Intermatic WH Timer Problem

Users who are viewing this thread

lsc87

New Member
Messages
11
Reaction score
0
Points
0
I know this is electrical, but it goes with a water heater, so I hope to find some help here.

I cannot get a standard, "yellow dial in a gray box" water heater timer to keep time. The manual switch works fine, so there's no problem with the wiring. And for about a week, the clock triggered the on/off cycles perfectly. Then we lost power so I had to reset the clock. The darn thing won't move off the time I set. I don't think the internal clock motor got fried.

I pull out the clock dial, set the time under the pointer, and make sure it clicks back in position. The manual lever is set to off during this. The on/off triggers are clamped into position. I walk away, and the the clock hasn't moved 12 hours later. Like I said, it worked once. It's brand new.

This is the second Intermatic gray box timer I've bought in two months. I NEVER got the first one to keep time. The second one worked only for that one week. Am I missing something?

thanks
Doug
 

Jimbo

Plumber
Messages
8,918
Reaction score
18
Points
0
Location
San Diego, CA
Intermatic timers are made with either a 115 volt motor or a 230 volt motor. You need to make sure which you have, and that it is wired approriately.
 

Southern Man

DIY Hillbilly
Messages
525
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
North Carolina
Those mechanical Intermatics are darn dependable devices. Its hard to believe that you bought two defective ones. Maybe you have it wired wrong?
 

lsc87

New Member
Messages
11
Reaction score
0
Points
0
At first, I figured I HAD wired it wrong and somehow bypassed the feed to the clock itself, but the two clock leads are hooked up correctly. I double checked the diagram. Evidence of this is that the timer DID work for a week, until I re-set the time for a power outage.

After I asked for help here last night, I reset the time again to the correct hour, but this morning, the yellow dial was where I left it last night. Again, I could flip the manual switch and all was ok.

A tough problem, thanks for the help. I agree, these gray box timers should be bulletproof.
 

Bob NH

In the Trades
Messages
3,310
Reaction score
9
Points
0
Location
New Hampshire
It may be that you have a screw loose (in the timer). Or something that is associated with the drive or the dial. I would look for mechanical things that link the motor to the mechanism.

If you can find a way to check if the motor shaft is rotating, that would tell you if there is an internal electrical problem or a drive-train problem.
 

Phil H2

New Member
Messages
124
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Tujunga, CA
Have you checked the voltage at the clock terminals? If you have a 120 V clock, the neutral wire may have problems before it gets to the timer.
 

hj

Master Plumber
Messages
33,602
Reaction score
1,038
Points
113
Location
Cave Creek, Arizona
Website
www.terrylove.com
timer

Water heaters do not have neutral wires. The timer motor is 240v to operate off the water heater wiring. if he has juryrigged a 120v timer to operate the water heater, that could cause many problems.
 
Top
Hey, wait a minute.

This is awkward, but...

It looks like you're using an ad blocker. We get it, but (1) terrylove.com can't live without ads, and (2) ad blockers can cause issues with videos and comments. If you'd like to support the site, please allow ads.

If any particular ad is your REASON for blocking ads, please let us know. We might be able to do something about it. Thanks.
I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks