Let’s say you’ve decided to hold a backyard barbeque during the weekend and made your preparation for that.
On Sunday, you wake up and turn your z grill on, but something doesn’t feel right.
The grill fire isn’t stable, so you run a troubleshooter, and sure enough, the root of all this is your z grill fan not working.
But why Z Grill fan is not working?
The fan can stop working because of dirt buildup, loose wire connection, bad controller, and the unluckiest of them all, a manufacturing error.
Sometimes fan motor burn out could be the reason for fan not working.
How can you fix your fan, though? Keep reading to find out!
How To Check If the Z Grill Induction Fan is Not Working?
Before we jump into that, make sure the fan’s problem isn’t something else.
The easiest way of knowing if the fan is working is to listen closely.
If the fan is good, you’ll hear a sound while it runs.
If you don’t hear any sound, you might want to check your fan (you can see it through the perforated plate).
You might also get a LEr error message if something is wrong with your fan because without it working, the pellets won’t burn properly, and the temperature would be too low.
Z Grill Fan Not Working? Causes
Now let’s get to the possible causes of the z grill fan not working.
Buildup around the fan
Someone has been skipping the cleaning part of the process, it seems.
Jokes apart, grease, or dirt buildup around the fan can stop it from working properly.
It usually happens if the grill isn’t cleaned after use, and yes, you have to do it every time you use the grill.
How can you detect this:
Open the perforated plate in front of the fan and look around.
If there’s any grease buildup, you’ll be able to see it easily.
Check the middle part that holds the wings together, most buildups happen around that area.
A loose wire in the control panel connection
A loose wire problem can happen in two places, the control panel to fan connection and the fan plug connection.
In z grills, the control panel connects to the fan with a single wire which controls the connection between them.
If the wire is loose or, worse, faulty, your fan might stop working.
How can you detect this:
For the control-to-fan connection checkup, you’ll have to take the control panel apart following z grills’ tutorial and look for the wire going down to the fan.
Once you detect the wire you can check for faults in it.
Loose plug connection
This happens when the plug of the induction fan is shaky or has become loose somehow.
The fan in the z grill is connected with a plug that powers it.
The fan can stop working if the plug is loosely connected or there’s a defect in the wire.
How can you detect this:
For the loose fan plug checkup, you’ll have to remove the perforated plate first.
There will be only one wire with a plug connecting the fan and its power source.
Check if you can see the loosened plug, if not then you’ll have to look for defects.
Controller defect
Well, this can be bad news for you.
A controller defect means that the part powering your whole grill can’t connect to the rest of the part, or can no longer convert the power to run your grill.
This is kind of a rare case but you never really know.
How can you detect this:
There really is no specific way of detecting this.
If your grill looks like it is powering up but doesn’t function properly, then it is likely to be a controller issue.
You’ll have to take the control panel apart and check if every connection is working properly to detect this.
Manufacturing problem
Another rare case, but it happens.
Sometimes the problem is not the connection or buildup but the fan itself.
Due to manufacturing errors, some fans may not perform properly after a while.
Usually, this kind of case is detected pretty early after buying the grill, but it can take time too.
How can you detect this:
There isn’t any direct way of identifying manufacturing defects.
If you can’t find any specific reason for the fan not working or if it keeps stopping even after fixing it, it might be a manufacturing issue.
Fan motor burnout
In some cases, the fan motor can burn out.
It is stopped working due to a component fault.
If the fan motor burns out, your Z Grill fan won’t work at all.
How you can detect this:
A burnt-out motor will often emit a burning plastic smell.
You can also detect this as there is visible brown discoloration on the motor windings or cables.
So, by simply visualization or burning smell you can detect this issue.
Z Grill Fan Not Working?- Fixes
If you’re sure that your problem is the induction fan, you can move on to fixing it. A not-working fan doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have to replace it right away; usually, you can fix these problems by yourself.
Let’s see what you can do to get your fan working again.
Get rid of any kind of buildup
This is the easiest issue to fix!
Buildups usually just jam the central motor, so all you have to do is get it out of that jam.
But how can you do that?
You’ll have to open the perforated plate in front of the fan first.
Once you gain access to the blades, rotate the fan a few times using your fingers.
That should get your fan to work again.
To avoid this in the future, remember to do a thorough cleaning after you’re finished with grilling every time.
You can also use this grease drain pan to make your job easier.
Fix loose wire in the control panel
Sounds a little scary, we know, but it isn’t that bad.
You’ll have to take the control panel apart first.
Look for the power cord and the other cords once you’ve done that.
If any of the wires are loose or twisted, you’ll have to fix it manually.
If any wire is completely damaged, you’ll have to replace it completely.
If you’ve never replaced any wire before, feel free to watch the step-by-step guides you can find online.
Tighten loose plug connection
Another easy fix you can finish in minutes.
All you need to do is take out the perforated board and find the plug attached to the fan.
There’s only one plug, so it will be easy to find.
Once you find it, you can either just push and connect it tighter, or you can take it out and plug it back in. Easy peasy!
Replace the controller
There isn’t much you can do to fix controller defects.
Your best bet would be replacing the whole controller.
Call up your z grill agent and tell them your issue.
They’ll send you the part that needs to be replaced.
Or, if you feel like upgrading the system, you can order the upgraded part online and then fix it.
Unfortunately, you’ll have to set the whole thing up by yourself.
Don’t worry, we’ll tell you how to do that too!
You’ll have to switch off the power source and unplug the grill.
Look under your hopper and find the four connectors underneath.
Unplug them, then unscrew the screw heads in front of the hopper.
Now you have direct access to the control panel.
Gently pull it out and replace it with your new panel.
Make sure no wire is touching the fan, then put everything back in the same way you took them off.
Get rid of a manufacturing defect
Again, not much you can do regarding this except replacing the fan.
Call the agent and get your fan delivered.
Remove the perforated plate and unplug the old fan.
Wipe the new one, plug it in (make sure the plug isn’t loose!), and close it off.
Replace the fan
If you found that your Z grill not working due to fan motor burnout, then you simply need to replace the fan.
No other fixes would work.
So, we mentioned step by step guide in detail for the replacement of the fan that would help you to fix this issue.
Z Grill Fan Replacement- Step By Step Process
Things You’ll Need:
Pliers
Phillips head screwdriver
Scissors
Process:
Unplug the power cord
If you are doing any maintenance or cleaning job of your grill, you always need to unplug the power to the grill.
This is the first important step for replacing the fan of your Z grill.
Get the hopper empty
Take out as many pellets as you can. You can use any plastic scoop or cup for removing pellets.
After that, you can vacuum out the leftover pellets so that the auger will visible to you.
You can also temporarily remove the guard plate to make cleaning out all the wood pellets easily.
There are 4 screws are located just under the front and rear lips of the guard. You need to remove these screws and take care that they won’t drop into the auger entry hole.
Take away base cover
There are 3 front and 3 rear screws. You need to remove screws to release the base cover.
Gently push the cable up through the cable tension ring which leads to drop the cover down a bit lower. This will help get the hopper box off.
Release the controller board
You can release the controller just by removing the two screws from the controller.
Gently pull the controller board frontward and then tilt sideways, so that you can push it back in through the hopper box hole.
Then the controller may hang down below the hopper box.
Remove the hopper
Release and remove the two front and two rear screws.
Lift up the hopper box up and keep it to the side out of the way.
Now, you have clear access to the controller and all the electrical components inside the grill.
Check the fuse
If there is the failure of the auger motor and tripped the power, the fuse is in most cases possibly blown.
A spare fuse is zip-tied located to the top of the green fuse box.
Cut down the white cable tie and pull off the top of the green box with the fuse held inside.
If the fuse is blown, swap the fuse out with the spare.
You can buy 3A M205 Fast Blow Fuse easily at any hardware store.
Unplug the fan cord
Cut the cable ties using scissors and free up the cables.
Locate the cable labeled as FAN on it that powers the auger motor.
Unplug them by gripping the plastic connectors, not the wires.
Replace the fan
For replacing the fan you need to remove the 4 screws that held the fan in place with flat head pliers.
Replace the old fan with the new fan.
Connect all the cables
Connect the auger motor plug back to the controller plug which is labeled as FAN.
Secure the cable properly using some cable ties.
Make sure that no any of the cables are close to the auger motor fan or main fan.
Fix controller back
Pass the controller board back through the hole in the hopper box.
Fix the controller using two screws.
Bundle the cables up and secure them using a cable tie, then tuck it down between the hopper and grill.
Test the operation of the grill
Before putting back the bottom cover you need to test the operation of the grill.
For this plug into power, switch on the grill, and set the controller knob to “Smoke” setting.
a. FAN: Listen carefully for the fan sound and air blowing into the fire-pot.
b. AUGER MOTOR: Check if the auger is slowly rotating and intermittently.
c. IGNITION ROD: Check if the ignition rod is getting hot by touching with a long piece of kitchen paper.
It should be hot enough to burn the paper after a few minutes.
Replace the bottom cover
Slide the bottom cover back up into place by twisting the cable through the cable tension ring.
Secure all 6 screws back in place. Make sure you are not overtightening them.
Final Thoughts
And there you have it, your answer to why is the z grill fan not working and how you can fix it.
Usually, the fan acts up because of buildup and lose connection, but the other cases can happen too.
We suggest you check for possible fixes before replacing the fan.
If you have any more questions, feel free to ask!
Sources:
https://help.zgrills.com.au/knowledge-base/ler-low-temperature-error/
https://zgrills.com/collections/service-parts
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