As always, your HVAC videos are the standard others try to achieve: instructive, humorous at times, extremely relaxing, and interesting. “It’s like a box of chocolates, you never know what your going to get.”
I really enjoy your videos, Ted. I enjoy the longer videos most. Thank you for taking the time to video your work. I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas. Have a safe and happy New Year!
Hello. I've watched for a while. Never commented. This video got my attention after last year when my heater quit working. I was told they were 99% sure it was my motherboard that failed. $400 later. With there service call and ordering the board.. Labor. It still didn't work. I was told they would adjust something on the new board. It turned out to be a small round metal piece. High limit? They put new one on. Worked great ever since. I told them I don't want that new board. Since the high limit fixed the problem. Was told they still don't think my old motherboard worked. I will never call that company again. I was had!
I aspire to one day have replacement boards in my truck! Instead of going to the supply house like a chump. Then maybe I will have time to relax & jam on the customers guitar 😂 Love your vids you have taught me so much
Only reason I still watch or follow residential style equipment channels like Ted's is to not forget about them....i don't come across split systems very much anymore and over time...you can forget about them and how to navigate through them....even though i was residential for quite a few years. I dont want to loose the skills and knowledge i once gained because i don't hardly work on splits anymore. Dont use it....loose it.
Ah! There you go - this one is installed the right way round, as opposed to the wrong way round, just as you said in the last video I watched. Man speak the truth!!!
17:43- I saw you removing the board with a pair of wire strippers and was going to suggest the bic pen idea (i work on computers, so I made one years ago) but then you mentioned it. But, you have to cut off the business end of the pen and then pop out the button on the top. The hole that's left after removing the button is the precise diameter necessary to squeeze the legs of the standoff together while pulling on the board. Well done.
Watching you work and listening to your soft voice is almost hypnotic; I think it has a new name today of ASMR or something like that meaning relaxing. Always glad to see a new post from the Palmetto.
Its likely that the solder points on the back of the board had small cracks, providing intermittent issues like you induced, usually it is the corner pins that crack. In a pinch, when parts are not available and heat is critical, you can place nonconductive material behind the board to slightly bend the material and force connection, it usually works until you can return.
Good tip about holding the board when pushing the molex plugs back on. VERY IMPORTANT!!! New guys... Listen to Ted. He's giving you all the good stuff you need to know. 😎👍
This is what happens when the manufacturer saves 25 cents on the PCB. It's actually kind of unbelievable how cheap these PCBs are. The beige material is a cheap paper phenolic substrate (instead of fiberglass FR4, like on real grown-up boards), and the board is single-sided with no plated through-holes, which means the solder joints are extremely weak (there is nothing keeping the component pin from popping through). After a few thousand heat/cool cycles the solder joints will inevitably crack and the board will stop working. The new board is a double-sided board, which is exponentially more reliable. The through-holes are actually plated on the inside, which means you have a solid plug of solder holding the pins, not just a thin fillet on one side. I would stay away from any equipment that still uses single-sided boards. Even Goodman doesn't do it anymore. It's a sign of penny pinching to the max.
Issue is that the PCB was mounted on a wobbly metal bracket (you can see it shake when he's troubleshooting). On top of that it had a heavy set of wires pulling on the plug. PCB could be better, but me mechanical tension and stresses will result in any PCB failures. Hanging wires and poor mount locations definitely played a role in this failure.
gor312 The mfrs probably want these failures because it results in service calls and people make money, and more often than not these unreputable HVAC people will just tell the customer you need a new system...
At 19:10 the newest version has a plastic piece that just sits in the metal plate to support the area of the board where you plug in the wire harness. You could have swapped the one on the older one to the new one too.
Times in a pinch, like weekend and not having board in van I have used a little screwdriver in the slot of nine or twelve point pin and opened it up so when harness plugs in its a tighter and snug fit. This happens alot on tranes. Sometimes spreading and opening male part of plug works. Good job.
Good video Ted. I'm rather sure the exhaust pipe never was fixed well enough and simply worked its way out over time or since the last service if the tech had been there and it was still connected. I guess there's a "fuse bandit" running around your neighborhood too. Its good to have a box of those on hand so there's no running out of them. I'm sure that board simply wore out due to heat and power cycles since many of them fail due to poor build quality, they self destruct due to under engineered robust printed circuits and solder joints. Would have been a good idea to use some clear packaging tape and affix that diagnosis label back on the door. Maybe you did off camera or put it someplace else that will be useful. Great job having that part on the truck too ! The surly helps the customers out, only one trip.
Not sure if you pulled the fuse for viewers entertainment purposes to be a Cliff Hanger, but it sure got my attention when nothing fired up when you jumped it out. Greatest Hvac Tech ever ! Ted Cook
Great video. I have a question and it may be a dumb one. But how well does that high temp rtv silicone hold condensation? And you are right about it being correct. It says in the trane installation manual to use that for that connection. Even though when I asked trane they had no idea what I was talking about lol
Use high temperature RTV silicone sealant to attach the air intake pipe into the connector on the burner box so the air intake pipe can be removed if service is required. NOTE: Do not use cement.
So as someone who is looking to get into the hvac field. I have see you change a few boards now, and I have a question. Would it not be easier to unplug one wire at a time and place it on the new board?
Why would you not trace the pressure switch wire to the board and look at the trace side with a loupe and at least check continuity before replacing an expensive board. Chances are (for sure) you have a cold solder on the board
I had the exact same issue last week with a trane same board. I tried to make a better connection with the molex with no evail. I replaced the board with a new revision no issues since.
Copper gas line is legal up here in New Jersey. Worked for the gas company.. for many years.. it was used in. The late 80s... But you are correct..... Just a version of the new gas tigh like they use now.. it was all about saving time.. as it is now.. I remember hand therding 2 inch.. 11 threads ouch..,.
Thanks for the educational videos bud, I work on soda fountain equipment and I've found that McDonald's coffee straws are perfect for removing circuit boards from stand offs, set your straws, and the board comes right off.
the biggest issue with copper for gas lines, is from idiots running it haphazardly and letting it touch other dissimilar metals, concrete and other things it can react with, also at the transition fittings. there's more galvanic corrosion at any points it touches something else, so it needs carefully routed and maintained. way back when gas was much wetter/contaminated, it did cause more corrosion issues, not really an issue anymore unless you live on hob-knob-holler and get it supplied directly from wells unfiltered.
In the UK copper is used for natural gas in I would say 99% of domestic properties. Rarely come a cross steel apart from in commercial /industrial units where it is common.
What led your reasoning that the circuit board was bad when the initial board, by blinking 3 lights, was pointing to "another" issue? You replaced the circuit board--but did that address the initial issue? I would have cut that black zip tie to get your wires a bit more "freedom" on the Molex adapter plug. But, it worked the way you did it. I am not arm-chair quarterbacking you; I enjoy your videos. . .I ask out of ignorance.
Center standoff on that board limits midspan board deflection and increases fatigue life of the board....big molex board mounted plug, a challenge to preheat uniformly, sometimes resulting in semi-cold solder joints during wave soldering.
Ted can i ask your opinion on Trane quality declining? My last home i bought a trane 18+ years ago and in all that time only a compressor capacitor needed replaced. Hard to stop a Trane! Advance two years and my new to me home needs a new unit. Sorry not in your operating range. It’s Lennox 5 ton heat pump at 16 years young which means it was/is reliable as well (inside coil rusting away is reason for replacement). My first thought on replacement was Trane, but i’m reading many negative reviews on Trane’s quality … well falling off the tracks. Now i know you’re a bit impartial, but do you have any thoughts on the quality aspect of Trane as of late?
I think that board wasn't stable enough and kept shaking and caused connection & disconnection and eventually burned something up. A board must be tight to the panel.
I recently had a pain in the ass furnace at a nursing home. Found the inducer getting power but not running...no big deal. Replace the inducer.....inducer starts....now getting the 3 flash for pressure switch...verified pressure switch was closed...tried jumping it out...still 3 flashes.....bad board....replace the board.....inducer starts, pressure switch now being recognized as closed.....heat fires up.......blower never turns on....capacitor was good....windings were bad.....3rd trip to supply house for a blower motor. Install blower.....inducer starts, pressure switch is being recognized as closed, heat fires up.....blower starts.....i can finally go home. ( commercial/ industrial, we dont carry truck stock like residential companies do. We carry caps, belts, contactors and a few relays, t-stat or two and maybe a couple other smaller items ). The parts house was 1 hour round-trip. Long ass day...pain in the ass York furnace.
34:00 Not legal in Texas! 😁👍 Its called out copper = bad and won't pass inspection. I notice a lot of states say ok, and then a lot say nope on the whole controversy. One arm chair constructive criticism would have been to cut the zip tie so the wires aren't pulled so tight and put a new one on. Other than that great video and troubleshooting sir. 🍺
it's wise to strap the pipe and screw to the case on horizontal furnace flues. that does appear to have "the roofers were here" written all over it, as well as the problem of glue instead of silicone. wrap steel strap around the flue, bolt it tight and over screwed to side of cabinet. that's sure not the first one I've seen ripped out. even some vertical unit's were ripped out because the flue was their dog chain tie point, ""gee, why do we have headaches feel drowsy and have CO alarm going off"" 🙄
Ahh the old cracked solder on the back of the board problem. I've replaced many boards because of this. Also have broke out the soldering iron and repaired a few. Also what Japanese restaurant do you prefer in the upstate? I always preferred Mimi's in Simpsonville but they have shutdown now.
not minnesota there. suppose to get -35*f windchill tonight everyday i drive to/from work in blizzards 20mph commute very bad roads daily this past sunday night visibility only a foot or 2 in front of my bumper i drive a old '91 k1500 all the way home these new pickups pull over side of the road flashers on windshield wipers big clumps ice/frozen snow then i pass them they all followed me home 2 1/2 hour drive home convoy of new trucks behind me same thing tonight. feels good to see green lawn & sunshine in a yt video
The solder points on the backs of those boards crack over time, White Rogers boards are famous for it. You wiggle the wires at the board and get trips in operation with all the plug terminals seated properly in the plug, Go get a board!
Replace the board. It could be bad solder, intermittent relay, cracked trace, etc. It’s not worth a callback and the customer will not be happy whenever the board fails again (and it will fail).
Not that you didn't fix the furnace, but my experience suggests a different root cause of the failure. The weak spot is those round pin connectors. What probably fixed this furnace was the need to rotate the 12-way connector 180° to match the new board. This placed new forces on the contacts which were better than the original position. The cure might be for you and your colleagues here on RU-vid to ask furnace makers to stop using round pin connectors and switch to small flat pin connectors like the auto industry uses.
@@TedCookHVAC I totally understand then. I am just starting out myself. I have a guitar now, but I still need to get the tuning done and what not because it's used and I got it for free basically. You played well and made me want to play.
Really enjoy all your advice and years of experience. When you get a chance what do you think of the Halo Rene ultraviolet peroxide inducing air purifier to that I would like to have installed. Thank you for all your videos. Please try to answer this question.
I bought a house 1.5 years ago. An inspector told me I need a new air-conditioning and heater unit. After watching your videos. I said hell no. I have replaced one door switch for the heater and had freon added for the a/c. All for less than $360. Thank you for your videos.
I ONCE SAID TO A GUY LOOKING FOR A TOOL, " IF IT HAD BEEN A SNAKE IT WOULD HAVE BIT YOU AND HE REPLIED, "IF IT HAD BEEN A SNAKE I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR IT."
I live in Oklahoma and love to watch your videos but I’m sure glad we sniped Venables from you guys!! Stoops made a big mistake replacing him with his dumbass brother!
Call a Trane/American Standard distributor, or call Ted. You need burners after 3 years? Why? Were the orifices and springs changed, and pressures set correctly?
Hi there, I'm having almost the same situation. Keep getting a pressure switch code on a Goodman package unit. It goes thru the whole cycle for about 3 to 4 minute, then error. Any suggestions?
Could be an exhaust flow issue/restriction somewhere, or a bad board connection, since it works for a few minutes. I had that happen to me, and it turned out it was a frosted-up plastic grate on the exhaust pipe atop the roof. In hindsight, climbing onto the snowy roof in winter, was probably more dangerous than the voltage in the furnace lol. A trick to see if there is a loose connection/board solder joint issue; is to flex the wires in a different way than they've been all their life. If you've got the wire slack, turning the big plug 360 degrees and plugging it back on and see if the behavior changes, and wiggling all the wires a little during that 3-4 minutes to see if it drops out early. To note though; I'm not a professional, just a circuit board guy that knows safety around 120v.
Pull out the pressure switch hose from the cold end header box (the side that goes to the furnace) and look at the port. If you see some calcium buildup, fit a screwdriver the size of the hole and turn and push/pull to clear out. Using the same hose, pull off of pressure switch and connect to cold end header box and blow hard. Reconnect to pressure switch and retest. If that doesn't fix it it's either, vent pipe related or drain if it's a high efficiency furnace.
it's usually more from vibration than heat cycling that breaks the connector plug solder joints. but some do have relay contact failures which then cooks there own solder joints loose.
I do have one question. When you were disconnecting the old board, you were pulling the wires instead of the spade connectors themselves. We’re you testing for loose spade terminal wiring connections?
