Honeywell R7184 Oil Burner Reset and Light Codes

Read the light

On: flame. Resideo says the cad cell is sensing flame.

Off: no flame. Normal between calls for heat.

Slow flash, two seconds on and two off: recycle. The flame went out while the burner was running. Resideo’s recycle time is 60 seconds, and it allows three recycles for each call for heat before it locks out.

Fast flash, half a second on and half off: lockout. Or restricted mode, which looks the same.

Why it locked out. Resideo lists four reasons: flame seen during the valve-on delay, no flame during the trial for ignition, flame lost three times in one call for heat, or flame seen during the motor-off delay.

Check for stray light

What it means. Before every start, Resideo’s control checks for flame or light for about 5 seconds. If it sees any, it stays idle and the burner does not start.

Resideo’s check. With the burner off and no call for heat, look at the light. If it is on, the cad cell is seeing outside light, the cad cell or control is faulty, or the connections are shorted.

Shield it. Resideo’s next step is to shield the cad cell from outside light. If the light then goes off, remove the light source or shield the cad cell for good. If it stays on, the cad cell and then the control are tested by a technician.

Reset once, then stop

A lockout. Resideo says to press the reset button, and the control returns to its power up sequence.

Resets are limited. Resideo says the control can only be reset three times, and the count goes back to zero after each call for heat that completes. Its operation table puts it into restricted mode when the button has been pushed twice without a completed call.

Restricted mode. The light flashes fast, as in a lockout. Resideo says to press and hold the reset button for 30 seconds, and the light flashes once for one second when it has reset. That reset belongs with the technician who finds the cause.

To stop the burner. Resideo says pressing and holding the reset button turns everything off until you let go. The control then starts again from its safety check.

Read the flame sensor

How. During a normal call for heat, once the burner is running, press and release the reset button. The light then flashes out the cad cell’s resistance.

What the count means. 1 flash is under 400 ohms, 2 flashes 400 to 800, 3 flashes 800 to 1,600 and 4 flashes 1,600 to 5,000.

What you want. Resideo says the resistance should be below 1,600 ohms, so 1 to 3 flashes. Four flashes is over Resideo’s 1,600 ohm mark, and that is worth telling the technician.

Know when to stop

Pump priming. Resideo’s priming cycle stretches the lockout time to four minutes while air is bled from the oil lines. It only works if there has been no lockout since the last good call for heat, and bleeding oil is a technician’s job.

Repeated lockouts. Resideo’s troubleshooting starts with the limit switches, the 120 volt supply, the ignitor contacts, the oil pump pressure, the tank piping, the nozzle and the oil filter. The owner’s side of that list is here: the free checks on an oil furnace.

A control that fails its checks. Resideo says to replace the entire control if it does not operate as described.