Induction Hob problem

[Roger Mills]

Our Neff T4543 induction hob has four 'burners' in two pairs, with separate wiring for each pair to facilitate connecting to 2 phases of a

3 phase supply. In our case, they're connected together into a single phase.

A couple of weeks ago, the RH pair of burners stopped working, and the indicator lights for these burners flash 'e' and '0' alternately. At about the same time, a small scratch appeared on the glass over one of the RH burners. I'm not sure what made the scratch - the glass is pretty hard - so it would need to be a diamond ring or somesuch.

I don't know whether the scratch and lack of function are connected - or coincidental. Scratches are not supposed to stop it working, whilst cracks may be fatal.

Anyone got any experience of these things, or know alternate e and 0 means?

Spares are available, albeit at silly prices, so buying a complete new hob may well be cheaper than repairing this one - EXCEPT that it's not a current model, so I can't buy one the same, and it sits alongside a matching 2-burner ceramic hob - so the hobs would no longer match.

I've checked the external connections, and they're ok. The next stage is to have a look inside, but I'm not really sure what to look for.

Any constructive help will be appreciated.

[Theo]

I doubt the scratch would matter. The manual PDF page 30:

has error code: F0: An internal error was produced while the hob was working Disconnect the cooking hob from the mains. Wait a few seconds before connecting it again. If the symbol continues to appear contact the technical assistance service

and various other error codes concern overheating and problems with the electricity supply. There's no code 'e0' though. There is this:

'E is flashing in all the hotplate displays and a signal is sounding The control panel is very dirty, food has been spilt or an object has been placed on the work surface. Clean the control panel thoroughly or remove the object from the work surface. Press the control panel concerned. The flashing stops.'

Maybe there is a service mode or something to indicate what the 'internal error' is about?

Theo

[Andy Burns]

A manualslib document says it means faulty electronics, if it re-occurs after turning it completely off/on, then contact manufacturer ...

[Andy Burns]

There is, but it looks like a gash conversion from pdf to html

"If E Ö and numbers appear in the display panels, there is a fault in the electronics"

[Michael Chare]

A few years ago I bought a new Bosch induction hob from AO. The net cost was £300 as I was allowed £30 for the old non induction hob that was there before.

The new Bosch hob has a timer and you can set the maximum amount of mains current it can draw.

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

Is there nothing these days that is not operated by some form of processor with illogical error codes? It was bad enough when videos used to do it but now for all I know there is a computer er in the toaster as well. Brian

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

If it was made in Yorkshire the code would say E By gum of cores.... thud. Brian

[Theo]

That's Er in the PDF version I was looking at, not E0. But you're right the OP could have overlooked the 'r' and it could have been Er0.

Theo

[Roger Mills]

VW used a make an electric version of their 'Up' called the "E-Up" which I thought must have been made in Yorkshire!

[Roger Mills]

Yes, I know that I can get a reasonable replacement for £300+ - but very few have stainless steel trim to match the old one. Also, most are touch control only whereas ours has a combination of some touch controls plus a magnetic knob to select individual burners and control them. SWMBO particularly likes that, and Neff still do one with that feature - but the price is about £1500!!

I think that the Bosch hob to which you refer claims to be able to run from a 13A plug by limiting how much you can do concurrently. I've got a dedicated 32A supply, so I don't need that feature.

[Roger Mills]

Thanks. That must be a more recent version of the manual which came with the hob. Sadly, turning it off completely - even for several hours - doesn't help, and the fault returns when I turn it on again.

It appears from the parts list that there are 3 electronic modules in it

- each costing upwards of £300! If one of those it caput, it wouldn't be economical to repair. I'm tempted to take it apart and re-seat all the connections to see whether that makes any difference.

[Roger Mills]

I AM the OP! I took the r of Er to be just a place-holder, referring to E0, E1, E2, etc.

The error is displayed in the field normally used for the heat setting - which is only a single character. So what I am seeing is lower case e for about half a second, followed by 0 (zero) for half a second and then back to e ad nauseam.

[Brian]

Depending how you feel about tacking it yourself, if it was ours and a case of bin or replace ( on the basis the parts seem to be silly money), I?d check for the classic faults in electronics which handles high current and/or operates in hot places / gets hot.

Look at the components - especially solder joints- for any that look ?dry?, dull, cracked. If you find any, remake the joint with fresh solder etc.

It is surprising how often you can fix something having just looked for dry joints etc.

[misterroy]

Has the connection to allow single phase come loose?

[Roger Mills]

Not where it connects to the supply cable. The appliance cable is actually 6-core, and there's an in-line junction box where it joins the supply cable, with 2 cores connected to each of L, N and E. All the screws are super tight.

What I *haven't* yet checked is the point where the 6-core cable is connected inside the appliance. I'm not going to take it apart until after the holiday weekend in case I wreck the whole thing and need to buy a new one very quickly.

[Brian]

I?m a bit surprised it is three phase.

We have an AEG induction hob with 4 rings. Two of which have a high power setting - to bring things to a boil quickly for example. It has a dedicated spur to the consumer unit but we don?t have three phase.

[Roger Mills]

I don't have a 3-phase supply either, but this device is designed to be able to connect either to a single phase or to two phases. Unlike some of the new ones, there's no restricted power option to allow it to run from a 13A supply.

I too have a dedicated 32A radial to the consumer unit. The only restriction is that you can only boost one burner of each pair at a time.

[Theo]

Three phase is a more common install in Germany, so I'm not surprised that a Neff unit has support for multiple phases.

Theo

[Brian]

Ok, it sounds much like ours - other than it is a single unit of 4.