IS YOUR BOILER MISBEHAVING?

What’s wrong with my boiler? How to find and fix boiler faults.

We’ve fixed heating in Peterborough for many years and know how to diagnose a fault on your boiler.

Often, your boiler will give you information about the problem. Some boilers have display screens which give you a fault code. By looking in the manufacturer literature, you can determine the nature of the fault.

For example, an Ideal Logic boiler showing the code L2, as shown in the video, has an ignition problem. This could be caused by an interruption in the gas supply, a faulty gas valve, broken ignition electrodes or a blocked condensate trap.

Other boilers indicate their faults by flashing lights in different sequences. A Worcester Ri uses its own form of morse code, flashing fast or slow to communicate the problem.

Your boiler may have locked out because there is no circulation in your heating system. If your heating pump has failed, the boiler may overheat, or turn itself off because its temperature sensor readings are not as expected. Many Glowworm and Vaillant boilers show a fault of F22 if there is poor circulation. This may be caused by a faulty circulator pump, some sort of restriction or blockage in the heating pipes, or an airlock.

Sometimes your boiler will indicate it has a problem with a particular component. If an electrical component has failed, such as the PCB (Printed Circuit Board) the boiler sometimes behaves in unusual ways, maybe running the fan sporadically or repeatedly trying to light the burner. A faulty circuit board on the Glowworm xi range often appears as a blank display screen.

On older boilers without these sophisticated diagnostic systems, a fault is determined by following the ignition sequence. This sequence usually starts with running the fan. If you don’t hear the fan running, or if you can hear a grinding or buzzing noise, the fan may have burned out and needs replacing.

You can do some basic fault finding yourself by checking the boiler for faults and noises. If you have an ignition problem, first check other gas appliances in your house to ensure your gas supply is working. You can even fix some problems yourself in some cases without calling out a heating engineer. If your boiler is showing a low pressure fault, all you need to do is top the pressure up. There will be a filling device on or near your boiler, or in your airing cupboard. You can often reset the boiler to get it going again. It’s a good idea to record the fault code first, as this information is useful for your heating engineer when diagnosing the fault.

You must never work on your own boiler unless you are qualified. However, having some background information on fault codes, noise or strange behaviour on your boiler will be useful when you call your local qualified heating engineers.