# Truma Boilers Again!!!



## stewartwebr (May 27, 2005)

Hi Everyone,

Looking for some advise on my C type Truma water/heating boiler. It's a strange one, I put it into storage 3 months ago now it won't work!

When switched on you can hear the 30 second purge, then the gas solenoids open and you can hear the ignitor cracking. It cracks/sparks for 30 seconds then fails, closes the gas inlet solenoid and lights the red "fail" LED.

I have checked for air in the system...all fine
Gas pressure all okay
12 Volt supply fine
Roof Exhaust clear

Anyone got any further advise. Spoke to Truma has said I should take it to an approved Dealer as the fault could be anything....great tech support...not! :roll: 

Would appreciate any help from you all.

Thank You in advance,

Stewart


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## rommel (May 10, 2005)

*Truma*

This used to happen on my old van when I forgot to remove the flue cover, maybe a mouse has made a nest in the flue while you had it layed up and blocked it. Its worth a look before you get a Truma trained engineer out.


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## stewartwebr (May 27, 2005)

Hi,

I shall have look in the vent. The flue is the chimney type that runs the length of the external locker and out the roof.

You've really got me thinking, so far this year I have caught 9 mice in traps in the van, so it could be a blockage.

Does anyone know where the air intake is...is it under the van??

Thanks for your help

Stewart


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## kipperkid (May 16, 2005)

on ours I have to light the gas cooker first, then the heater will work. Running the fridge on gas doesn't have the same effect. Not the most technical solution, but seems to work for us.................


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## stewartwebr (May 27, 2005)

Hi Folks,

Looks like it could be a case for the Truama Specialist!

I have changed the gas bottle, bled it through by running the cooker. Checked the boiler is full of water and no air locks. I can hear it sparking after the purge but it fails. 

I have had the top off the flue and had a peep down inside. Both the outer and inner sections look clear of blockage. Hooked up a mains supply incase the voltage was a bit low. Still nothing!

I shall call the local dealer and book it in. Can anyone think of anything else that I have missed?

Thanks for the help,

Stewart


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## stewartwebr (May 27, 2005)

Update on above; I have had the electric water heater part on all day. The symptoms have changed. Now it appears to light, but makes a load banging noise all the way up the flue. This last for 20- 50 seconds before it again trip out.

Anyone any ideas???

Thanks,

Stewart


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## Steptoe (Nov 8, 2005)

Disclaimer; I'm not a gas expert, 

but all my hunches say the 'banging' ..popping?... in the flue is due to an incorrect gas/air mixture ( this diagnosis being based on fiddling with our now ex-indoors prehistoric calor gas cooker)

not sure how you could correct this though a good starting point would be to replace the burner jet, for fridges the recommendation is to change these annually


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## 93330 (May 1, 2005)

Hi Stewartwbr,

Connectivity can be a problem in my experience, I had a similar fault cured by removing the header plugs on the printed circuit control board, then reconnecting them.

I have just looked at the Truma C on their web page and it looks as if you have a very similar arrangement to my Truma system. It seems there are just a couple of screws to take the cover off, the headers are mounted at the bottom of the PCB.

Remember to disconnect the 12 volts and mains at the distribution box before you start to dismantle.

Oxidisation of contacts is a normal problem on any low current/voltage devices, especially in m/homes and caravans subjected to temperature extremes and dampness/humidity and movement etc, so all connections are worth disconnecting and reconnecting from time to time.

If you have crimped tags (plugs and sockets), its worth belling through with a cheap (or expensive) multimeter, the resistance on a loom should be no more than 0.1 ohms or less, often the problem can be caused by bad crimping, perhaps breaking the connection at the crimp. Holding the crimp and gently pulling the wire can revel a broken or bad crimp.

Regards Terry


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## stewartwebr (May 27, 2005)

Thanks to everyone who offered advise for my problem. I booked the heater in for repair and the annual service. On my way to the garage we stopped off at the services. I thought, what the hell I'll give it one more go. Would you believe it, it fired up and has run perfect for our last 16 might break. Seems very very strange. Just hope what ever it was does not return...perhaps it was a mouse and it moved home!!

Thanks again

Stewart


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## 97078 (Dec 30, 2005)

*Truma boiler*

I did have problems at 1 time with mine.During the process of repair it was pointed out to me that although there may be quite a bit of gas in the bottle for cooking etc the heater wont fire up when the gas gets down to a certain pressure so if heating is necessary then change the bottle, swop back if convenient to use up completely when cooking.Waste not !!!!


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## sailor (Aug 23, 2005)

Hi,

You do not say what sort of gas it is. If it is butane and the weather is very cold, the butane might not "gas off" correctly - and this could right itself when it warms up on a journey. So this might fit your symptoms.

If you use propane then this will be OK even if its cold.

Regards

JeffO


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## 97565 (Feb 4, 2006)

Hi all,

A common problem with Truma-C boilers is a "sticky" solenoid that refuses to open. As no gas is fed into the burner no ignition can take place. See attachment.
When LPG is being used this seems to happen more often due to very small amounts of oil that are present. This causes the solenoids to get stuck, especially after longer periods of inactivity.

The loud noise can be caused by the internal chimney tube vibrating/resonating against the outer air-intake tube. This happens when the mixture is not correct and as a result a lot of turbulence is generated inside the burner.
If you touch the chimney/air tube you can feel this.


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## JockandRita (Jun 1, 2005)

Hi all, 
Ours would not fire up after a period of inactivity, as explained above. We were advised to "*gently*" tap the two solenoids with a small rubber/plastic hammer. This was advice from a helpful Truma techie, and it worked a treat.
J & R.


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## derek500 (Oct 31, 2005)

*Re: Truma boiler*



pipa said:


> I did have problems at 1 time with mine.During the process of repair it was pointed out to me that although there may be quite a bit of gas in the bottle for cooking etc the heater wont fire up when the gas gets down to a certain pressure so if heating is necessary then change the bottle, swop back if convenient to use up completely when cooking.Waste not !!!!


Here in Spain, our domestic hot water and hob are powered by bottled butane. Whenever the bottle for the boiler runs out we put it on the hob and get another week out of it.

Derek


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## vicdicdoc (May 14, 2005)

Derek500,
Do you mean you put the butane gas cylinder on the hob ? 8O . . I don't think I'd like to live very close to you - I've seen how far these things can fly when they go bang . . even a brick wall won't stop them - I shall pray for you 
:angel: :angel:


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## Snelly (Aug 20, 2005)

JockandRita said:


> Hi all,
> Ours would not fire up after a period of inactivity, as explained above. We were advised to "*gently*" tap the two solenoids with a small rubber/plastic hammer. This was advice from a helpful Truma techie, and it worked a treat.
> J & R.


I once got charged £70 for a bloke to hit my Truma boiler with a hammer. It was expensive, but did work. Now I got your problem again... but this time cos its full of water after I jet washed it and didn't put the cover over the side exhaust... :roll:


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## 97078 (Dec 30, 2005)

*Truma heaters*

My heater is gas only ,Does anyone know if Its ok to put the heat on without filling the boiler first ? I did phone Truma & they said yes but I'm not too sure I thought it might damage it. Ide hate to find out the hard way, Ive always primed it first in the past.


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## C7KEN (May 27, 2005)

Pipa you should be able to see on the controller 2 hot water only settings, 1 heat only setting and 1 heat & hot water setting, if its the same switch as ours it will be one click down clockwise for heat only and the thermostat setting on the inner ring if I remember correctly 1-9 you don't need water to use heat only


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## artona (Jan 19, 2006)

Hi

This is something we checked with our dealer last week. Our control only has two settings - heat and water or water only. The dealer advised that you could use the heater and water setting without water in the system but it needed to have no water at all.If there was some it would be evaporated away as the boiler heated up making lots of noise.

stewart


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