Big Maxx ignition issue

[toyotadriver]

I have a Big Maxx 45k btu garage heater. It's not igniting consistently. Sometimes it'll spark and light just fine. Then, other times you can hear a single spark or two (instead of the very obvious spark ignition) but it's not enough to light. I can light it with a lighter when it's doing this and it works fine then.

I cleaned the igniter (wasn't dirty) but it didn't change a thing.

So, I think the problem is probably in the circuit board. Any recommendations on modifications to make it work or should I just bite the bullet and spend the $60 to replace it?

Thanks.

 

[jevoy]

How old is the unit?

 

[jevoy]

There hsve been many poss with the same issue. In some cases the boards are bad straight out of the box. Some people have contacted Mr. Heater and received new boards free of charge.

 

[jevoy]

Posts..not poss

 

[toyotadriver]

How old is the unit?

Think I bought it in 2012. I bought it, installed it, and then decided I needed a bigger one and took it out. It's been sitting in a box in the shop ever since probably 2013. It hasn't been used much. Maybe 20 gallons of propane through it.

I suspect I just need to just replace the board but since it works sometimes, I'm just wondering if someone had luck fixing one.

 

[jevoy]

Ya im not sure about that. How big of a heater did you upgrade to? I have a 80000 btu mr.heater. I put it in this past fall. So far so gòod. 30x40x10 shop.

 

[Richard Cranium]

check the connections, I had some corrosion on one of my fittings and the thermo coupler wasn't getting a good connection all the time.

 

[toyotadriver]

Ya im not sure about that. How big of a heater did you upgrade to? I have a 80000 btu mr.heater. I put it in this past fall. So far so gòod. 30x40x10 shop.

I also upgraded to an 80k Mr. Heater. Same size shop well insulated. The 45k would heat it but took awhile to raise the temp. The 80k raises the temp pretty quick.

 

[toyotadriver]

check the connections, I had some corrosion on one of my fittings and the thermo coupler wasn't getting a good connection all the time.

Good idea but already did that.

It's weird. Fired it up several times today and it worked fine. But, give it a day or two and it won't be sparking correctly again. I sounds like it's grounding out before it gets to the spark gap but not certain.

 

[jdcompman]

Had the same issue. You need a new control board. The igniter should be firing many many times a second rapid fire. It almost sounds like a constant buzz, it's firing so many times. It shouldn't sounds like a slow tick... tick... tick... tick... My unit right out of the box had this problem. After Mr. Heater sent me a new control board, it was night and day difference and haven't had a single problem for 5 years since.

 

[toyotadriver]

It does fire in rapid succession like it should sometimes. Other times, I can only hear a faint spark or two.

Guess a new board is in my future. It's spring now so I'll probably wait till next fall to replace it. It'll be a rarely used heater anyway.