# Help! Pellet stove not feeding pellets. No power going to auger motor.  Quadrafire Santa Fe



## Airstang93 (Dec 8, 2016)

Hello,

Im at a loss, i have a quadra fire santa fe pellet stove insert. original owners had it installed in 2010, we bought the house in 2014 and used the stove during the winter with no issues.  Last year, 2015, I attempted to start the stove for the winter and it did not feed pellets, i left it sit all winter. This fall i started messing with it, ive changed all 3 snap discs, igniter, thermocouplar, vacuum switch and had the chimney swept out.  Im still not getting the stove to feed pellets.  I pulled the auger out and made sure there was no blockage.  I also jumped the motor and found it still spins. The convection and exhaust blower both work and i get a fire if i load the burn pot with pellets.  The chimney sweepers put a volt meterto the auger motor and he told me it was getting no power to the motor. Any ideas where to go from here?

Thanks


----------



## heat seeker (Dec 8, 2016)

Is the combustion blower motor turning and getting power? If it is, as a temporary test, jumper the vacuum switch and try. Unplug the stove before working inside, of course.


----------



## Airstang93 (Dec 8, 2016)

heat seeker said:


> Is the combustion blower motor turning and getting power? If it is, as a temporary test, jumper the vacuum switch and try. Unplug the stove before working inside, of course.



Yes, combustion turns on as soon as i plug it in. I used a 5amp fuse last night and jumped the vacuum switch, nothing changed.


----------



## Lake Girl (Dec 8, 2016)

For the bad news ... sounds like a board issue.  If the combustion blower comes on as soon as you plug it in , that is likely what it is.  Some stoves do this automatically, shutting down after it determines there is not heat ... the Elena does.  Don't think quadrafires do but have been wrong before!  Will poke around the manual a bit.

Have you had it on a surge protector?  If not get one for the new control.


----------



## Airstang93 (Dec 8, 2016)

Lake Girl said:


> For the bad news ... sounds like a board issue.  If the combustion blower comes on as soon as you plug it in , that is likely what it is.  Some stoves do this automatically, shutting down after it determines there is not heat ... the Elena does.  Don't think quadrafires do but have been wrong before!  Will poke around the manual a bit.
> 
> Have you had it on a surge protector?  If not get one for the new control.



Not on a surge protector. We dont keep it plugged in unless we are using it and like i said, it worked fine in 2014, unplugged it for the summer, then plugged in for 2015 and no feeding. Unsure if the power ever went out whike we used it in 2014, dont believe it did. I was thinking board since ive replaced everything just wanted to see if anyone had any other suggestions before dropping 200 bucks.


----------



## Lake Girl (Dec 8, 2016)

Junction box and wiring harness or control board?  http://woodheatstoves.com/junction-box-w-wire-harness-santa-fe-castile-p-2112.html?cPath=193_751_644

Would double check all my wiring connections first after unplugging to work in the cabinet.

Not just power loss that kills them ... line fluctuations of highs and lows will do it too.


----------



## MButkus (Dec 8, 2016)

Connection wire to the auger.  Can you test voltage at the controller ?  Just had someone report same problem (Whitfield), grandpa checked the wires and one was bad, he replaced the wire and all was well.

Is there a hidden switch to the auger, pellet fuel cover or door switch ?


----------



## MButkus (Dec 8, 2016)

Just had someone find a bad wire going to the auger motor (Whitfield) from the controller, used ohm tester to check each wire.  Replaced it and now working fine.
Is there a switch bad on the front or feed door ?

#2 snap disc may be defective.


----------



## Airstang93 (Dec 8, 2016)

MButkus said:


> Just had someone find a bad wire going to the auger motor (Whitfield) from the controller, used ohm tester to check each wire.  Replaced it and now working fine.
> Is there a switch bad on the front or feed door ?
> 
> #2 snap disc may be defective.



I replaced snap disc 2.  when you say controller are you talking about the control board? i have not tested them, suppose that is worth a shot. no switches from what i see on the feed door


----------



## kappel15 (Dec 8, 2016)

I can't remember what year, when they started putting switches on the hopper door. If door is open, it shuts power off to the auger motor. It could also jsut be out of adjustment . Do you know any one that has a Quad stove you could test your control box in,before you spend the big bucks? And always unplug stove before removing or installing a control box. You can try unplugging stove and makin sure the control box is seated properly. Sometimes they can vibrate loose just enough to cause issues. kap


----------



## Lake Girl (Dec 8, 2016)

Double check the thermocouple ... from the manual:  IMPORTANT DETAIL: The tip of the thermocouple must be in contact with the inside end of the thermocouple cover.


----------



## Former Farmer (Dec 8, 2016)

Did you remove the control board, clean the contacts and reinstall?   Always unplug the unit before working with the control board.

I see KAP beat me to it.


----------



## kappel15 (Dec 8, 2016)

If stove is on(remember initial feed is only for 60 seconds) check power at vac switch. If no power from red wire-- check  control box or wire harness.
check for power at the orange wire on the #2 snap disc. If power is present, could be feed motor or capacitor. If capacitor, you can fix cheaply with a capacitor jumper. Otherwise,you now have to buy a new auger motor, to get capacitor. kap


----------



## kappel15 (Dec 8, 2016)

If you can't find anyone with a stove to put your control box in, or a dealer that can test it, you can send it to me, and I will test it in my stove. kap


----------



## kappel15 (Dec 8, 2016)

Lake Girl said:


> For the bad news ... sounds like a board issue.  If the combustion blower comes on as soon as you plug it in , that is likely what it is.  Some stoves do this automatically, shutting down after it determines there is not heat ... the Elena does.  Don't think quadrafires do but have been wrong before!  Will poke around the manual a bit.
> 
> Have you had it on a surge protector?  If not get one for the new control.


The exhaust fans do come on right away when you plug them in. Also first thing to come on when you call for heat on tstat.


----------



## Lake Girl (Dec 8, 2016)

kappel15 said:


> If capacitor, you can fix cheaply with a capacitor jumper.


Any idea of how often capacitors fail?  2 or 3 on the Elena...


----------



## kappel15 (Dec 8, 2016)

Hard to say as I don't get all around the country. Well, maybe on here.  If I had to percentage, maybe 30 % or more. They do wear out. kap


----------



## MButkus (Dec 8, 2016)

According to a schismatic I found, there is a hopper mini switch.


----------



## Airstang93 (Dec 9, 2016)

kappel15 said:


> I can't remember what year, when they started putting switches on the hopper door. If door is open, it shuts power off to the auger motor. It could also jsut be out of adjustment . Do you know any one that has a Quad stove you could test your control box in,before you spend the big bucks? And always unplug stove before removing or installing a control box. You can try unplugging stove and makin sure the control box is seated properly. Sometimes they can vibrate loose just enough to cause issues. kap



Unfortunately, no, I don't know anyone with another stove. I did pull the board off and reseat it,nothing. I don't see any switches and I don't see anything about it in the manual. I'm going to pick up an ohm reader and try each wire and go from there.


----------



## Airstang93 (Dec 9, 2016)

MButkus said:


> According to a schismatic I found, there is a hopper mini switch.



I must have missed that, where's it say it's located, I'm not seeing it.


----------



## Airstang93 (Dec 9, 2016)

kappel15 said:


> If stove is on(remember initial feed is only for 60 seconds) check power at vac switch. If no power from red wire-- check  control box or wire harness.
> check for power at the orange wire on the #2 snap disc. If power is present, could be feed motor or capacitor. If capacitor, you can fix cheaply with a capacitor jumper. Otherwise,you now have to buy a new auger motor, to get capacitor. kap



There's already a jumper on my auger motor, is that not originally like that?


----------



## Airstang93 (Dec 9, 2016)

Former Farmer said:


> Did you remove the control board, clean the contacts and reinstall?   Always unplug the unit before working with the control board.
> 
> I see KAP beat me to it.



Cleaned them the best I could, didn't want to push to hard on them.


----------



## MButkus (Dec 9, 2016)

Airstang93 said:


> There's already a jumper on my auger motor, is that not originally like that?



Isn't the capacitor on the auger replaceable ?   If you can read the capacitor, any electric store should be able to replace it.
.68 micro fared, 275v    gotta be a $2 capacitor.  synchronous motor capacitor, the capacitor is needed to start the motor, but if no power is going to the motor, something bad.


----------



## Lake Girl (Dec 9, 2016)

MButkus said:


> According to a schismatic I found, there is a hopper mini switch.


Not showing one on this wiring schematic page 39  http://www.mortonsstoves.com/wp-content/uploads/Quadra-Fire-SantaFe-B1-Manual.pdf
Depends on if it is old or newer version of the stove?


----------



## kappel15 (Dec 10, 2016)

Older stoves don't have a hopper switch. Can't remember what year they started putting it on all of em. kap


----------



## kappel15 (Dec 10, 2016)

Airstang93 said:


> There's already a jumper on my auger motor, is that not originally like that?


There is a capacitor, in line, but should not be a capacitor jumper installed new. kap


----------



## kappel15 (Dec 10, 2016)

MButkus said:


> Isn't the capacitor on the auger replaceable ?   If you can read the capacitor, any electric store should be able to replace it.
> .68 micro fared, 275v    gotta be a $2 capacitor.  synchronous motor capacitor, the capacitor is needed to start the motor, but if no power is going to the motor, something bad.


You used to be able to get a capacitor jumper, that you installed in wire harness, when the capacitor went bad. They quit making them, so you have to buy a new auger motor to fix it. I bought a few before they disappeared. Just in case kap


----------

