Heat Pump Faults

Residential Hybrid Electric Water Heaters

Dear Homeowner,
This article, the website, videos, and other documents contain supplementary information and are not intended to replace the printed Instructions. For complete details, read and follow the printed Installation Instructions that came with your water heater or parts kit. The printed Instructions and product labels contain model-specific information, important warnings, and safety notices. Based on the symptoms you described during your call; we believe the following information may be helpful. For additional help, click here to find a service technician in your area. Please read the safety information in the Owner’s Manual and the labels on the water heater before attempting any of these procedures.

WARNING

Electric Shock Hazard

• Disconnect power before servicing.

• Replace all parts and panels before operating.

• Failure to do so can result in death or electrical shock.

Condition

Heater display shows a corresponding fault within the heat pump. Common causes:

1. Dirty Air Filter

2. Dirty Evaporator Coil

3. Bad Capacitor

4. Low Refrigerant Charge

IMPORTANT:

Document all readings/results during testing. Should you need to contact Technical Support after completing actions in this document, this information will be requested.

Compare all aspects of the installation to the instruction manual that is provided with the water heater.

Check Maintenance and Environmental Concerns

1. Set the heater to Heat Pump or Efficiency Mode and turn off incoming power at your breaker.

2. With no power to the heater, clean the air filter located in the top of the heater.

3. If air filter is extremely dirty, the evaporator coil may need to be professionally cleaned.

4. Verify there is enough free air in the install environment. This unit requires 400 cubic feet of free air to operate properly, unless factory duct kit is installed.

Check Heat Pump Operation

IMPORTANT:

A digital probe style thermometer capable of reading to a tenth of a degree is required to perform this check. Infrared or laser thermometers will not give correct test results.

5. Restore power to the heater and allow it to go through its dry fire testing. This is noted by “- - -” on the display.

6. After the dry fire testing is complete, verify the compressor and the fan are operating.

7. The compressor makes up most of the sound of heater operation. It will sound similar to a refrigerator or an outdoor heat pump. If you cannot hear the compressor or if the compressor runs for a short time and then shuts off, skip to step 15.

8. If fan does not operate, skip to step 15.

9. If fan and compressor are operational, allow the compressor to run for 5 minutes.

10. Measure the air temperature entering the heat pump at the air inlet filter.

11. Measure the air temperature leaving the heat pump at the discharge fan.

12. Subtract the lowest measured discharge temperature from the entering temperature.

13. If the difference is above 8° F, the heat pump is operating properly.

14. If the difference is less than 8° F, go to step 15.

15. If Heat Pump Fault code persists after following all instructions in this document and verifying installation, call Technical Support. When calling Technical Support be sure to have readings, etc. taken during testing. Pictures of the installation may also be requested.