Honeywell room stat orange light always on.

[grimysparks80]

Hi guys. Tomorrow im going to a job where the orange light on the honeywell thermostat is always on faintly and comes on properly when the room stat is turned up. I have seen this loads of times and i think its getting a back feed from the 3 port valve.

I have tried to explain to the customer that this is nothing to worry about, and that while ill check the wiring i dont believe there is anything wrong. He does not want it replacing with one that doesnt have an led as he believes the `wiring fault` will still be there.

Has anyone else had experience of this?

Im hoping to show him this page tomorrow as I dont think he believes me.

 

[Danny@Phase]

I agree, the three-port mid position valve will causing this. THIS IS NOT A FAULT - just a consequence of the way a three-port valve works. I can provide a more full (but overly complicated) description if you need it.

I have a tester I use (self built) which replicates the room stat/tank stat/boiler/pump in order to test three-port valves thought to be faulty and this shows a similar effect.

A thorough test of the wiring is sensible - I suspect it will all be fine.

 

[sparky3366]

Ask Brian...he likes to think he knows it all...

 

[grimysparks80]

Cheers.Id like as much info as possible. As i understand it the led needs a decent voltage to switch on in the first place, but once its on it only needs a very small voltage to stay on?

The main reason im asking this is that honeywell have told him there must be a wiring fault. im 99% sure there isnt (ive never been to this job before) but after explaining what i think the problem is over the phone the customer made it clear he didnt believe me and thinks my suggestion of changing to a stat without an led is just an attempt to cover up a wiring problem.
So i thought if I could show him that other sparks agre with this it might help.

 

[grimysparks80]

Ask Brian...he likes to think he knows it all...

lol. Hes off sick. otherwise id say this is a job for `the main man` to reassure the customer. How are you mate?

 

[sparky3366]

All the better for not working for that lying scheming piece of effluent.

 

[grimysparks80]

glad to hear it. id kind of like to keep this on topic tho as im hoping to show it to customer. cheers.

 

[Danny@Phase]

grimy, I have a pdf showing the different wiring configurations for the indicator lamp - it is possible that the lamp is incorrectly connected. Email me (danny@phase-systems) and I'll send you a copy.

 

[grimysparks80]

Cheers mate. Will do. is ther a .com on the end of that?

 

[grimysparks80]

just looking at those diagrams. I think the stat he has is a T6360. I know the guy that wired it and im sure it`ll be wired up right. i dont think a wiring fault would produce this effect, so to me its either a faulty stat or an unnavoidable back feed from the valve. Anyone else come across this?

 

[Danny@Phase]

Grimy, as far as I can see, the indicator lamp is connected in parallel to the heating (or cooling) load, meaning that there will be no PD across the lamp unless the room stat contacts are closed AND the timer is CH ON.....

The indicator is designed (when connected properly) to show that there is a demand for CH and that the stat is closed. The load in most cases is a three-port mid position valve, or else a boiler. Unless there is a very strange fault at the load then no PD should exist across the lamp when the contacts are open (CH satisfied).

Happy to stand corrected though?

Regards.

 

[grimysparks80]

Went there today. System is connected correctly. Couldnt find any faults, and when I disconnected the 3 port the light worked perfectly well. with the 3 port connected I had 24 volts between N and terminal 3 and a faint light. when the tester was on the led went out, presumably not enough to light the led on my voltage tester and the one in the room stat.

Have replaced it with a non led version and everythings fine. From that diagram a small voltage across terminal 3 and neutral should be enough. when i turned it all off it took the full 230v to get it going agian, then just a small voltage to keep it lit faintly.

Thanks for the help Danny.

 

[Danny@Phase]

AHA - all clear now.....

That would be the reduced voltage fed to the syncro motor to hold it in it's mid-position..... glad you got it sorted. The same reason that the dummy load (a bulb) tries to illuminate on my home made tester as I initially thought!

Now we both know more, Cheers.

 

[Packet of crisps]

Mine does exactly the same thing. Its not a fault and its due to feedback from the 3 port valve. Its annoying but after a while u get used to it. It doesn,t do it all the time. It appears to be dependant upon the previous micro switch settings in the valve and how the motor has stopped from previous heat demand settings or control if u like. No worries its just a fly in the ointment (or valve).!

 

[Leesparkykent]

Mine does exactly the same thing. Its not a fault and its due to feedback from the 3 port valve. Its annoying but after a while u get used to it. It doesn,t do it all the time. It appears to be dependant upon the previous micro switch settings in the valve and how the motor has stopped from previous heat demand settings or control if u like. No worries its just a fly in the ointment (or valve).!

Hopefully they've sorted it 6 years after starting the thread