Keston C55 Control Block Unit

[mikimac]

Hi all,

Has anyone come across anything like this before??

I serviced a Keston C55 last week for a regular client. On removal of the case I saw that the control block unit (PCB) had fallen from its mountings onto the fan (The plastic had become brittle & with the same consistency of dry spaghetti had snapped away from all three screw mounts). Phoned Keston & the tech says its my call whether I leave the old one on or not. It's been like that for a while & not wanting to leave the customer without hot water/heating over the weekend I leave it working.

£280.00 later & a new part was ordered & fitted yesterday (Tuesday)..only for the boiler to fail to light. Checked all the usual. 3 hours later & a couple of calls to Keston & the tech says that they get these control block units returned on occasion because 'they get damaged in transit' so take it back to the supplier & we will send out a new one. I fit the old control block unit back on & the boiler works fine....

Phone call from the supplier this morning to say the new unit had arrived so off I pop to fit this one only for the same thing to happen. Phoned Keston to express my dismay/frustration:confused5: and the tech says that this is most unusual for 2 control block units to be faulty but for £280.00 (parts inc.) they will send out an engineer who will fix the problem. (I've asked to be there when he arrives)

I'm waiting for a call back from Keston because I said I wasn't happy with the situation..the customer doesn't want to part with the ££ for a Keston callout..I've waived my charge because they are a good customer & I don't want to lose their business.

I'd appreciate any help on this one.

Thanks

 

[mikimac]

*Update*
I went back to the job with a new ignition lead this morning (nothing wrong with the old one but worth a punt) & fitted it...hey presto boiler is working fine now.

So, when changing a control block unit on a Keston C55 change the ignition lead as well & save yourself a load of head scratching at my expense!! :yes:

 

[Roger Welton]

Keston...*shudders* they do seem to have more problems than they should.

 

[mikimac]

You're right Roger, every engineer I know ages drastically when faced with Keston problems. It would be too defeatist to run a mile IMO when asked to service/repair one & I can only hope that by having an open source forum & sharing info like this it will help others out when faced with these problems. Despite numerous calls to Keston technical noone there could help with this problem..in fact the tech said that it was probably that the original fan wasn't compatible with the new PCB & I could either change the fan at £££ or get Keston to send a service engineer for £275.00 to repair (parts included). You can imagine how that went down with the customer!! Luckily I've done a lot of work for them so they know I'm not a complete Neanderthal but it still created a very awkward moment.

 

[snowhead]

Did you cancel Keston's visit?

 

[mikimac]

Yes, I cancelled the visit..in fact it hadn't been booked (payment by card) but they were holding a slot available. Glad it wasnt booked now because the ignition lead was £17.00 & the Keston visit would have been £275.00... I would have been as sick as a dog if the tech had come out to replace the lead.. :goofy: explain that to the customer 'erm yeah, it wasn't (cough cough) the fan.. it was this £17.00 ignition lead that's cost you £275.00 (cough cough)'