# Heatilator won’t stay lit



## MENCAN

Hello, I have a Heatilator (about 10 years old but appears to be in good condition) with electronic ignition (no pilot) which will start sometimes and run for a few minutes, then shut down.  Other times it will only start for a few seconds and shut down.  In the best situation, I have only been able to get it to run for a maximum of 20 minutes before it shuts down.  Service people checked and cleaned all wire contacts but still no success.  Any ideas appreciated.  Thanks.


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## DAKSY

Hey, MENCAN...

I have a Heatilator (about 10 years old but appears to be in good condition) with electronic ignition (no pilot) which will start sometimes and run for a few minutes, then shut down.

Direct Spark Ignition? Hot Surface Ignition? Got pix of the ignition assembly? 

Other times it will only start for a few seconds and shut down.  In the best situation, I have only been able to get it to run for a maximum of 20 minutes before it shuts down.  Service people checked and cleaned all wire contacts but still no success.  Any ideas appreciated.

I haven't done a LOT of work on the older units, but most of the time it boiled down to failure of one of the modules in the ignition system & IIRC, they were in the $500 range for replacement...
If you can post the model # I can pick one of the older tech's brains, but I'm pretty sure there's gonna be a part required...


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## jtp10181

Its prob as GC100E, GC150E or GC300E (they are all DSI).

Have you removed the glass? Check the gasket. Those models used a really cheesy rubber gasket that gets brittle over time and breaks up. Sometimes this disrupts the airflow of the unit and can interrupt the DSI system causing it to go out. Heatilator gave us a part number for a rope gasket to replace it with which has worked well.


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## nofire

I have the same model fireplace and the same problem, and was looking at mine today (GC150E - 12 years old).   I get 5 minutes of flame at best before it kicks off, but more often it doesn't even ignite all the way.

We had repair guys out about 4-5 times and never solved it.  I took the glass off mine earlier tonight and it fires up great and seems to run indefinitely while the glass is off. 

Where is the gasket you are talking about - do you mean the seal with the glass not being secure, or is there a gasket somewhere within the unit that needs to be replaced?


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## jtp10181

Where the glass meets up with the fireplace there is supposed to be a rubber gasket attached to the unit all the way around. If chunks (or all of it) are missing it can effect the airflow in the fireplace. The glass should basically just be a flat sheet of glass with a thin rubber U channel on top and bottom for protection against the metal brackets.


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## DAKSY

I took the glass off mine earlier tonight and it fires up great and seems to run indefinitely while the glass is off. 

Really? Then I would check for obstructions in your venting system...
If it runs with the glass OFF & shuts down with the glass ON, that's generally a sign that it's starving for air...


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## jtp10181

These GC100 units are really tricky to troubleshoot... it running with the glass off only tells me one thing, the problem has to do with airflow or fuel/air mix.


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## stovetechri

i would check the pilot flame against the senser probe and make a shield  to block turbulence.


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## jtp10181

It as no pilot, he already stated that. Its probably a DSI system which direct sparks the burner gas to ignite.


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## MENCAN

Merry Christmas everyone.

Thanks for all of your ideas.  Turns out the ignitor assembly was defective.  Keep your fingers crossed but it ran for 30 minutes and started on the first try.  The longest it had ever run was 25 minutes and in most cases, it would only run for a few minutes before shutting down.  Also, after shutting it down intentionally this time, while it was still hot, it was able to be started up immediately again without problem.  

It had a broken wire leading to the ignitor which could not be seen until taking the ignitor out of the unit.  The break in the wire was actually up inside the base of the ignitor portion itself.  Apparently when it would start up, it ran only for a few minutes until the broken wire connection changed position as it heated up and then ultimately caused it to shut down.  I believe the ignitor assembly also includes a flame sensor which might have actually been the source of the problem.  If this does not fix the problem long term, I will post another message.  

The Heatilator part number for our particular fireplace model (GCDC42ENAT) is 26541.  Cost was $51.00 plus tax and shipping.  

Thanks, MENCAN


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