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Thread: Potterton Flamingo - No heating but have hot water.

  1. #1
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    Default Potterton Flamingo - No heating but have hot water.

    Hello there everyone,

    Please help me with a problem my family has been having, me and my dad have been trying for a while to fix it...

    Basicly one day we found the heating wasn't working, not firing in the boiler, but the hot water was working fine, firing in the boiler and it worked.

    We've replaced the thermostat and tried every way of wiring it up, didn't change the problem. We have earth + neutral + live. Three wires.

    Now we've replaced the Honeywell three way powerhead and pipe system. (new switches/motor and everything) checked for leaks, still not working...

    We've replaced the automatic programmable switch next to our boiler and it still doesn't work.

    We tried to wire up both netrual and live by twisting the two cables around each other, in hope of by bypassing the thermostat, didn't work...

    Still not working.

    We've almost gave up, can you please help us?

    Potterton Flamingo is the boiler.

    Thanks, ever ever so much!

    Please respond ASAP, getting a little chilly here.

    Best Regards,

    Laurence

  2. #2
    Automated Home Legend TimH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Laurence View Post
    Hello there everyone,

    Please help me with a problem my family has been having, me and my dad have been trying for a while to fix it...

    Basicly one day we found the heating wasn't working, not firing in the boiler, but the hot water was working fine, firing in the boiler and it worked.
    Is the programmer "ON" for the heating? Often the hot water and CH can be set differently.

    If its not that is does sound very much like this:
    http://www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=23417

    At the moment my money is on a wiring fault. So much has been changed that it's easy to get things in the wrong terminal. Check the wiring again, but make sure you use the wiring diagrams for each component and don't just rely on wire colours. While they should be standardised, sometimes they're not and this could lead to very strange results.

    However, if it still all checks out, then:
    Had *any* work been carried out to the heating system which may have interfered with the operation? It seems a little strange that it just stopped working for no reason.
    Or any other work done in the house which might have affected this? Drilling into walls, knocking walls down etc.

    Quote Originally Posted by Laurence View Post
    We've replaced the thermostat and tried every way of wiring it up, didn't change the problem. We have earth + neutral + live. Three wires.
    Was this a like-for-like replacement? (i.e. exact model replacement) or do you now have a different stat to what was there before?

    The thermostat is usually just a switch contact so you have a supply and return. Mains cable (twin+earth) is often used as it's the simplest solution to handle 240 signals. The earth wire should be connected to the earthing screw inside the back box, or if you don't have a patress then connected to the earth point on the back of the stat. The earth point doesn't usually "go" anywhere, it's just a convenient place to terminate the wire.

    Both the stat and the controller should have wiring diagrams printed on the back of the modules, as well as in the instructions. Usually the thermostat switch is open (or off) when no heating is required.

    Do you have a multimeter to so some testing?
    *** FIRST OF ALL, BE CAREFUL ***
    Mains voltages are present in these systems and you can do yourself a nasty injury if you get it wrong. If in doubt, consult a qualified electrician.
    (disclaimer over...)

    These tests assume your boiler switches mains voltages. Some do (my potterton does) but other boilers don't and use low voltage instead.

    With the room stat disconnected from the control wires you could test to see that the contacts inside switch over as the temperature knob is turned higher & lower (continuity test).

    With the stat back on the wall & wired up you can check that power is getting to the back plate (with the stat temp low, measure the AC voltage between the L & N contacts on the back. It should read 240V or so. If you then turn the stat up to call for heat the voltage across the terminals should disappear (stat contact now closed).

    You can also continuity-check the wires from the programmer to the room stat. Label carefully and disconnect the stat wires at the programmer and thermostat itself. Wire the L & N cores into a choc block terminal to short them out and using your meter, check for a complete circuit. If there's no circuit then the "switched live" signal from the room stat is not getting back to the boiler.

    If you're not getting any voltage at the stat then either the wiring or the programmer is suspect. You can then carry out the same test at the back of the programmer. Locate the wires that go out to the room stat and check for power here, i.e. leaving the programmer. If there is power, simulate the room stat being closed (temporarily wire in the room stat here, or spare light switch etc.) and see whether the boiler fires.


    Quote Originally Posted by Laurence View Post
    Now we've replaced the Honeywell three way powerhead and pipe system. (new switches/motor and everything) checked for leaks, still not working...
    The 3-way valve was the main suspect in the link I posted at the top.

    Quote Originally Posted by Laurence View Post
    We've replaced the automatic programmable switch next to our boiler and it still doesn't work.

    We tried to wire up both netrual and live by twisting the two cables around each other, in hope of by bypassing the thermostat, didn't work...

    Still not working.
    At which location did you twist the wires together? and which wires, room stat?

    One last thing you can try. Carefully label and disconnect the hot water wiring and connect the CH wiring to that side of the programmer. Make sure the programmer is "ON". Does it work now?

    Quote Originally Posted by Laurence View Post
    We've almost gave up, can you please help us?

    Potterton Flamingo is the boiler.

    Thanks, ever ever so much!

    Please respond ASAP, getting a little chilly here.

    Best Regards,

    Laurence
    If you can come back with answers to the above we may get a bit closer to the solution

    HTH,

  3. #3
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    Tim, thanks ever, ever so much for your great post!

    We bleeded the whole system, from the bottom two rads and it still didn't work, which I thought but my dad seemed to think that it would.

    Anyway we got it sorted, it turns out that that the green/yellow stripped cable was a switchable live!!! Not earth, we switched the cables around and boom, the fire lit up! Works perfect now, rads nice and hot! We're just bleeding out the rest of the air now.

    Now the real problem is what caused this all! Hehehe.


    Thanks ever so much for your help, greatly appreciated!

    Take care!
    Last edited by Laurence; 10th January 2008 at 06:33 PM.

  4. #4
    Automated Home Legend TimH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Laurence View Post
    Tim, thanks ever, ever so much for your great post!

    We bleeded the whole system, from the bottom two rads and it still didn't work, which I thought but my dad seemed to think that it would.

    Anyway we got it sorted, it turns out that that the green/yellow stripped cable was a switchable live!!! Not earth, we switched the cables around and boom, the fire lit up! Works perfect now, rads nice and hot! We're just bleeding out the rest of the air now.

    Now the real problem is what caused this all! Hehehe.
    Great - a toasty house
    Our boiler failed on the day we moved into the house a few November's ago, so I know what you've been going through. Took a week to get fixed

    You'll probably do it anyway, but I would certainly recommend sorting out the switched live over the earth conductor asap. That really is naughty of whoever put that in.

    If you find you need 3 cores but can't pull a new cable through you could look at a wireless thermostat. The room stat communicates with the base station by radio waves and you have more opportunity for intelligent controls.
    Heatmiser are popular (http://www.heatmiser.co.uk/)

    Quote Originally Posted by Laurence View Post
    Thanks ever so much for your help, greatly appreciated!

    Take care!
    :blush: No problem, glad you found it useful.

    Cheers,

    Tim.

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