Pit Boss 700 FB Electrical Issue Troubleshooting

[slvrblt454]

Hello,

Apologies for the long post to follow, the short version is that my PB700 FB keeps tripping the breaker on a non-GFCI outlet. I’ve replaced a number of components on the grill (auger motor, control board, igniter) and the grill starts (all components working), then after about 5-10 mins it trips the breaker. I suspect an issue with the circuit between the temp probe, control board and auger motor but I’m not sure how to troubleshoot / diagnose.

long version:

I had an auger jam that killed my factory auger motor so I replaced it with a stanbroil from Amazon. Got it back together, auger was working but igniter wasn’t heating. Changed the igniter but it still wasn’t heating. Changed the board. Voila - everything worked, for one cook. The next day, I’m T-minus 5 minutes from putting some Dino ribs on and it shorts out / trips the breaker. I turn it on again, same result. Check connections, retry, same result. Change extension cord and outlet, same result. So I figure there must be a short in the aftermarket motor so I swap that out with a new factory replacement. The OEM motor is a dud (I tested by crossing wires with the fan). So I replace the OEM motor with another aftermarket motor. It fires up, all components working, starts working up to temp and boom, trips the breaker. The wires from the RTD probe to the controller are frayed at bit at the board so I cleaned those up and put some electrical tape around them and tried again. Same result. I’m at a loss and not sure what to do next - do I need a new board? Could the RTD probe be causing the issue?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I’m nearing my wits end with this thing.
Thanks!

 

[bill1]

It's not impossible you have a bad breaker. Try plugging it in elsewhere.
If it still trips (on a different breaker), next thing I'd do is find a GFCI outlet to plug it into. GFCI's react much quicker than your wall breaker. If GFCI doesn't trip but the upstream breaker does, then your short is to neutral return, black wire to white wire so speak. But if the GFCI trips, then the short is to the case ground, black wire to green wire.
The fact you've changed things makes me suspect a wire nut or some other insulator has come off so a wire or board or component is shorting to ground.
Finally, all the electrical components have connectors so it's pretty easy to unplug stuff and see if the problem goes away. Now if something only acts up under temp, and removing a component keeps the grill from getting hot, we may not be able to catch it this way. So you might start with just the controller powered and motor, fan, igniter...all unplugged. After ~7 minutes the PB will throw an error for not heating fast enough (since it won't be getting hot at all) but at least it shouldn't be tripping breakers. Then start plugging things in starting with the auger. You get the idea

 

[Little-m]

Not making much sense bro. The only thing that would pull any serious current is the igniter. Pull the guts out and disconnect everything. Plug only the controller into the wall and turn on and monitor for awhile. Next plug in the motor and monitor, etc.

 

[slvrblt454]

I found the problem. Apparently the igniter wasnt shutting off as expected (staying on for longer than ~5 mins) and tripping the breaker. That’s good news all things considered since I can still cook with a manual light. Thanks for the help everyone!

Not making much sense bro. The only thing that would pull any serious current is the igniter. Pull the guts out and disconnect everything. Plug only the controller into the wall and turn on and monitor for awhile. Next plug in the motor and monitor, etc.

 

[Little-m]

I found the problem. Apparently the igniter wasnt shutting off as expected (staying on for longer than ~5 mins) and tripping the breaker. That’s good news all things considered since I can still cook with a manual light. Thanks for the help everyone!

That's good news. I honestly hope your problems end there. I'm a fellow 700 owner and I think folks here are tired of hearing about my woes haha.