Navien troubleshooting guide (service manual)

in Navien Info


If you are located in Connecticut of the Greater New York City area don’t waste anymore time!
Give us a call to get it repaired once and for all!!!!   800-524-4280

If you are a regular visitor to this site, or have seen our RSS feed running on another site you have already read our first article about Navien troubleshooting.  For those of you have haven’t do here.  There’s some valuable info there.

Navien service manual.

Navien service manual.

For you first timers, Navien tankless water heaters are some of the best tankless water heaters on the market today, however they should not be installed by beginners, or “do it your self ers”!  These units have many aspects to their proper installation.  If it’s not installed correctly you will NOT be happy with it’s performance.
You don’t just hang it on the wall, tie in the gas & water lines and turn it on like you do with cheepo tankless water heaters. There are considerations, and requirements that have to be many when installing a Navien tankless water heater

In my opinion these (Naviens’) shouldn’t even by installed by anyone (even a licensed plumber) unless he or she as installed a couple of them before, or attended the official Navien training seminar.

Check out this link from a Duel Navien installation we did last week with 20 pictures.

(Most likely you already have a Navien, had it installed by someone that didn’t really know what they were doing. You’re in a mess and read this a bit to late, and that’s why you are here!   but don’t worry we’re going to help you, and do it in different languages)  

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Proper gas sizing, water lines, venting, condensation, special factory requirements, and local and state code requirements for ventilation piping, permits to increase/ run new gas lines!!!  are just a few but the very most important things to remember  (Which so many plumbers for one reason or another aren’t doing these days.)

Well what I have here in front of me is a service manual from Navien.   First I’m going to list all the  error codes that may be displayed on your unit’s digital thermostat or on the until itself (under the cover) and let you know what that means, and what your qualified plumber can do about it.

The Error Code Guide (1)

Error Code(s) – What is happening -  Diagnostic & action.

E001-    Water is boiling inside the heat exchanger
Self-diagnostic/Action -

  • Clean the inlet water filter.
  • Check the automatic flow adjustment valve.
  • Check the heat exchanger, remove and clean with a cleaning solution.

E003- Ignition failure
Self-diagnostic/Action -

  • Check to see if the main gas supply valve is open.
  • Check that the power is ON.
  • Check the igniter for spark.

E004- False flame detection
Self-diagnostic/Action –

  • Ensure ground wire is connected.
  • Check the igniter for spark.

E007- Hot water outlet. (Thermistor- open)
Self-diagnostic/Action -

  • Check the thermistor.
  • Replace the thermistor

E008- Hot water outlet. (Thermistor – short)
Self-diagnostic/Action –

  • Check the thermistor.
  • Replace the thermistor

E009- Abnormal fan motor activity
Self-diagnostic/Action -

  • Check and clean the air filter.
  • Check and clean the fan motor.

E010- Abnormal air pressure.
Self-diagnostic/Action -

  • Check the vent pipe for obstructions.
  • Check and clan the air filter.

E012- Flame loss.
Self-diagnostic/Action -

  • Check the main gas line (valve open?)
  • Check the intake air pipe for obstructions.
  • Check the ground wire.
  • Check power supply.

E015- Abnormal control board.
Self-diagnostic/Action -

  • Check power supply
  • Check the GFI.

E016- Overheating of heat exchanger.
Self-diagnostic/Action -

  • Turn OFF the system for at least 30 minutes then restart.
  • Clean the inlet water filter.
  • Check the automatic flow adjustment valve.
  • check the heat exchanger, remove and clean with a cleaning solution.

E021- Cold water inlet. (Thermistor 1- open)
Self-diagnosable/Action -

  • Check Thermistor.
  • Replace Thermistor.

E022- Cold water inlet. (Thermistor 1- short)
Self-diagnostic/ Action -

  • Check Thermistor.
  • Replace Thermistor.

E027- Abnormal activity of the air pressure sensor.
Self-diagnostic/ Action –

  • Check the vent pip for obstructions.
  • Check and clean air filter.

E030- Exhaust Overheat: The Exhaust high limit switch shuts down the unit when the flue temperatures exceed 149 Fahrenheit, (65 C)
Self-diagnostic/ Action –

  • Clean the inlet water filter
  • Check the automatic flow adjustment valve.
  • Check the heat exchanger; remove and clean with a cleaning solution.

E032- Cold water inlet. (Thermistor 2- Open)
Self-diagnostic/ Action –

  • Check the thermistor
  • Replace the thermistor

E033- Cold water inlet. (Thermistor 2- Short)
Self-diagnostic/ Action –

  • Check the thermistor
  • Replace the thermistor

E035- Abnormal activity of the gas pressure sensor.
Self-diagnostic/ Action –

  • Check gas line for gas, (with gas supply “ON”)
  • Check for debris. (with gas supply “OFF” )

E036- Communication failure.
Self-diagnostic/ Action –

  • Contact  Navien tech dept.

E037- water leak inside unit.
Self-diagnostic/ Action –

  • Close cold water main.
  • Replace leaking parts.


If any of the above solutions do not resolve the problem with the water heater, contact Navien’s Technical department at

1-800-519-8794

If you’re in Fairfield, or New Haven counties in Connecticut you’re in luck.  We are not quite official factory representatives yet, but we do have experience fixing these units.  (Mostly due to poor installations)  9 out of 10 problems we encounter has to do with bad installations installed by bad, or better stated under qualified plumbers. The problems that we do find with the units are mostly clogged water filters, and internal valves.  If their is a problem not easily fixed, it usually has to do with the computer board, and even those are fixed quickly by a Navien factory rep.  Navien tankless water heaters are engineered in such a manner that replacing parts (once you know which one to replace) is quick and painless, meaning nearly every part inside and out of the unit can be fixed/ replaced.

Please take a look at a few of our past Navien tankless water heater installations, and repairs.

Another high quality tankless water heater installation in Fairfeild, 8 pics
http://www.waterheatinginfo.com/tankless-water-heaters/another-high-quality-tankless-water-heater-installation-12-pics/

An perfect tankless installation in a condo.
http://www.waterheatinginfo.com/tankless-water-heaters/last-weeks-tankless-installation-at-harbor-close-townhouse/

Fixing a tankless water:
http://www.waterheatinginfo.com/category/tankless-water-heaters


Navien tankless water heaters are some of the best tankless water heaters on the market today.  When properly installed they will save space, water, energy, money, and work as designed for 25 – 30 years with very little maintenance.

Just a few of our past Navien installations & repairs.

Just a few of our past Navien installations & repairs.

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I’ve got a few emails asking basically asking me the same thing over the past few weeks that were all somewhat asking me this.
Jay, why are you always talking about Navien, and not really much about other manufactures?

The real reason is we talk about them so much, is because

  • (1st All tankless water heaters pretty much work the same way)  However Navien’s…
  • They produce the most hot water GPM (at the lowest temp rise)
  • They can handle large hot water demands.
  • They have the highest efficiency rating on the market 98%
  • We installed dozens and dozen of them, and everyone of them is working correctly
  • We have dozens of very happy clients with Naviens
  • Exhaust pipe is PVC which is inexpensive and easy to work with. (Unlike nearly every other brand that requires very expensive double walled, Fasenseal, or B vent.)  Which just one 90 degree bend cost 53 dollars!
  • THE NUMBER 1 REASON (We don’t want call backs!)  We don’t want to go back and “fix” anything after we have installed it, as that has an extreme negative effect on our profits and our free time.  We install Naviens because we feel they are the best choice for 1-3 bathroom homes with city water.   Eternal hybrid tankless for 3-4+ bathrooms, and for well water homes.

    We provide top quality plumbing information and, free estimates, installations and repairs on all Rheem, Ruud, Bradford white, State, and A.O. Smith electric, gas, propane, Bock, Thermaflow/Everhot oil fired hot water heaters, Navien, Rheem, Noritz, and Takagi tankless water heaters, Ruud, Bock, and lochinvar oil fired water heaters, SuperStor storage tanks, Peerless, Laars, and Crown tankless coils, and repairs on all hot water heater throughout the state of Connecticut including Bridgeport, CT- Bristol, CT- Cheshire, CT- Danbury,CT- Derby,CT- East Hartford,CT- East Haven,CT- Enfield,CT- Fairfield,CT- Hamden,CT- Hartford,CT- Meriden,CT- Orange,CT- Middletown,CT- Milford,CT- New Britain,CT- New Haven,CT- New London,CT- Norwalk,CT- East Norwalk,CT- Norwich,CT- Putnam,CT- Shelton,CT- Southington,CT- Stamford,CT- Stratford,CT- Southport,CT- Torrington,CT- Wallingford,CT- Watertown,CT- West Hartford,CT- West Haven,CT- Westport,CT- Wethersfield,CT- Willimantic,CT- all shore areas, and surrounding Connecticut areas. Contact us today for a professional plumbing experience.

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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Mr. WaterHeatinginfo April 25, 2010 at 9:02 am

Connecticut residents call us if you are experiencing any problems with your Navien 180, 210, 210-A, 240, 240-A, in all NR or LP models.

We will figure out the problem, and get it fixed as fast as possible!
(800) 524-4280 Bruce Somers Plumbing.

We cover all of New Haven & Fairfield Counties, CT

2 Shar April 27, 2010 at 2:57 pm

I just wanted to drop a line to say that this site was really helpful, and the gentleman who helped me on the phone was kind enough to walk me through a few things. Forever remembered as “my helpful Connecticut plumber” I will definitely use this site/phone # in the future if needed.

Many thanks…..

3 Mr.WaterHeatingInfo April 27, 2010 at 5:03 pm

Thanks Shar we are always glad to help anyone in need, even you Canadians! Best of luck. Lets us know how things turn out. J-

4 Mr. WaterHeatinginfo May 21, 2010 at 8:58 am

Connecticut residents call us if you are experiencing any problems with your Navien 180, 210, 210-A, 240, 240-A, in all NR or LP models.

We will figure out the problem, and get it fixed as fast as possible!
(800) 524-4280 Bruce Somers Plumbing llc
We cover all of New Haven & Fairfield Counties CT

5 Mr. WaterHeatinginfo June 3, 2010 at 1:33 am

We’re getting well over 100 visits a day on this page. Why isn’t there more comments???? People, please leave comments. We will never spam you.
we only ask for a name and email so we know you are “a real person”. It’s totally safe. So lets have at it! We can help!!!

6 cckevinm July 27, 2010 at 12:17 pm

So if I consistently get an error 12 on a Navien after a 2 day power failure what do you recommend?

7 Mr. WaterHeatinginfo July 28, 2010 at 8:54 am

cckevinm
First thing to do after a Power Failures/ power outage would be to simply un-plug the unit and plug it back in again. You might want to grab a voltage tester and jut make sure everything is fine in your electrical out-lite.

*From the service manual*
E012- Flame loss.
Self-diagnostic/Action -

* Check the main gas line (valve open?)
* Check the intake air pipe for obstructions.
* Check the ground wire.
* Check power supply.

Let us know how it turns out!

8 ImpliedConsent November 7, 2010 at 10:56 am

Mr. WHI – first, great site, unfortunately, I don’t live in your area; however, with the assistance of your site, energystar.gov and Terry Love I agree with you. “We install Naviens because we feel they are the best, and we want to install it and never see you again.”.
Bravo. 2 days ago, I had our Navien NR-210A installed (whole house). Since I live down south the installer and I agreed we didn’t need anything larger than the 210. On our day 3 … perfect. The installation was nearly flawless (they ran short of PVC vent pipe… big deal … ).
Just wanted to thank you for your site. It’s just another resource consumers can use to educate themselves.

9 Mr. WaterHeatinginfo December 21, 2010 at 9:29 am

ImpliedConsent, I have a favorable opinion of Navien for a simple reason. We have installed between 2 -3 dozen of them, and ALL of them are working perfectly fine.

I will admit we have been called out to fix other Naviens in our service area of CT, but most problems are due to installation mistakes. Their does seem to have been a “bad batch” of units that were sold between 3-2 years ago, which we have replaced for Navien. It’s unfortunate that the “bad batch” was sold, and installed threwout America, but Navien seems to be in the clear now, because we have installed dozens of Naviens over the past 18 months and they are all fine.

10 fixallman61 February 1, 2011 at 5:52 pm

Mr. WaterHeatinginfo
I have a Navien CR210lp water heater. We also live in the country on our own water well so the psi goes from 40 to 60 psi. I installed a psi regulator to regulate psi but my water pressure drops bad when 2 objects are using hot water. Would it help if i had a high capacity regulator? Also do i need to backwash the navien with vinegar water to clean and will the water turn to a different color?

11 mark2702 October 31, 2011 at 2:21 pm

I own a CR 240A Navien which was installed by a professional plumber in August 2008. We have had constant problems with it resulting in first the entire unit being replace as it was from a “bad batch” initially. This corrected the problem for a short while but constant temperature fluctuations started in the spring of this year. We we contacted Navien, they sent all new valves and hoses and walked me through how to replace them. This fixed the problem for a few months but then it came back. This time they sent me a new mother board which I replaced and now 6 months later we are back to taking showers with freezing cold water up to boiling hot water. Have anyone else encountered this problem? If so, what was the fix? Given the repeated problems, do you have any suggestions for a backup system so we are not without hot water while a plumber fits us into their schedule?

Mark

12 Mr. WaterHeatinginfo December 6, 2011 at 4:47 pm

For better response to Navien problems and questions please list you question here, and also email us at Mr.waterheaters@yahoo.com. We don’t visit each individual page often and can miss comments from time to time.

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