MAK 2 Star Won't Start

rockyballbuster

rockyballbuster

New member
Guys/Gals,

Summary: The unit only started in "cooldown" mode. Now it is starting and attempting to light, but there is no ignition.

Discussion:

My MAK 2 Star, #372, decided to let me down and won't start. Checked the fuse, and when reinserting the fuse it lit off, and displayed "Cooldown, press any button to shutdown". When I pushed any button, it shuts down. It waited a few minutes before it let me repeat the sequence of removing the fuse and starting. Now it is starting, but won't ignite.

Is there a sequence of buttons to push to reset the unit? I tried the old, downpower it and power it back up with no luck.

Any help would be much appreciated. The unit is currently loaded with 20 lbs salmon that's been brined and prepped. :(

Thanks in advance.
 
Last edited:
W

wolverines

Member
I would try to manually ignite to get thru this cook & call MAK support. If the grill will run, you should be able to manually light it.
 
TentHunter

TentHunter

Moderator
Being it's #372, I'm guessing you have an older style ignitor rod, and it sounds like it's gone bad. Igniters, particularly the older ones, are like light bulbs; eventually they simply burn out. The easy temporary fix is to do like Wolverines said and manually light it.

Take the side panel off and unplug the ignitor. Then you should be able to load some pellets in the fire pot, light them with a torch or just a little lighter fluid, turn the unit on, replace the diffuser, grease plate, etc, and let it go to work so you can smoke your salmon.

Tomorrow, be sure to call MAK. They'll get you taken care of.

If you haven't done so upgrade to the new FlashFire Igniter. It's a very worthy upgrade!
 
rockyballbuster

rockyballbuster

New member
MAK finally lit

Thank you both for the timely response.

Weirdest thing. Took off the side panel exposing the fan, and electronics. Didn't really do anything, just poked around. Nothing was loose, and all the wiring looked fine. The circuit board had a green blinking LED. The unit then ignited, and I've been watching it closely for a couple hours now.

It's good to know that they can be ignited manually. And, yes, I will upgrade to the new ignitor.

Thanks Again!
 
W

wolverines

Member
Glad to hear you made it thru your cook. That's the great thing about this forum. Lots of people like Tent on here with valuable information! I'm sure MAK will get you squared away with your ignition issue.

Take Care
 
rockyballbuster

rockyballbuster

New member
wolverines said:
Glad to hear you made it thru your cook. That's the great thing about this forum. Lots of people like Tent on here with valuable information! I'm sure MAK will get you squared away with your ignition issue.

Take Care
Click to expand...

Yes, Wolverine, I was very happy to see it respond and light, and get through the smoke. Today, after resting all day, I tested it out. It worked perfectly, starting and lighting without a glitch.

Today, I had a lengthy discussion with Dennis at MAK. If it were an ignitor issue, it would either trip the GFCI/Breaker or blow the MAK's fuse, and it wouldn't have eventually lit. My issue appears to have been Thermocouple related, possibly due to moisture, as the grill was on the back deck (covered) and under an awning. But due to our hellacious winter, likely had some snow/moisture migrate into the electronics.

Dennis mentioned that I could have overridden the Thermocouple. I say this, because I held the "select" button down for a long count. A little "L" lit up on the LED, and that's when it lit. This puts the grill into manual mode (at least for the old MAK 1 and 2 star). Instead of using the TC to regulate the auger flow, it times the flow of pellets with either a "smoke", "low", "med", or "high" setting. That may make sense as it wasn't responding well to temp adjustments initially, when I finally got it going.

So, the mystery isn't completely solved, but the grill is functioning normally at this time. I will order a new ignitor and install it, as the grill is 8 yrs old it's likely due from what you guys are saying.

Thanks again to everyone that piped in.

Rocky
 
Last edited:
MAK DADDY

MAK DADDY

Moderator
8yrs young, your MAK will last forever :) We are always here to help and have a special place in our hearts for you early MAK owners who took a chance on a new company! Speaking of taking a chance, a big thanks to our first (and now only) dealer Big Poppa Smokers, they are the best! MAK Grills will celebrate 10yrs this fall :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom