Cooling fan troubleshooting

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sjseattle

Cooling fan troubleshooting

Post by sjseattle »

I'm looking for suggestions on how to troubleshoot the little cooling fan. It does not run anymore. As I understand it, when the steam boiler powers on the fan is supposed to run. I have found where the fan is and am wondering how to gain better access to it and the board which feeds power to it. All I have done so far is to remove the front cover and then the right-angled metal shield on the lower right which allows you to see the fan and the fan wires. Wires look ok so need to get further in - what's next?
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admin
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Post by admin »

I had the same problem after I had my S1 for about 6 months. I spent some time agonizing over it but mostly I tried to ignore it. Then one day I had the covers off for some other reason. When I put everything back together, I noticed the fan was working again. So I obviously bumped or jiggled the right thing while I was at it. Not a problem with it since.

Did you look at page 12 of the manual that I have posted on the main S1 site? (There was a time when Chris was actually shipping this manual with his S1's, not sure if he still is.)

http://www.rimpo.org/s1/S1Pix/S1OwnersManual.pdf

At the very bottom of the page is a drawing of the boiler triac controller board. Connector "V" is the one that the fan plugs into. This controller board has to be right above the fan since the fan has to blow air on the triac that is located on this board. When you remove the single Phillips screw and take out the small chrome splash panel behind the expansion valve, you should be looking right at it.

Getting to it is another story. If you can get to it and you have a cheap voltmeter you could check for voltage at connector "V" while the boiler is running. That would pretty much narrow it down to the board or the fan.

Note from the drawings on page 12 that LaSpaz uses the exact same control board for the group boiler triac control, it just doesn't use the fan connector. :)
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sjseattle

Post by sjseattle »

Thanks for the help - I'll check the voltage coming from the boiler board to "V" (the fan) and maybe in the process a loose connection will be fixed! I'll post whatever result I come up with.

Steve
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chas
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Post by chas »

You are potentially in uncharted territory here. With all the photos I have posted that I and others on the forum have taken, we really don't have any showing this area with the chrome splash guard off.

If you have a digital camera, please photograph whatever you do, e-mail me the pix, and I'll post them so others can benefit from your experience.
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Barry

Post by Barry »

While I have not had this issue, I have had problems with the push button control board. The solder points are not the best quality joints I have seen and my boiler LED in particular has been an issue. I would start by looking at the solder points where the fan wires terminate. Good luck.

Barry
Randall7202

Cooling fan issue

Post by Randall7202 »

If nothing else works, you might call "La Spaziele USA" They are located where you are in Seattle. I don't know their relationship to Chris Coffee, but they are the distributor for the local dealer, Visions Espresso, also located in Seattle.

You might give them a call. If you can't find their number, call Visions Espresso (www.visionsespresso.com/)
at (206) 623-6709.
sjseattle

Post by sjseattle »

I appreciate the tips and info. I took the fan out and tested it using my car battery as a 12v dc power source - the fan is dead. I ordered a new one from Chris's. I'll report on it later.
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Post by admin »

Based on when you joined the forum it looks like your S1 was out of warranty. Just curious what Chris charged for that new fan and also, how easy/difficult the R&R was.

It would be interesting to know if you have the specs on that fan. Perhaps we can search the Internet for other sources unless Chris' replacement price is too low to bother.
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