I'm not sure how to be helpful since I don't know what you are comfortable doing.
With your kiln, one way to describe the situation is that there are two circuits: one is low voltage (this is simplified, I mean it is DC and not AC, but that is beyond the scope) and one is high voltage (normal AC voltage). The low voltage part runs the programs and the high voltage part runs the heating coils. The two work together with the relays, which means that the low voltage part sends a signal to the relays, and the relays are the on-off switch that connects the electricity coming from the outlet to the heating coils.
The Paragon information is more for a kiln that does not have a digital controller. Once you turn on the switch, some electricity should be going from the outlet to the heating coils. With the digital controller, that does not happen until you start a program (unless the relays are stuck, which does not seem to be the case in your situation).
So, a guess to what is happening is there is a short on the outlet of the relays, and instead of the electricity going to the heating coils when the program is started, instead it bypasses the heating coils and goes directly to the neutral or to ground.
One thing you might do is, WITH THE KILN UNPLUGGED FROM THE WALL SOCKET, remove the cover from the controller and see if anything is loose. You may see some black burn marks. If you see something like that, maybe you can take a picture and post it and someone might be able to provide the next step. Also, please provide the model of your kiln, because that will let us look up the schematic from the Paragon website.
The relays are probably little boxes, maybe 1" x 3/4" x 3/4" with two thin wires and two thick wires. The problem may be at one of the thick wires. You might be able to trace one of the thick wires to the cord that plugs into the wall. The problem should be with the other thick wire, which you might be able to trace to the heating coils.
|