Boiler fault codes
Worcester EA 227 Fault Code: No Flame After Ignition
Published
Worcester Bosch display
EA 227
What it means
The boiler sparked to light the burner but never sensed a flame, so it shut down and locked out. Worcester lists 227 as "no flame signal after ignition"; it stays locked until someone presses reset.
Safe to check yourself
- Check your hob or another gas appliance lights, to prove gas is reaching the house
- Check a prepayment gas meter still has credit and has not tripped
- In frost, look at the white or grey plastic condensate pipe outside for ice and thaw it with warm (never boiling) water
- Press and hold the reset button for about five seconds, once
Call an engineer if
- You smell gas: open windows, turn off the gas at the meter if safe, do not touch switches, then leave the building and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999
- EA 227 comes back after one reset
- Other gas appliances work and the condensate pipe is clear, but the boiler still will not light
- The code started after work on the gas meter or gas pipes
A Worcester Bosch boiler showing EA 227, or just 227 on the Greenstar 8000 display, tried to light and never detected a flame. It is a locking fault, one of the usual reasons the blue light on a Worcester starts flashing, so it will sit there until reset. The usual causes are no gas reaching the burner, a frozen condensate pipe, or a worn ignition electrode.
What is the 227 fault on a Worcester boiler?
Every time the boiler fires, the fan starts, the gas valve opens and the electrode sparks. A separate sensing current (ionisation) confirms there is a flame. If that signal never arrives, the boiler retries, then gives up and shows EA 227. Older Greenstar models show EA with a flashing reset light; the Greenstar 8000 range shows the number 227 on its own. Both mean the same thing.
Worcester uses two neighbouring codes you might see instead: 228 means the boiler sensed a flame when there should not be one, and EA 229 means the flame was lost while the burner was already running. Those point to different faults, so read the full code before you do anything.
What can I check myself before calling anyone?
Work through these in order. They are all outside the boiler casing, which is where your checks should stop.
- Gas supply: light the hob. If that is dead too, the fault is the supply, not the boiler. Check the meter valve lever runs in line with the pipe, and for prepayment meters check the credit.
- Recent gas work: a new meter or gas pipework can leave air in the supply, which stops ignition until it is purged. That is a job for the engineer who did the work or a Gas Safe engineer.
- Condensate pipe: Worcester itself links frozen condensate pipes to EA codes. In a cold snap, find where the pipe leaves the wall and pour warm water along it, paying attention to bends and the open end. Boiling water can crack cold plastic.
- One reset: press and hold reset for about five seconds and let go. Worcester says to allow two to three minutes while the boiler runs its ignition sequence again.
Reset once, maybe twice if you have just fixed something like the condensate pipe. Each reset opens the gas valve for another ignition attempt, and repeated tries only hide the real fault. If it locks out again, stop and book a repair.
What does the engineer check for EA 227?
Worcester's fault-finding sequence for this code is methodical, and a good engineer follows something close to it: gas valve on, air in the supply, working gas pressure at the valve, the earth connection, a blocked condensate trap, the air/gas diaphragm, the gas valve coils, flue and combustion readings, the ignition lead, and finally the electrode assembly and control board.
In practice the electrode is the most common find on older boilers. It burns away over years and its gap drifts, so it either stops sparking cleanly or stops sensing the flame. The part itself is one of the cheaper spares on the boiler. A gas valve or control board costs a good deal more, which is why the cheap checks come first.
Anything past the reset button involves the gas valve and burner, and under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 that work must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Gas work is carried out by Gas Safe registered engineers.
Can I leave the boiler locked out overnight?
A lockout is the boiler protecting itself, so leaving it off is safe. The problem is the house: no heating and, on a combi, no hot water. If there is anyone elderly, very young or unwell at home in cold weather, treat it as urgent. A Worcester boiler repair visit starts with the £60 call-out at any hour, and the repair price is agreed on site before work starts. See what an engineer visit costs for how that works.
If the boiler will not fire at all but shows no code, the Worcester not firing up guide covers the other causes, and the ignition lockout guide explains lockouts on other brands.
Questions people ask
Is EA 227 dangerous?
The code itself is the boiler shutting down safely. It becomes dangerous only if you smell gas, in which case follow the gas smell steps and call 0800 111 999.
Why does my Worcester show 227 every cold morning?
A pattern like that points at the condensate pipe freezing overnight. Thawing gets you going, but the lasting fix is rerouting or insulating the external run, or a wider pipe.
Is 227 the same as EA 227?
Yes. Older Greenstar models pair the letters EA with the cause code 227, while the Greenstar 8000 display shows 227 alone. Both mean no flame was detected after ignition.