Fc37a106430314 arcing problem

The arcing sound comes from a loose fit. You may have to bend the contact bar so it fits tightly against the unit.

I had a similar problem with mine. It looked to me like the vanes were fluttering and causing arcing. I found an old piece of comb and slid the tines between the vanes to stabilize them. You might have to try it several times to get the position just right. So far its worked for me.

It is normal to hear occasional snapping from your Electronic Air Cleaner. This occurs when larger particles are caught by the ionizer wires. Continuous snapping is not normal however, and should be investigated as outlined below: Please note that the metal electronic cells may have some sharp edges; use care when handling the cells. Wear gloves to protect your hands from being cut if needed. Remove both electronic cells. Make sure that there is no hair, dirt, sand or any debris on the bottom inside the Electronic air cleaner. If there is, remove what you can by hand. If a lot of debris is left in bottom of the Air Cleaner, you may want to use a vacuum attachment to see if you can vacuum up what you can. Do not vacuum the Pre-filter or Post filter this may damage it. Close the access door, and then turn on the Electronic Air Cleaner and the system fan. If the snapping continues with the cells removed, contact your heating and cooling contractor for service on the unit and turn off the Electronic Air Cleaner’s power. If snapping does not continue, make sure the electronic cells are clean, dry and properly installed. Inspect the electronic cells for bent collector plates, broken wires between the plates, dirt on the insulators, and damaged collector contact tabs located on the top of the cells. Make sure the pre-filters are in good condition and are in the cabinet slot farthest from the furnace (The order of the Electronic Air Cleaner Filters are from the return duct to the furnace is: Pre-Filter, electronic cell, and then Post filter, if your Electronic Air Cleaner has one). If the snapping persists and you are unable to locate any physical cause, please contact your heating and cooling contractor for service on the unit and turn off power to the Electronic Air Cleaner.

sharper image has a class action lawsuit against them for the ionic breeze you should look into it

The hissing noise is caused by the 5000-volt grid wires arcing. If you look inside the unit closely in the dark, you'll see blue electrical arcs -- these generate the hiss.

The arcing is caused by deteriorating grid wires. If you've cleaned it as well as you can, and it still hisses, it won't be long before it fails.

With Sharper Image out of business, don't know if there is still a repair service for these units.


Charlie

the filters are damp, causing the arcing. make sure you remove them and dry them before you place them back in

You can pull off the rear filter, pull the ozone plates, defeat the safety interlock, turn the unit on, and place a screw driver (holding the plastic handle) one one of the ozone bars, and try to make an arc between the screwdriver and the other bar.

If you get an arc, the ozone plates are dirty. Clean well with a brush and sudsy ammonia. If no arc, either the hv transformer is bad, the main circuit board is bad, or the ozone control is bad.

There's one other thing you can check: The two wires that connect to the ozone bars can arc to the chassis sometimes. You can inspect the insulation on those wires to make sure it is intact.

It's probably arcing due to a buildup of oxidized particles from the air and the high voltage field wires. Spraying electrical contact cleaner in the vicinity of the spark/arc may clean it -- make sure the unit is not plugged in when you do this and that you give it plenty of time to dry before plugging it back in (couple of hours). If cleaing doesn't help, there's not much you can do -- the wire will eventually burn through and break. Then it's back to Oreck or to the landfill.

I have a sharper image ionic breeze hybrid gp that ran fine for years unitl it recently started sparking / arcing at the base of the grid blades and always in the same spot. I cleaned it several times but the sparking always came back and the unit went into either "drying grid" or "attention required" mode. The solution I found was to stand the removable grid in 2 inches of Pine-Sol cleaner 50/50 diluted with water for 24 hours then brush again with the cleaning brush and hot water. Presto! No more sparking.

check the fins on both cells for even spacing on the fins. If the fins are bent a little, this will cause your arcing.

Pull both cells out and reinsert them one at a time. Keep the cell all the way to the front or all the way to the back so it makes contact with the power supply.

The cell that has bent fins will continue arcing. Good luck.