Amana gas package unit will not spark???

[Jeffrey F]

I am stumped!
I am working on a 5 year old 13 seer Amana gas pack model APG1324070M41A that will not spark to light burners. The inducer fan motor runs, pressure switch closes, I can hear relays on board activating and randomly when ever it feels like it there will be one blast of spark at spark igniter but not enough to light burners. I have already replaced the control board and have checked and rechecked my ground at board I even added one to be sure but still will not provide spark for ignition. Any ideas???

[kdean1]

If you can provide us some information about what you’ve measured we may be able to help. Draft, safeties ohmed, voltage?

[Achso017]

Since this is an open forum we can’t give you too much troubleshooting advice. I will say that everything involving the spark should be shiny clean.

[Jeffrey F]

Not sure what to add 230 volts to unit 24.7 volts from Lv transformer, 0 volts across pressure switch everything appears to be running fine but random flash of spark is all I get and never has a fault code or goes into soft lock out. Just acts like normal except nothing to ignite the gas.

[Jeffrey F]

I have shined up everything from igniter to area under board that ground screws go into I even added a ground wire nothing has changed I have spent several hours on it the last few days but was looking for ideas of things I may have missed. It is getting expensive to be sitting working on this not making any income.

[Achso017]

I have shined up everything from igniter to area under board that ground screws go into I even added a ground wire nothing has changed I have spent several hours on it the last few days but was looking for ideas of things I may have missed. It is getting expensive to be sitting working on this not making any income.

Have you checked if it will spark straight from the board? I’ve had a few that had the insulation wear thin or even through on the spark wire. If it is touching the chassis anywhere before the ignitor tip it won’t spark. I usually keep a handful of spark igniters on my van to test with.


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[Jeffrey F]

Have you checked if it will spark straight from the board? I’ve had a few that had the insulation wear thin or even through on the spark wire. If it is touching the chassis anywhere before the ignitor tip it won’t spark. I usually keep a handful of spark igniters on my van to test with.


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I inspected the wire from end to end and did not see any bare spots, rerouted wire to keep away from any metal best I could and ohmed out wire to check for broken wire and it was good but I did not have another igniter with me at the time to try but I will be taking one back with me tomorrow for sure. The home owner said that he lost power while he was away had to reset microwave etc. and had to replace the 3 amp fuse on the board that had blown to get it to this point. The igniter wire should not have caused the low voltage fuse to blow do you agree? Does that take you in any other direction or still leaning towards igniter / wire...

[Achso017]

I inspected the wire from end to end and did not see any bare spots, rerouted wire to keep away from any metal best I could and ohmed out wire to check for broken wire and it was good but I did not have another igniter with me at the time to try but I will be taking one back with me tomorrow for sure. The home owner said that he lost power while he was away had to reset microwave etc. and had to replace the 3 amp fuse on the board that had blown to get it to this point. The igniter wire should not have caused the low voltage fuse to blow do you agree? Does that take you in any other direction or still leaning towards igniter / wire...

Was the power loss before you swapped the board? If so then I’m still leaning toward an ignitor issue. If not then I would be suspecting the board. Either way, testing it’s ability to spark would be my next step. I don’t really think I can say much else in this section. You might want to sign up for pro status since then we can go more in depth with testing and stuff.


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[Jeffrey F]

Yes power loss was before replacing board...
I just started here did not know about different levels like ( Pro ) I work for myself so I don’t have anyone to bounce ideas off of anymore like I did when I worked for a bigger company with multiple techs so that is why I signed up here. I will look into the other levels I certainly appreciate your input, you can get into your own head when talking to yourself trying to figure things out. God bless

[Achso017]

Yes power loss was before replacing board...
I just started here did not know about different levels like ( Pro ) I work for myself so I don’t have anyone to bounce ideas off of anymore like I did when I worked for a bigger company with multiple techs so that is why I signed up here. I will look into the other levels I certainly appreciate your input, you can get into your own head when talking to yourself trying to figure things out. God bless

This site’s great for doing that. Most of the guys on here like to help each other out. I’m very glad I signed up because I’m in a similar situation as you. I’ve got a boss but for various reasons he’s not the tech he once was and I have to figure the difficult stuff out myself.


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[Jeffrey F]

How do I get to a level where everything is not so watered down to protect the innocent lol.

[Achso017]

How do I get to a level where everything is not so watered down to protect the innocent lol.

https://hvac-talk.com/vbb/showthread...nal-Membership




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[Jeffrey F]

Thank you
I look forward to further discussion in the future.

[joemach]

Not sure what to add 230 volts to unit 24.7 volts from Lv transformer, 0 volts across pressure switch everything appears to be running fine but random flash of spark is all I get and never has a fault code or goes into soft lock out. Just acts like normal except nothing to ignite the gas.

Are you sure you have 230 volts on a gas furnace? never saw a 230 volt furnace, but first time for everything. Not trying to invalidate you.

This is something I ran into and could be your issue. Check polarity. That is why i question the 230 volts. Gas furnaces are polarity sensitive. Who knows what a power outage could do. But you never know.

Get your post count up to 15 and apply for pro membership and get to the good stuff.

[beenthere]

Are you sure you have 230 volts on a gas furnace? never saw a 230 volt furnace, but first time for everything. Not trying to invalidate you.

This is something I ran into and could be your issue. Check polarity. That is why i question the 230 volts. Gas furnaces are polarity sensitive. Who knows what a power outage could do. But you never know.

Get your post count up to 15 and apply for pro membership and get to the good stuff.

He said gas package unit. So it would make sense that its 230 volt.

[Jeffrey F]

Are you sure you have 230 volts on a gas furnace? never saw a 230 volt furnace, but first time for everything. Not trying to invalidate you.

This is something I ran into and could be your issue. Check polarity. That is why i question the 230 volts. Gas furnaces are polarity sensitive. Who knows what a power outage could do. But you never know.

Get your post count up to 15 and apply for pro membership and get to the good stuff.

The unit is a Goodman gas package unit not a furnace

[timebuilder]

You need to make sure that you're meeting all of the board's input requirements before the board will reward you with lighting off the gas.

Are you smelling gas when it does not fire, or is it not even opening up the gas valve?

These questions will become natural to you as you begin working on these pieces of equipment... so first you want to go to the diagram and look at the various inputs which are going to need to be in the correct state at the correct time in order to allow the board to make fire. This means that your safety chains have to be complete. It also means that most of the time the board will look to make sure that the pressure switch is open before it allows the inducer to run, so that it closes when the inducer runs. This tells the board that the switch is not stuck in one position or the other.

So.... the switch has to change state at the onset of the inducer spinning.

Make sure all your inputs are correct... and since the board is new, I am guessing you're going to find that one of the inputs is not correct and that's what's keeping you from lighting off gas.

I'm just curious to know if you have smelled gas during the trials for ignition.... because if the board is not opening the gas valve or generating a spark, it generally means that those conditions have not yet been met.

[theoldscroll]

As timebuilder said, sometimes things like rollout switches ohm out or read voltage thru them but it just ain't there. Go that direction, troubleshoot and solve. BTW, after you find it you'll never forget that one again.

[joemach]

He said gas package unit. So it would make sense that its 230 volt.

OOPS! Sorry I missed gas pac. Was thinking furnace.

[Jeffrey F]

The problem is the same as before the board was replaced so I feel pretty confident that everything is plugged in the right place. I am 2nd guessing myself on whether gas valve is opening up or not have been so focused on not sparking. I have checked the safeties and have made sure pressure switch is opening and closing as it should and have watched on meter it allowing voltage to pass through. I hear relays clicking on both old board and new one that is why I suspected defective board. I am going in for testing in the morning to rule out cancer so I admit my head may not be100% in the game right now, that is why I appreciate all the help here. I am only service guy so if I fail these people have no heat but no pressure on me right now!!!