Smokefire ex4 dead

[Mr. X]

Hi All,

I got my smokefire ex4 version 1 as a christmas present to me in mid-december. It has been going well except for a few of the common issues. Now I am stumped though as it will not turn on. I was cooking ribs the other night and the temp started dropping. I checked the pellets and added more and the temp still wasn't coming up. I did a shutdown and put them on my genesis to finish and then tried to use it the next day.

I turned it on and then set the temp. when i pushed the button to confirm the set temp i heard the fan kick on and then the whole smoker turned off. I power cycled and nothing. screen was out. I checked the fuse with a multimeter and it had continuity and called weber. They had me remove the controller screen to verify what lights were lit and I am only getting a single solid green in the corner of the power supply... They sent me a replacement board that i put in yesterday and we were back in business. I connected it up, screen was working and i went to set another temperature and the same thing happened. screen will not light up, only getting the green light on power supply and we are dead again. I checked the fuse, replaced it with another I had purchased and checked with a 3rd fuse just to be sure... no luck.

Tech support is supposed to be looking at it but i am stumped

Has anyone had an issue like this? My best guess is the auger motor, fan or glow plug is frying the mother boards or power supply?

 

[Dassman5]

Hi All,

I got my smokefire ex4 version 1 as a christmas present to me in mid-december. It has been going well except for a few of the common issues. Now I am stumped though as it will not turn on. I was cooking ribs the other night and the temp started dropping. I checked the pellets and added more and the temp still wasn't coming up. I did a shutdown and put them on my genesis to finish and then tried to use it the next day.

I turned it on and then set the temp. when i pushed the button to confirm the set temp i heard the fan kick on and then the whole smoker turned off. I power cycled and nothing. screen was out. I checked the fuse with a multimeter and it had continuity and called weber. They had me remove the controller screen to verify what lights were lit and I am only getting a single solid green in the corner of the power supply... They sent me a replacement board that i put in yesterday and we were back in business. I connected it up, screen was working and i went to set another temperature and the same thing happened. screen will not light up, only getting the green light on power supply and we are dead again. I checked the fuse, replaced it with another I had purchased and checked with a 3rd fuse just to be sure... no luck.

Tech support is supposed to be looking at it but i am stumped

Has anyone had an issue like this? My best guess is the auger motor, fan or glow plug is frying the mother boards or power supply?

A bound auger motor could cause this. Have you replaced the old two-piece auger assembly with the new one piece unit? Either way, empty the hopper and look for pellet dust at the bottom end of the auger that might be binding it. Also, try pulling the auger out and emptying out all pellets before reassembling and checking to make sure that it rotates freely.

Also, a short in the motor itself could cause this problem, assuming that the quick connectors are firmly seated.

As far as the glow plug, that overages off of a separate DC power supply. However, if you have a multi-meter you can always check for continuity.

 

[Mr. X]

Yes I did replace it with the new style. I will try taking it out and checking to see what kind of shape it is in. One thing I did notice that the last couple cooks I did when we had some rain made the fire ash pan and drip pan fill with water. Has anyone else had issues with that.? I did buy a cover but it is difficult and almost impossible to cover what it is cooking and we get a storm! I did buy some gasket material. I think thats an issue with water running down the unit in finding openings?

I don’t think the two are connected but will look at the auger

 

[Mr. X]

I checked the auger motor and can’t really spin it freely by hand? There is some play in the auger where it connects to the motor as well as a lot of pellets and stuff. I guess I need to wait for the official explanation from Weber. He has it is the smoke fire is dead. I disconnected all the cables from the board except for power and it is still not doing anything. I checked the fuse and no luck

 

[AHoneyman]

I have ran the SF in pouring rain for over twelve hours straight and not had a problem.

 

[Mr. X]

Yes I have use mine in the rain as well. I did notice today that the drip pan was full of water and my suspicion is some of the felt material they use to seal is leaving a gap. I did get some smoker sealer fabric that I am going to put in some key spots.

 

[Chris Z]

Question... Did you build this or was it given to you assembled?

 

[Mr. X]

Hi yes I built it. Lowes offered to assemble it but I have had terrible luck with that in the past. As this is a version one I am wondering if the version two had more of the felt strips where the fire box and Ash fan connect. I probably have a good 10-15 cooks on it with no issue.

I am assuming it it is the auger motor the fan Or the glow plug that is causing the board to short circuit. I don’t think it’s the fan as it was running the first time that this died. that leaves the other two as an option.

 

[Dassman5]

I checked the auger motor and can’t really spin it freely by hand? There is some play in the auger where it connects to the motor as well as a lot of pellets and stuff. I guess I need to wait for the official explanation from Weber. He has it is the smoke fire is dead. I disconnected all the cables from the board except for power and it is still not doing anything. I checked the fuse and no luck

Since the auger motor is a DC powered gear motor, it cannot be turned by hand. Sorry if I was not clear...I was suggesting you check the auger for binding. For the one-piece auger assembly that is simple accomplished by removing the two bolts that hold it to the auger houring and pulling it out for inspection..

Sounds like a Weber tech is needed.

 

[Mr. X]

Thanks yes I will update once I speak with them.

 

[Mr. X]

Weber called me today and they are sending out a replacement grill. There were so many variables that they would be throwing parts at it and since it was a very early GEN one they are just going to replace it! Now I wait. They said it would be a couple weeks so I cleaned up my Genesis today. It has been pretty neglected since this arrived.

 

[abmet]

Weber called me today and they are sending out a replacement grill. There were so many variables that they would be throwing parts at it and since it was a very early GEN one they are just going to replace it! Now I wait. They said it would be a couple weeks so I cleaned up my Genesis today. It has been pretty neglected since this arrived.

Excellent, they really do have great customer service.

 

[JpsBBQ]

Weber called me today and they are sending out a replacement grill. There were so many variables that they would be throwing parts at it and since it was a very early GEN one they are just going to replace it! Now I wait. They said it would be a couple weeks so I cleaned up my Genesis today. It has been pretty neglected since this arrived.

Great outcome!

 

[AHoneyman]

What I really want to know is if it performs better than the constantly upgraded models that were shipped on day one a year ago. If it does, there are a bunch of people that want to know why. Which part is different than what we have? And why does it make a difference?

 

[Goneincognito]

What I really want to know is if it performs better than the constantly upgraded models that were shipped on day one a year ago. If it does, there are a bunch of people that want to know why. Which part is different than what we have? And why does it make a difference?

Age and GBS Grates are the only difference between an Gen2 and the first models that have had the newer parts fitted.
I have had a Gen2 EX4 since the start of December and not single issue to be seen.