When your boiler stops working, it isn’t always a breakdown. A tripped switch, low pressure, a frozen pipe or a thermostat setting can all stop it firing up. These simple, safe checks only take a few minutes, and even if they don’t fix the problem, they’ll help our engineers find the cause faster.
If you can smell gas, stop. Don’t use light switches or anything that could cause a spark. Turn off the gas at the meter if you can, open doors and windows, leave the property and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999.
1. Check the power
Is the boiler display lit up? If it’s blank, check the switch or fused spur next to the boiler is on, and check your fuse box for a tripped switch. If other things in the house have lost power too, it may be a wider power cut.
2. Check the gas supply
Are your other gas appliances working, such as the hob? If not, the problem may be the gas supply rather than the boiler. If you have a prepayment meter, check there’s credit on it.
3. Check the boiler pressure
Most combi and system boilers need a pressure of around 1 to 1.5 bar when the heating is off. If the gauge has dropped below 1 bar, the boiler may lock out. You can usually top it up using the filling loop, following your boiler manual. If it keeps dropping, there’s likely a leak to find.
4. Check for a frozen condensate pipe
In freezing weather, the plastic pipe that runs from the boiler to an outside drain can freeze and stop the boiler. Pouring warm water, not boiling, along the pipe outside usually clears it. Then reset the boiler.
5. Check the thermostat and timer
- Turn the room thermostat up a few degrees above the current room temperature.
- Check the timer or programmer is set to on, and the clock is right. Clocks often reset after a power cut or when the clocks change.
- If your thermostat is wireless, try new batteries.
6. Look at the fault code and reset once
Most modern boilers show a fault code on the display. Look it up in your manual, as it often tells you exactly what’s wrong. You can try resetting the boiler once, following the manual. If it locks out again, don’t keep resetting it. Repeated lockouts point to a fault that needs an engineer.
What not to do
- Don’t remove the boiler casing or try to repair anything inside. By law, only a Gas Safe registered engineer should work on a gas boiler.
- Don’t keep resetting it if it keeps locking out.
- Don’t ignore warning signs such as a yellow or orange flame, black marks around the boiler, or a carbon monoxide alarm going off.
When to call an engineer
If you’ve been through these checks and the boiler still won’t work, it’s time to call us. Have your boiler make and model, the fault code and what you’ve already tried ready, and our engineers can often get to the cause quicker. We carry out boiler repairs across Birmingham and Solihull.
A yearly boiler service is also the best way to avoid breakdowns in the first place, as our engineers can spot worn parts before they fail.
MS HEATING AND PLUMBING has been repairing boilers for over 28 years. Our engineers are Gas Safe Registered, and we’re a Which? Trusted Trader.
