whatthefix?
Ideal L2Sort it this week

Ideal boiler showing L2

L2 means flame loss: the boiler lit, then lost it, or never lit at all. Check the cheap causes first.

What it actually means

L2 on an Ideal is a flame loss lockout. The boiler tried to fire and could not hold a flame, so it stopped for safety.

The cheap causes are the same as every ignition fault: no gas arriving, or a frozen condensate pipe in cold weather.

Try this first, before you spend a penny

  1. 1

    Check gas is arriving

    Test the hob, check prepayment credit, check the emergency valve at the meter is open.

  2. 2

    Thaw the condensate pipe if frozen

    Warm water along the white outside pipe, then reset.

  3. 3

    Reset once

    Press reset. Repeated lockouts mean stop and book an engineer.

Safety line, not small print

Never open the boiler case yourself. If you can smell gas, stop and call 0800 111 999 first.

When it is a pro job

Persistent L2 with gas flowing points at the electrode, flame detector or gas valve. Inside-the-case work is Gas Safe only, no exceptions.

Gas Safe registered heating engineer

Typical UK range for diagnosis plus a common ignition-side part.

£120 to £350

Related