I Think My Traeger is Wired Wrong

[Meluch]

Hello all,

I'm new to this forum, and new to smoking in general. I bought a Traeger about a week ago and I tried smoking ribs on it after setting it up properly (including doing the initial pre burn and all that jazz). I happened to start to a pellet fire, which I thought meant something was very wrong with my Traeger. It turns out I was right, just not in the way I thought.

I tried making a pizza the next day, and though everything technically went correct, the induction fan kept shutting off every five minutes or so. There must be something wrong with my fan was my initial thought, but I just opened it up today and I have to wonder if something more serious is at work. After a call to Traeger (and them starting the process of shipping me a new fan), I now think my Traeger is wired up completely wrong, at least from an initial look at the motherboard and the wiring colors.

I took some pictures of it with my iPhone, and I want to see what all of you think.




The second picture shows it a lot better. To my own brief glances, it looks like everything is soldered in to the wrong spot. I don't know if I'm right or wrong on that matter and would appreciate any input.

Thanks,

Meluch

[Papa Tom]

First welcome to the forum good to have another pellet people.

Your controller is different ( much newer) than mine so I cannot go look.

Admit the picture makes me question the wire job.

You should have three (plugged) connections .
Auger motor should be red
Induction fan should be orange
Igniter rod. should be purple

There is of course also the incoming AC and it should be black

The auger motor should run for the first four minutes at turn on then intermittently depending on the setting
The induction fan should run continuously.
The igniter should be hot for the first four minutes then shut off.

So really even if the wires are incorrectly soldered to the controller board one could swap the plugs to make it work properly, but Traeger should replace any defective parts.

[OldUsedParts]

I would definitely wait until I got the replacement part and then compare and replace. With electrical current wired wrong there's no telling what damage might have occurred after trying to use it that way. Good Luck and let us know the outcome

[Meluch]

Okay, so I took it back to Costco for a full refund and then went and bought a Traeger pro 22. It's all set up and wired correctly as far as I can tell (the wires aren't helpfully placed in the same position), but now the Auguer won't turn. It didn't start the first time. I fiddled with the motor and it started then (though with a funny noise I later ascertained was a wire in the way), and now it just won't turn.

This is a whole lot more frustrating than I was expecting this experience to be.

UPDATE: It seems to be working. Fingers are crossed.

[Papa Tom]

Okay, so I took it back to Costco for a full refund and then went and bought a Traeger pro 22. It's all set up and wired correctly as far as I can tell (the wires aren't helpfully placed in the same position), but now the Auguer won't turn. It didn't start the first time. I fiddled with the motor and it started then (though with a funny noise I later ascertained was a wire in the way), and now it just won't turn.

This is a whole lot more frustrating than I was expecting this experience to be.

Yep they ought to work. And thanks be to stores with good return policies.
With the unit unplugged you can turn the auger motor fan with your finger (clockwise) to see if it turns freely because of the gear reduction it takes a lot of motor rotations to get one auger turn.
If it becomes tight something is jamming the auger. Actually the easiest way is to watch the auger motor fan as you turn the thing on if it starts and turns a bit then stops you probably have a auger jam.
If you have a jam and remove all pellets to eliminate that as a cause it could be a misalignment of the auger motor.

Or if the auger motor fan never turns when you switch it on it ain't getting the current it needs.
Could be that the wire that got in the way got clipped or pulled loose check for that. (BTW I have heard of this happening on new units apparently the wires shake around in shipping)

[OldUsedParts]

OUCH, if you didn't have bad pellet luck you wouldn't have any pellet luck at all - - - when I bought my Pit Boss it came unassembled and when I put it together I must have crimped the wiring some how but all I had to do was move the wires around to take out the kinks and it has worked fine so far (fingers crossed) Hang in there, you'll git'er done

[Meluch]

As of right now, it's happily cooking two hamburgers (a pretty pitiful offering) but I didn't want to want to waste any expensive meat until I know it works.

[MT Stringer]

Dang. Sorry about your luck. Mine has worked flawlessly so far.

[OldUsedParts]

Hey Meluch, I seem to always have to learn the hard way and when all else fails "I read the instructions: My Pit Boss will not start and will so me Errrr on the panel ?IF? it is not in the OFF Position with I PLUG IT IN - - - anyhow, I am a PelletNewbie for sure but I thought I'd share what I've "learned" with ya. How'd the burgers turn out

[Meluch]

They were the best I've had in a while! The new Traeger seems to be working just fine, no problems with the fan or wiring that I can find, so I'm going to officially christen it with some ribs today.

[OldUsedParts]

Good Deal, I have found that proper cleaning and proper pre-heating is very important. Of course, you know we must have Ribs Pics in order to believe you pulled it off.

[Meluch]

The first christening was pretty awesome! They are without a doubt the best ribs I've ever had, and this being my first cook, they can only get better from here!

[OldUsedParts]

[spacetrucker]

I am sorry to see of your woes, I have a traeger texas style offset, never a problem but it is old, I did replace the thermostat and the controller to update it, my other is a cookshack FEC100 definitely the most pricey; but it has become my primary choice, the pellet cooker will become your favorite once the bugs are out of it, we have never cooked burgers but have done the ribs, and everything else including pizza. The pictures look great, wait till you start wrapping those ribs and using some dr. pepper among other things, your gonna like it...