Thanks to you all...if we get a resolution later I will let you know what it took to get there. Cheers again.

 

[Dotty]

One of them screwdrivers is inadequate for proper testing and fault finding!

Bin this guy and get someone in who know's what they're doing!

 

[gassafe]

I would guess the power supply to boiler was disturbed when he was wiring new valves in airing cupboard!

A multimeter would be the correct tool for determining what voltage he has at the boiler, a 50pence screwdriver with a bulb in the handle won't get him very far lol!

 

[chris watkins]

Much safer to use a combi check type voltage tester (to GS38) if poss, gassafe.
Most multimeters have large exposed tips & poor finger guards etc.

 

[albatross]

It sounds as though your plumber doesn't know what he is doing. You need a heating engineer with a multimeter and the knowledge to use one. It's not hard to do a few tests and find out where the fault lies as opposed to guessing and throwing expensive parts at it till you get the right one.

 

[gassafe]

Much safer to use a combi check type voltage tester (to GS38) if poss, gassafe.
Most multimeters have large exposed tips & poor finger guards etc. View attachment 17161

i like the long unexposed tips on a multimeter... I just googled combi check gs38 and it had those nasty 2mm exposed ends! Pfft... Can't shove them in the connectors and test for resistance & voltage etc...

 

[chris watkins]

I agree to a certain extent but you can always pull the tip covers off & pop 'em back on when done ,whereas it is very easy to earth out the long exposed tips if live testing with most multimeters. :bulb2: shocking !!

 

[tamz]

I find the tip covers to be a pita too and always pull them off then end up loosing them. I know it is a requirement but they are totally impracticle for use on a boiler. You can never get them in.
Decent multimeter leads have good finger guards and tips on them too.
Melted a few good screwdrivers undoing the lives on a spur and shorting it out on the earth directly above it:nono:

 

[Ermintrude]

Get some proper gear fluke TL175 and crocodiles

U twist end and it's a long spike or short 1000v cat iv insulated probe.

 

[Crinkmeister]

Fuses blow for a reason, 99.9% of the time. I'd want to know why before replacing, otherwise you end up with a pocketful of broken fuses.

 

[gassafe]

Ooh check out ermintrude & his fancy fluke case... That's an expensive extra that!!

 

[IND_Nick]

Fuses blow for a reason, 99.9% of the time. I'd want to know why before replacing, otherwise you end up with a pocketful of broken fuses.

Couldn't agree more, fuse is there to protect wiring therefore fault should always be found before replacing. As others have said anyone with knowledge of a multimeter should be able to identify and isolate the issue.