How to Troubleshoot a Honeywell Air Cleaner Power Head

Turn the air cleaner switch to the "on" position and activate the blower motor. You should see a neon light illuminate on the on-off system display panel. If your unit has a wall-mounted Airwatch indicator, check to see that the LED light has come on. If the LED lights flash on the Airwatch indicator it means you must replace the two AAA batteries in the back of the case. Check the power cord to the wall if you do not see any lights on the air cleaner display panel.

Turn off the air cleaner. Unscrew the unit from the wall with a screwdriver and pull the case slot back. Remove the old batteries and replace them with two new batteries, but do this within 30 seconds so you don't lose the system memory. Close the case and screw the unit back on the wall. Note that the unit performs a test by flashing and beeping. Hold the black reset on the bottom of the case in for about five seconds. The display will stop flashing and reset.

Turn on the air cleaner and let it run normally, while you monitor the Airwatch indicator. If the indicator begins beeping after 10 minutes and continues to do so, look at the display window for the component that needs attention. Beeping every 10 minutes will indicate a problem with the odor filter, prefilter or the Hepa filter. Clean or change the filters as required by your Honeywell owner's service manual.

Turn off the system blower and then turn it back on after several seconds. This procedure applies if the unit connects to your main heating and air conditioning duct system. You should see the LED light blink off after a few seconds, which indicates the unit has proper voltage. If no LED light illuminates, or the LED light flashes, check the batteries in the Airwatch indicator and ensure that the wall supply cord has a firm connection to the wall socket.

Make sure the inspection panel door shuts firmly to activate the unit, if you have the larger model connected to your heating and air conditioning system. A loose or obstructed door will cut the power supply off from the air cleaner.

Push the test button on the Airwatch indicator. You should hear a snapping sound, which means that the air cleaner cells have been energized. If your unit has a three-speed fan motor, turn on each fan speed and push the test button for each. You should hear snaps for every blower speed.

Turn the air cleaner off. Turn the blower motor off, for the larger unit. Use a screwdriver to remove the front case or open the front access door, if you have the stand-alone unit. Make sure the ionizer wires have their eyelets connected to the upper and lower spring connectors. If one wire has disengaged, use a pair of needle nose pliers to grip the eyelet and reconnect it to the spring end. Replace any bent, crimped or broken ionizer wire.

Look at the small panel on the top of the air cleaner, after removing the cover. You will see three small metal touch plates on the panel. The two outside touch plates will be marked "Collector Terminal", while the middle touch plate will be marked "Ionizer Terminal." Place one lead of an ohmmeter to the outside collector terminal.

Place the other lead to the unit frame, for a metal ground source. The ohm reading should be infinity. Test the other two metal plates with the ohmmeter lead. They should read infinity. If not, the cells have failed.