Do York pressure switches have a design flaw?

[Freezeking2000]

My York Affinity 9.V stopped working. My repairman told me that the problem is a faulty pressure switch. He claims that he has had numerous such failures this winter. I am now having to wait several (cold) days while the York distributor awaits delivery of "good" switches.

That's his story.

I have all the switches in stock for my customers.

[Freezeking2000]

My York Affinity 9.V stopped working. My repairman told me that the problem is a faulty pressure switch. He claims that he has had numerous such failures this winter. I am now having to wait several (cold) days while the York distributor awaits delivery of "good" switches.

That's his story.

He does not keep parts for what he sells?

[dfelt]

If a manometer is tee,d in to check actual draft you,ll find the value of draft developed.Take note of how value can sometimes change fr.when is started cold vs. when flame comes on.This is due to the lighter density of hot flue gasses and it will also show as reduced amp draw as inducer or combustion blower is working easier.
Whether it,s a single or dual port press.sw. some mfgrs.will install volume restrictors/pulsation dampers in the barbed inlets to tend to the issue of the sw.making ,then burners come on and associated slight drop causing "buffeting" .These can be red or blue in colour indicating different decimal sizes.On occassion I,ve had misbehavin system and I,ve removed them,kept tabs on system via owner and had no problems.
I,ve also found that some press.sw,s can be position sensitive in regards to mounting[probably more for the microswitch rather than diaphram].
Is the unit in a non-conditioned area?If is a high eff.unit and has dedicated combustion air intake fr.outside during cold weather or even a period of hoar frost,the frost can get drawn in and if piping is backgraded to unit as discharge will be it then melts and the condensate can plug this small orifice.

[jdrook]

Really frustrated!!!

York Affinity (New in Aug 2008) worked perfectly winter or 2008-2009. 2nd winter has been a disaster with non-stop pressure switch stuck open. As stated in previous postings...Several good and qualified techs have checked everything and come up with nothing. We have had a few short spans (3 or 4 weeks) without error code, but it eventually comes back. Our next tech visit will be number 6 since November. They charged us the first time, then did not charge the next 4 times since they had not fixed the issue. Got a bill Friday for over $ since it finally appeared to be on track after a 3 week successful period of operation. Error coded showed up the next morning and has continued through the weekend. Techs have been great...but no long term solution.

1) Intake/Outake vents...are clear. Slope is good, no puddling of condensate. They have been opened to look at, nothing inside pipes. Short span, only 2 elbows, 3'' pipe so combustable air should be good. Reducers to 2" are on vertical spans, so that should not be an issue.
2) Drainage Issue...Shows no symptoms of water issues. Drains well and hoses are clear
3) Cleaned out ports and hoses
4) Re routed high voltage wires that appeared to possibly cause problems
5) Opened machine up...Looked at all major parts...No apparent problems!
6) Replaced Pressure Switch...worked OK for a few weeks
7) Replaced Board...Worked OK for a while
8) Flipping the turn off switch will sometimes get it to start up again. It will usually work one cycle then error code again. Sometimes it will be off all day and then randomly turn itself on again. Works well when it's not error coding.

Frustrated...This was supposed to be a nice unit. I would rather have my 1956 Coleman running at about 60% efficiency back at this point. It may have been costly and it may have been louder than an airport, but that thing always ran!

Any suggestions?

[jonesey30]

Been a coleman dealer for the last year, and from what i have seen the cp9c modulating furnaces has problems with there pressure switches. Spoke with the regional sales manager last week, and his reply was that they were not happy with the distributor that is providing these pressure switches, and to look for a bulletin. they're trying to resolve the issue and the only thing you can do is just keep replacing the pressure switches. In the last 2 months i have installed at least 10 mod furnaces and 8 of them had problems regarding p.s. hope this helps.

[jerryd_2008]

MY LAST POST IS THE ACTUAL SERVICE LETTER. I COPIED AND PASTED IT FROM A PDF FILE. CANT ATTACH A PDF FILE TO MY POSTS ON HERE. IF YOU WANT THE PDF GIVE ME YOUR EXTERNAL EMAIL AND I WILL SEND IT.

Gator, do you know if there is a similar pressure switch problem for an 80% York Affinity YP8C modulating furnace?

I have had a number of cases with my York Affinity DFHP installed in July 2010 where there is no heat from either the HP or the furnace but the blower is going. A couple of days ago, the furnace was not igniting and the blower surging. The house temp was down 6 degrees F and the IAQ tstat normally keeps it exactly at the set point. The tech called by the distributor, mine was out of town, was not familiar with the furnace but he merely blew through the plastic tubing and sucked in and out on the pressure switch and it started but it still seems to be acting weird.

Here is the furnace code I observed and the install manual explanation:

Two Red Flashes - Pressure switch closed with inducer pressure below pressure switch setpoint (switch is closed when it should be open). Check pressure switch.

Thanks.

[qwerty hvac]

[QUOTE=jerryd_2008;5920932]Gator, do you know if there is a similar pressure switch problem for an 80% York Affinity YP8C modulating furnace?

I have had a number of cases with my York Affinity DFHP installed in July 2010


How could you have problems it has not even bee installed yet.Just kidden. Couldn't resist. I thought that they were having a lot of problems with there switches.

[jerryd_2008]

How could you have problems it has not even bee installed yet.Just kidden. Couldn't resist. I thought that they were having a lot of problems with there switches.

You picking on me, Qwerty?

I know that it has been in just a very short time, but I have had it pretty much on emergency heat (NG furnace) since Thanksgiving. Originally thought the total problem was the HP not switching to the furnace below balance point. The HP started switching better when we totally took off the low temp cutoff jumper and just relied on the balance point. Some bad documentation is suspected on that one. We have 2 sets that say totally different things about BP and LTCO operation. Still trying to get a better explanation of why the HP comes on at all when below BP before switching to furnace.

After this furnace problem, I suspect that a good number of the problems are the furnace failing to ignite or not doing so properly. Nothing like a solid failure on the pressure switch to redirect the investigation.

So, I will take your answer as a yes for similar pressure switch problems with my 80% modulating furnace. Sounds feasible since the 95% modulating furnace must use many of the parts that my 80% does. I believe that the 95% unit has a slightly larger modulation range than my 80% though.

Thanks, Qwerty. Anybody second the motion?

[jdrook]

Thank you for your posts. I am sure you are all outstanding contractors. I enjoy reading what you have to say. I am learning from you.

I contacted the Johnson Controls Rep/Troubleshooter. He is going to come out with the repair tech (not my installer...long story) and look at the unit. He did confirm that York has a pressure switch issue. They have a new switch, but many suppliers still have the old defective switch on the shelves. Same catalog number, but only the newer switches work correctly. You would figure that York would remove all the old switches from the suppliers shelves...that would make sense to me. My switch was replaced and I received the old switch again. It ran for a few weeks and eventually failed again. I am hoping we can get to the bottom of this. Lucky it has been a very mild winter in state of WA. I will update after the Rep visits.

Just curious how you guys feel about the York/Coleman/Lux Mod line. I have the Affinity 95% in a 100 year old home. It replaced an 1956 Coleman that was louder than a tank and did not keep the house consistently comfortable. It was reliable, just not comfortable. The new unit really keeps the house comfortable. I notice very little if any temp swings and it runs very quiet. The only time you hear it is when is ramps up which is very rare. We ran new duct and returns but retained the old in-wall antique wall registers since the home is historic. (registers are still on interior walls rather than outside walls...which I know you guys frown upon these days...but we were keeping the historic value) Rebuilt and stripped off decades of old paint off the registers and had them repainted in antique brass. They look awesome!

Again, would love to hear your thoughts on the Mods.

[jonesey30]

Since i've been only a coleman dealer for the last year (they finally brought the product to a distributor in the area, and that's how long coleman has been here). I would say they have been very good in terms of what they're capable of doing, reliable has yet to be determined and the only reason i say that is for one been installing then for the last year, but the ones i had installed which is approximately 24-30. about 15 of those needed new pressure switches, 1 had a circuit board replaced and 1 had an inducer motor replaced ( just a little noisy for what i wouldv'e wanted. customer didn't care, but i did). I'll definately stick with them once the pressure switch issue is taking care of, not a fan of installing them right now because of that, who wants to go on a service call 2 days later just after installing it (especially on a sunday).

[jon ogrady]

Over the past four months, we seem to be having the same problem with our York Affinity 9C furnace as jdrook.

Did the Johnson Control rep. fix jdrook's furnace, and if so was it a defective pressure switch?

Love to hear from jdrook or anyone else about this problem.

Freezing in Canada
jogrady
Vancouver

[jerryd_2008]

...
I know that it has been in just a very short time, but I have had it pretty much on emergency heat (NG furnace) since Thanksgiving. Originally thought the total problem was the HP not switching to the furnace below balance point. The HP started switching better when we totally took off the low temp cutoff jumper and just relied on the balance point. Some bad documentation is suspected on that one. We have 2 sets that say totally different things about BP and LTCO operation. Still trying to get a better explanation of why the HP comes on at all when below BP before switching to furnace.

HP -> furnace switching seems much better after 2nd HP control (defrost?) board upgrade to one ending with "109" on the software memory chip. Also seems like a part of the switching problem may be related to the rising sun hitting the HP outdoor temp sensor or even the dryer vent heating it enough to "contradict" the temp readings on the several thermometers I am using. Will validate more when heating weather returns in the late Fall. This issue is discussed more in the thread: DFHP Switch to Furnace? .

After this furnace problem, I suspect that a good number of the problems are the furnace failing to ignite or not doing so properly. Nothing like a solid failure on the pressure switch to redirect the investigation.

So, I will take your answer as a yes for similar pressure switch problems with my 80% modulating furnace. Sounds feasible since the 95% modulating furnace must use many of the parts that my 80% does. I believe that the 95% unit has a slightly larger modulation range than my 80% though.
...

Based on a limited amount of heating season left after the furnace pressure switch issues on my 80% modulating furnace was replaced I haven't noticed any more issues with the York 80% modulating furnace ignition.

[jdrook]

jon ogrady:

The JC Tech came and tested the pressure switch...it tests out fine. He can not find a problem and it has been difficult to get him out. He is going to look at some alternative issues sometime supposedly soon...Inducer fan, interior of drain pan to look for drainage issues, etc... Totally frustrated with no solution. I have to keep calling the tech. I am nobody and there a greater problems to solve. I just want somebody to take some initiative and solve the problem rather than throw it on the back burner. Honestly, I wish they would just replace the unit! Unit will work fine for a week or two and then stop working for no reason.

jdrook