MES30 Issues

[callmepabs]

Hi Guys. So I have been experiencing some weird issues with my smoker MB20071117.

Turned it on Christmas day and was smoking no problem for hours then come outside and realize it was off. Attempted to turn it on again, when the temp and timer were set it would turn on the red LED for a second then all of the lights would dim, beeps start sounding and it would turn off. I would need to unplug the wall socket and try again with no luck. Called Masterbuilt and of course warranty expired three days before. I purchased a new control panel as per their advise and was shipped the new style with the added port for the heat probe (my old one did not have that). It still did the same thing. CC said it was either the power board or needed to purchase the old model control panel.

I am planning on doing the PID upgrade but prior to doing all that I want to make sure I am replacing the defective components. I decided to start taking a look at the internal wiring. I unplugged one leg of the heating element. Turned the unit on and applied heat control. The control panel was able to stay on with no issues (of course the smoker did not heat up). I plugged the leg of the heating element back in, set the time and temp and everything stays on but does not heat stays at 36F.

I then disconnected both of the terminals for the heating element and check resistance to verify a closed circuit at 18ohms.

I have to run out for a few hours and plan on taking the power board out later when I get back but wanted to see if you guys thought it could potentially be the heating element because to me it sounds like the controller is doing just fine.

Thanks!

 

[912smoker]

Never had any problems with mine but
tallbm in the man for this. Shoot him a PM if doesn't stop in and help !

Keith

 

[912smoker]

Here's a thread with a similar issue

MES40 won't heat

so back in December when I was smoking some meat, the smoker just quit and no heat. After waiting a few months for the parts to arrive, I finally was able to swap out the element. However, it is still not heating up. i see that both green and red lights are lit, but no heat. I checked all the...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

Keith

 

[mosparky]

Sounds like the wire terminals at the element may be bad. I never had the beeping before on an MES, but intermittent AC arcing across the connection at the element will create alot of electrical noise. This can be seen by the controller as signals and "confuse" it, if you will.
It's worth checking out. If they are bad, it will need to be fixed before you go PID on it any way and it will buy you time before you have to convert it.

 

[DougE]

Yep, tallbm can get you up and running one way or another.

 

[tallbm]

Hi Guys. So I have been experiencing some weird issues with my smoker MB20071117.

Turned it on Christmas day and was smoking no problem for hours then come outside and realize it was off. Attempted to turn it on again, when the temp and timer were set it would turn on the red LED for a second then all of the lights would dim, beeps start sounding and it would turn off. I would need to unplug the wall socket and try again with no luck. Called Masterbuilt and of course warranty expired three days before. I purchased a new control panel as per their advise and was shipped the new style with the added port for the heat probe (my old one did not have that). It still did the same thing. CC said it was either the power board or needed to purchase the old model control panel.

I am planning on doing the PID upgrade but prior to doing all that I want to make sure I am replacing the defective components. I decided to start taking a look at the internal wiring. I unplugged one leg of the heating element. Turned the unit on and applied heat control. The control panel was able to stay on with no issues (of course the smoker did not heat up). I plugged the leg of the heating element back in, set the time and temp and everything stays on but does not heat stays at 36F.

I then disconnected both of the terminals for the heating element and check resistance to verify a closed circuit at 18ohms.

I have to run out for a few hours and plan on taking the power board out later when I get back but wanted to see if you guys thought it could potentially be the heating element because to me it sounds like the controller is doing just fine.

Thanks!

Hi there and welcome!

I think your heating element is ok from what you have checked.

The next thing to check is the safety rollout limit switch.
It is a switch that will detect if the smoker is too hot and will cut power to the heating element. This is what it looks like on the inside of the smoker, left top arrow:

If you are lucky you have a panel to access it on the back side of your MES, if not then I recommend measuring where the switch is and cutting into the back of the MES to get to it and creating a panel so you can easily get to it as you will have to access this spot more than you like. I have had to replace 5 switches so far :)

The connectors and the switch are cheap so either one could have worn out on you and you will see evidence of it. If it's connectors then replace them but BE CAREFUL because if you cause the tabs to wiggle any where they connect to the back of that switch then the switch will melt down on you in a short time from now.
If the switch is already melted down then you can cut the wires and wire nut them together to bypass the switch and that should solve the problem of power getting to the heating element. DISCLAIMER: The switch is a safety switch and was intended to be there to save the day in an overheat situation, if you bypass it and do not replace it then you are responsible for making sure the smoker doesn't burn down (had to say this lol).

Mine is currently running with a bypassed switch but I run a ton of wireless probes to measure temp. 10 min ago I was alerted to overheating. My pellets caught a breeze that made them flame up and I handled it in less than 5 minutes and I'm smoke is rolling again :D

If the safety switch is not the issue (most likely is the issue) then it's your controller board. Check it out and you will likely see evidence of something burned up. Replacing the controller board is basically not an option these days as the parts are not available like pre pandemic.
In this case you do the simple rewire down there and go the PID controller route.

Check that safety limit rollout switch and go from there. Let us know what you got and we will get you up and running :)

 

[callmepabs]

Thank you for your help tallbm . I had some time today to mess with it and I removed the bottom cover to the power board first and confirmed one of the relay terminals burnt. I had already received my PID so wasted not time and rewired. I noticed that the wire color combination in my smoker was different than that of your instructions. Below are some pics for reference and what my final configuration is. Hooked up the smoker to the PID and it is all working. All in it probably took me about 20 minutes to get this done.

As mentioned by many others, if you don't feel comfortable modifying the wiring or understand how your smoker will operate after the modification, you should not do this. You are responsible for making sure the smoker doesn't burn down.

The configuration on my smoker was as follows:

1. Plug Hot Wire - Blue Braided Wire
2. Plug Neutral Wire - Smooth White Wire
3. Rollout Limit Switch & Heating Element Hot Wire - Black Smooth wire
4. Heating Element Neutral Wire - Red Braided Wire

See below burnt black solid terminal at Relay. The plastic housing around the board melted a bit from the electrical arc of the relay so I had to cut it to make some room for me to work.

Final Configuration for PID rewire:
Braided Blue to Solid Black
Braided Red to Solid White

Ran it for a quick test and its working and smoking!

 

[tallbm]

Thank you for your help tallbm . I had some time today to mess with it and I removed the bottom cover to the power board first and confirmed one of the relay terminals burnt. I had already received my PID so wasted not time and rewired. I noticed that the wire color combination in my smoker was different than that of your instructions. Below are some pics for reference and what my final configuration is. Hooked up the smoker to the PID and it is all working. All in it probably took me about 20 minutes to get this done.

As mentioned by many others, if you don't feel comfortable modifying the wiring or understand how your smoker will operate after the modification, you should not do this. You are responsible for making sure the smoker doesn't burn down.

The configuration on my smoker was as follows:

1. Plug Hot Wire - Blue Braided Wire
2. Plug Neutral Wire - Smooth White Wire
3. Rollout Limit Switch & Heating Element Hot Wire - Black Smooth wire
4. Heating Element Neutral Wire - Red Braided Wire

View attachment 526369


See below burnt black solid terminal at Relay. The plastic housing around the board melted a bit from the electrical arc of the relay so I had to cut it to make some room for me to work.
View attachment 526370

Final Configuration for PID rewire:
Braided Blue to Solid Black
Braided Red to Solid White

View attachment 526371

Ran it for a quick test and its working and smoking!

View attachment 526372

Heck yeah man!!!
Glad you are up and running, I know we could get you there.
Now your smoker is just about bullet proof and will perform 50X better then it ever did in the past.

Congrats and welcome to the PID club!! :D