What a great video. I have an identical boiler and had to replace the ignition PCB and it solved the problem - £12 refurbished or ~£25-40 bran new on eBay. I also ended up replacing the main PCB at some point as it died too. My gf has a Vokera Compact 28 and an identical ignition PCB dieed hence had to be replaced too - it's a common problem and am now keeping two new spare ignition and one main PCBs in my cupboard as they seem to die after some time. It's an easy 2-5 minutes replacement even for a test.
Had a red light fault. Using the video got boiler reset and running hot water now. Watching full video to learn more about my boiler. Thanks for the content.
I was in the gas industry for 20 years . Got sick of jobs like this and customer that expect you to find nightmares like that . Worried you are round there house to long thinking it will cost to much . What also got to me was the price of the spares especially circuit boards the minute you open the box you bought it . You are extremely good at fault finding and have much more patience than I do .Trouble is the parts are so expensive now Is it easier to take it off the wall and start again with something else and you get such long warranty . But then again its our job to fix them Good work
Thanks!! It is very hard explaining to a customer that you wont be able to fix it. I didn't use to have the time for this stuff but now the company I work for make the time for me.
It’s a black art boiler repairs is. What I do is if I cant repair it for less than £250 I tell them to get the boiler company’s engineers to come out for a fixed fee call out. I had many repairs were I see engineers who come out to repair the boiler as part of a fixed fee call out and all they do is order multiple parts and fit them hoping to cure the problem if I bought them parts it would cost over £500 But they get the parts for next to nothing so can fit a few parts and still make a profit . I do love fault though it gives me a buzz when i fix it and customers happy . But do feel awful when I can’t fix it.
I attended to the same boiler a week ago with the same red light fault, reseted and it fired up normally, no red light fault until today. Again, same procedure, reset, boiler fired up normally. No leverage for me to diagnose further as boiler didn't lockout :/ Totally baffled! Luckily client was understanding. However, I enjoy your breakdown videos, lots to learn. Keep up with the good work! :)
Thanks. Im trying to help people learn the process of diagnosis. Once people have that most boilers make sense. I would like to do some thermal store videos but the firm I work for wont touch them!!
Another excellent video mate keep them coming, sometimes you can’t fix it you can’t win them all and it’s frustrating I know the feeling , down here on the south coast there would never have been a repair attempt on a vokrapra compact! All the big companies including BG would have just looked at it & priced up for a replacement
So true customers just dont understand intermittent faults , you covered everything there you went level9.9 on the 240v test with single wire wrap lol i liked that and that fiddle about with aps blowing and ohms test at same time is just artistry great to see am not the only one with these frustrating jobs
You have alot of patience ollie...every time a customer rings me and mentions sabre now ,there's along silence while I'm reminiscing of the previous hassles .....hello hello u still there :)
Some similarities to my old Vokera Linea 24, served me well for a good 15 yrs, had to sort a few issues near the end of it's life, just became uneconomical to repair. Electrician by trade, fault finding and be frustrating and satisfying in equal measures. Good video.
That was a challenging situation there' another good video ' as I like the process used for diagnosing faults. Hope you're having the weekend off from that 700 mile trip. When you open you training workshop ' i need to enroll 👍
Intermittent red light faults on vokera compacts are usually the black ignition pcb. Changed loads. Right pain in the arse as never lock out while in site
Got one of these boilers least very similar a Compact HE. Last week the pressure dropped and it was being a pain for a few days. Represurised it worked fine for a week. Now no heating or hot water but when I turn the tap on the boiler fires up as normal. When I turn the heating on same thing then faults after about 10 to 15 minutes.
Got same boiler , had same issue from time to time , will work ok for 6 months , play up for few days then hood for a year , checked everything on boiler , stripped out and cleaned. It’s a mystery.
fascinating video..revealing the mysteries of the household boiler...if I watch all 'Heating Geek'.....do i get a cerificate and go out repairing boilers ?...
Noooooo. I don't go over much safety stuff in these, or fundamentals because I don't want people who don't know basics to understand them. Thanks for watching though. :-)
I have the same boiler, doing the same thing, fires up... then goes off within seconds, no hot water, heating no better. Pressure is there. When it has worked pressure gauge has gone very high. I'm at the point of swapping it to a better quality boiler. Is this just a common fault with Vokera and with it being 14yrs old it's time to upgrade to newer technology? TIA
No it's not. Vokera are ok boilers but this was built to a price point. The venturi is probably the issue. If the gauge goes high then the vessel needs pumping up. Get a decent engineer to look at it or upgrade if you wish. Hard to give a good answer on that one.
@@HeatingGeek had BG out to it for it's annual service and landlord certificate on the 29th March!! And when I say service... I mean a check of it. As when mentioned about it acting up he wasn't bothered and said it's all safe, but its the oldest boiler he's seen!!!!!!!!!!! (really?).... and had a repair call out to it last year in March over it not working (had to pay the Xs call out fee) I'm now at the point of wanting rid lol
He's there for a service and only given the time to do a service, he also didn't want the hassle of making you pay another XS and not finding the intermittent fault. You need to pay the XS because you signed up for that (don't mean to seem harsh). Intermittent issues are a pain for engineers and customers, especially if XS's have to be paid. Your better off not having insurance when it comes to intermittent issues. Good luck with whatever you get and remember with insurance you are stuck within the framework of the policy. Find yourself a decent local engineer and you will be sorted for life (or until he retires). :-)
I am sure the compact doesn’t lock out with an APS or Venturi fault. The fan just keeps running. After fitting the NTC sensor if it still locks out then it will be the PCB. The new pcb comes with the ignition board built in.
Thankfully these boilers are fast becoming a thing of the past. However I have worked on many back in the day and I have come across this fault a few times. I found it to be bad connection of the ignition daughter board onto the mother board. I would pull it off and on a few times and all would be well. It took me ages to find first time though.
I hope it stays fixed for you ! sounds like you’ve been on a bad run of jobs lately Ollie. Can only do what you can do when it’s like that. Patience is the key as you know. Look forward to the next video. Cheers
I had same fault about 3 weeks ago, by-passed aps and it worked, so replaced aps and it stopped working, about 2 hrs later i gave up, fitted old aps back in and away it went and not heard from customer since. Bizarre!
I only do the real problem jobs and audits on other engineers. The audits are flexible so the jobs take as long as they take. 7 hours sometimes. As a company we need to give definitive answers to customers. The company make no money on my work but get less complaints.
My Sabre/Vokera does this and I changed the thermistors, the main board and the ignition board and it still randomly locks out. Perhaps you sucked some dirt out of the venturi with your APS test and fixed it - did you get grit in your mouth!
If i'd of thought it was a board fault. I'd of flexed the board trying to reproduce it ( as it was intermittent and not a permanent fault ) . i would of got my eyeglass ( 15-25x loupe) on any contacts if possible , looking for any arcing, Once going, I'd of known i'd solved it. But I did electronics / electrics before plumbing, gas fitter. But you still have to double/ triple check everything, just incase .
Dry joints on boards tend to show quite early from new and when you look the whole board is not well soldered , but sometimes there's one waiting to happen. The eye glass is excellent for this, you should easy see where solder has lifted or the pin/leg of component is not stuck to solder, it has a black ring or hole round it ( you have to watch you don't mistake flux residue for the same ) . This is not common, but does happen , as we've just seen .
It does not matter what field of engineering you are in, the real ball busting challenge is intermittent faults. The key to fault finding is fully understanding system operation at a logic level, control devices, and sensors. You seem to have that well gripped. I wonder though if there were any better test leads for PCB work?
Defiantly better leads out there. I worked with a guy who used paperclips, then put his leads to them. Really good engineer who's not with us anymore, but I found the paperclip method weird.
Hi mate Ive had 2 guys at my vokera compact 25, it keeps cutting out. Light going to red. If i remove the vover plate to alliw for air it fires into life, but only if the heater dial is in the middle and not full, ive had rapide cleaner put through the system to clean it but still not going. Would the heat exchanger be a culprit you think or the venturi? Thanks Gerry
@@HeatingGeek am i correct in saying that if the fault is the same as in your video, but heating works fine, then its not the ignition pcb, as it ignites the heating without problems?
Ive lost count of the time I have spent hours trying to get a boiler to lockout only to think its cured and as I leave the property the boiler then locks out, like children who behave themselves when your watching yet misbehave the minute you leave the room, have electronics got a devious mind that likes to play with our minds, I often think so :-)
HeatingGeek not sure if they are available to public domain might just be for vokera engineers but iv had one for about 5-7yrs.rc05 is like a plug in play time clock that will give you the fault code when boiler is in fault
I'de have only spent about 20 mins max on that boiler. If I wasn't dead cert in that time I'de have packed up and told them they needed something newer and better quality.....
![CAMPปลิ้น | EP.83[2/2] ประสบการณ์ขนหัวลุกจากตำนานวงการผี!](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/T_kFecQw7Ds/mqdefault.jpg)
What a great video.
I have an identical boiler and had to replace the ignition PCB and it solved the problem - £12 refurbished or ~£25-40 bran new on eBay. I also ended up replacing the main PCB at some point as it died too. My gf has a Vokera Compact 28 and an identical ignition PCB dieed hence had to be replaced too - it's a common problem and am now keeping two new spare ignition and one main PCBs in my cupboard as they seem to die after some time. It's an easy 2-5 minutes replacement even for a test.
Had a red light fault. Using the video got boiler reset and running hot water now. Watching full video to learn more about my boiler. Thanks for the content.
Thanks form the comment. I'm glad you got it going. :-)
I was in the gas industry for 20 years . Got sick of jobs like this and customer that expect you to find nightmares like that . Worried you are round there house to long thinking it will cost to much . What also got to me was the price of the spares especially circuit boards the minute you open the box you bought it . You are extremely good at fault finding and have much more patience than I do .Trouble is the parts are so expensive now Is it easier to take it off the wall and start again with something else and you get such long warranty . But then again its our job to fix them
Good work
Thanks!! It is very hard explaining to a customer that you wont be able to fix it.
I didn't use to have the time for this stuff but now the company I work for make the time for me.
It’s a black art boiler repairs is. What I do is if I cant repair it for less than £250 I tell them to get the boiler company’s engineers to come out for a fixed fee call out. I had many repairs were I see engineers who come out to repair the boiler as part of a fixed fee call out and all they do is order multiple parts and fit them hoping to cure the problem if I bought them parts it would cost over £500
But they get the parts for next to nothing so can fit a few parts and still make a profit .
I do love fault though it gives me a buzz when i fix it and customers happy . But
do feel awful when I can’t fix it.
I attended to the same boiler a week ago with the same red light fault, reseted and it fired up normally, no red light fault until today. Again, same procedure, reset, boiler fired up normally. No leverage for me to diagnose further as boiler didn't lockout :/ Totally baffled! Luckily client was understanding. However, I enjoy your breakdown videos, lots to learn. Keep up with the good work! :)
Its usually the little ignition PCB but not worth the risk in just guessing.
Great video. Very thorough diagnosis, very patient. Your producing a lot of brilliant learning tools. Getting a bit addicted to your videos man!
Thanks. Im trying to help people learn the process of diagnosis. Once people have that most boilers make sense. I would like to do some thermal store videos but the firm I work for wont touch them!!
It's a Vokera! They have minds of their own.
Another excellent video mate keep them coming, sometimes you can’t fix it you can’t win them all and it’s frustrating
I know the feeling , down here on the south coast there would never have been a repair attempt on a vokrapra compact!
All the big companies including BG would have just looked at it & priced up for a replacement
thank you. ;-)If Im getting paid I will try and fix anything.
So true customers just dont understand intermittent faults , you covered everything there you went level9.9 on the 240v test with single wire wrap lol i liked that and that fiddle about with aps blowing and ohms test at same time is just artistry great to see am not the only one with these frustrating jobs
This is number 2. I had 3 of these in one day!!!!!!
You have alot of patience ollie...every time a customer rings me and mentions sabre now ,there's along silence while I'm reminiscing of the previous hassles .....hello hello u still there :)
:-)
Some similarities to my old Vokera Linea 24, served me well for a good 15 yrs, had to sort a few issues near the end of it's life, just became uneconomical to repair.
Electrician by trade, fault finding and be frustrating and satisfying in equal measures.
Good video.
Thanks for watching. Had a nightmare one today!!! Got it sorted after 3 hours.
That was a challenging situation there' another good video ' as I like the process used for diagnosing faults. Hope you're having the weekend off from that 700 mile trip. When you open you training workshop ' i need to enroll 👍
Im working in Portsmouth tomorrow and Tuesday!!! probably 150mile drive to work!! Hopefully I will stay down there....
Intermittent red light faults on vokera compacts are usually the black ignition pcb. Changed loads. Right pain in the arse as never lock out while in site
Yep. I find that too. Common as.
Got one of these boilers least very similar a Compact HE.
Last week the pressure dropped and it was being a pain for a few days. Represurised it worked fine for a week.
Now no heating or hot water but when I turn the tap on the boiler fires up as normal. When I turn the heating on same thing then faults after about 10 to 15 minutes.
Sorry I didn’t respond to this comment. I didn’t see it in my feed. :-(
@HeatingGeek It's fine, I ended up just having the whole thing replaced in the end with a Worcester bosch.
Super video helping me out a lot as I am also a breakdown engineer good work👍
Hope it helps people understand that sometimes you cant fix it.
Got same boiler , had same issue from time to time , will work ok for 6 months , play up for few days then hood for a year , checked everything on boiler , stripped out and cleaned. It’s a mystery.
Probably needs the PCB replacing. :-)
fascinating video..revealing the mysteries of the household boiler...if I watch all 'Heating Geek'.....do i get a cerificate and go out repairing boilers ?...
Noooooo. I don't go over much safety stuff in these, or fundamentals because I don't want people who don't know basics to understand them.
Thanks for watching though. :-)
Great video great attempt to try to fix,i just hope as a newbie i don't com across intermittent faults to often.tanx for uploading.
Thanks for the feedback. I want to show everyone how hard it can be!!!!
I have the same boiler, doing the same thing, fires up... then goes off within seconds, no hot water, heating no better. Pressure is there. When it has worked pressure gauge has gone very high.
I'm at the point of swapping it to a better quality boiler.
Is this just a common fault with Vokera and with it being 14yrs old it's time to upgrade to newer technology?
TIA
No it's not. Vokera are ok boilers but this was built to a price point. The venturi is probably the issue. If the gauge goes high then the vessel needs pumping up. Get a decent engineer to look at it or upgrade if you wish. Hard to give a good answer on that one.
@@HeatingGeek had BG out to it for it's annual service and landlord certificate on the 29th March!! And when I say service... I mean a check of it. As when mentioned about it acting up he wasn't bothered and said it's all safe, but its the oldest boiler he's seen!!!!!!!!!!! (really?).... and had a repair call out to it last year in March over it not working (had to pay the Xs call out fee)
I'm now at the point of wanting rid lol
He's there for a service and only given the time to do a service, he also didn't want the hassle of making you pay another XS and not finding the intermittent fault. You need to pay the XS because you signed up for that (don't mean to seem harsh).
Intermittent issues are a pain for engineers and customers, especially if XS's have to be paid. Your better off not having insurance when it comes to intermittent issues.
Good luck with whatever you get and remember with insurance you are stuck within the framework of the policy. Find yourself a decent local engineer and you will be sorted for life (or until he retires). :-)
I feel your pain, I hate intermittent faults. Great vid bro!
Thanks. :-)
I am sure the compact doesn’t lock out with an APS or Venturi fault. The fan just keeps running.
After fitting the NTC sensor if it still locks out then it will be the PCB. The new pcb comes with the ignition board built in.
That ignition PCB is problematic.
It does lock out on fan/ Venturi
This are a nightmares boilers broth. Nice one
They can be. I don't really mind them tbh. I don't mind most boilers.
Did you link out air p switch?
Pressure gauge shows 3..how do i bring it down?
Make sure the filling loops is closed and bleed some radiators.
Thankfully these boilers are fast becoming a thing of the past. However I have worked on many back in the day and I have come across this fault a few times. I found it to be bad connection of the ignition daughter board onto the mother board. I would pull it off and on a few times and all would be well. It took me ages to find first time though.
I remember the first one I had too. \Took me 4 visits.... I wanted to cry
I hope it stays fixed for you ! sounds like you’ve been on a bad run of jobs lately Ollie. Can only do what you can do when it’s like that. Patience is the key as you know. Look forward to the next video. Cheers
is the brahma ignition
I had same fault about 3 weeks ago, by-passed aps and it worked, so replaced aps and it stopped working, about 2 hrs later i gave up, fitted old aps back in and away it went and not heard from customer since. Bizarre!
They have venturi issues a lot. Could be that
Fantastic videos. Very much appreciated 👍🏽
Thanks :-)
Out of interest, how long were you there in total? Do you allocate a morning or afternoon for a job like that? Great vids btw
I only do the real problem jobs and audits on other engineers. The audits are flexible so the jobs take as long as they take. 7 hours sometimes.
As a company we need to give definitive answers to customers. The company make no money on my work but get less complaints.
My Sabre/Vokera does this and I changed the thermistors, the main board and the ignition board and it still randomly locks out. Perhaps you sucked some dirt out of the venturi with your APS test and fixed it - did you get grit in your mouth!
With the Vokera Sabre you need to be in front of the boiler when it lockeds out. If not it can be very hard to fix.
Thanks for making an effort
You have to make an effort. Somehow... :-)
If i'd of thought it was a board fault. I'd of flexed the board trying to reproduce it ( as it was intermittent and not a permanent fault ) . i would of got my eyeglass ( 15-25x loupe) on any contacts if possible , looking for any arcing, Once going, I'd of known i'd solved it. But I did electronics / electrics before plumbing, gas fitter. But you still have to double/ triple check everything, just incase .
Dry joints on boards tend to show quite early from new and when you look the whole board is not well soldered , but sometimes there's one waiting to happen. The eye glass is excellent for this, you should easy see where solder has lifted or the pin/leg of component is not stuck to solder, it has a black ring or hole round it ( you have to watch you don't mistake flux residue for the same ) . This is not common, but does happen , as we've just seen .
Before watching I'm guessing venturi?
It does not matter what field of engineering you are in, the real ball busting challenge is intermittent faults.
The key to fault finding is fully understanding system operation at a logic level, control devices, and sensors. You seem to have that well gripped.
I wonder though if there were any better test leads for PCB work?
Defiantly better leads out there. I worked with a guy who used paperclips, then put his leads to them. Really good engineer who's not with us anymore, but I found the paperclip method weird.
Hi mate
Ive had 2 guys at my vokera compact 25, it keeps cutting out. Light going to red.
If i remove the vover plate to alliw for air it fires into life, but only if the heater dial is in the middle and not full, ive had rapide cleaner put through the system to clean it but still not going.
Would the heat exchanger be a culprit you think or the venturi?
Thanks
Gerry
good vid mate your fault finding logic is very good. ex bg?
No. I worked for them as a contractor for a bit though. I liked the job when i was with them. Treat you pretty well tbh.
If your struggling then the majority of us are really screwed😀
I love a struggle. Its what I live for.
Definitely air pressure switch is ok otherwise you wouldn’t get flame at all 😉
I can't even remember this job. :-)
More likely APS, very unlikely ignition board check the air pressure coming off the fan , clean Venturi and fan. Boom.
In the video, I mention the venturi. The fault was the ignition PCB on this one. The venturi is the most common problem with these boilers though. :-)
@@HeatingGeek am i correct in saying that if the fault is the same as in your video, but heating works fine, then its not the ignition pcb, as it ignites the heating without problems?
Cant fault your patience on this one,
Ive lost count of the time I have spent hours trying to get a boiler to lockout only to think its cured and as I leave the property the boiler then locks out, like children who behave themselves when your watching yet misbehave the minute you leave the room, have electronics got a devious mind that likes to play with our minds, I often think so :-)
I think your right. Hopefully this boiler is ok now, but who knows!!
If these boilers are over ten Twelve years old your better of changing the boiler I think .
Vokera compact are the Worst. Red light = 1 of 8 to 10 possible faults. Generally either Venturi, ntc or ignition board.
Get yourself a rc05 to connect to pcb when in fault, then you will get a fault code.
What is a rc05????? I want one now.
HeatingGeek not sure if they are available to public domain might just be for vokera engineers but iv had one for about 5-7yrs.rc05 is like a plug in play time clock that will give you the fault code when boiler is in fault
@@garygormley3842 I did try and find one. None around. Thanks
I just want to know how to increase pressure ..I hate this feckin boiler
do you have any silver valves connected with a silver beaded hose?
👍🏻👍🏻🇮🇪🇮🇪
Ignition pcb all day....
I'de have only spent about 20 mins max on that boiler. If I wasn't dead cert in that time I'de have packed up and told them they needed something newer and better quality.....
That one has never come back. so its fixed!!! proper result. I haven't had a bad day like that in a while!
Jaime Clifton about as much use as tits on a fish then.