FieldBench

Lennox

EL296E

Furnace · Elite · two-stage · constant-torque · 96%

Elite two-stage 96% constant-torque cousin of the EL296V. Same SureLight E2xx gas, pressure-switch, and limit language (107045-XX family). Different motor: tap/profile, not a serial VS blower. Techs drop an EL296V motor in this cabinet and throw E202 / E310.

Not EL296V (variable-speed serial ECM — E201/E202/E203/P menu are that board’s motor story). Not ML196 flash. Not EL296UHV.

Walk this in Diagnose

This plate

AFUE
96% two-stage condensing
Blower
Constant-torque ECM · tap / profile, not serial VS
IFC
SureLight 7-seg E-prefix — same gas/PS/limit set as EL296V
Draft
Two pressure switches · two hoses · PVC trap
Sister SKU
EL296UHE upflow · EL296DFE downflow

This board

SureLight 7-seg IFC (E2xx, CT motor)

  • Same E-prefix as EL296V for gas, PS, HSI, flame, and limits.
  • Idle decimal blink, E recall, F flame µA still apply. P-menu unit size is a VS story — this cabinet uses taps.
  • E201 serial-blower comm is not the primary motor fault on a stock EL296E. If you see it, someone put a VS motor in this cabinet.
  • Confirm any odd extra code on THAT door card.

Sequence

  1. W1 / W2. Same two-stage 96% physics as EL296V: low inducer → low PS → HSI → valve → flame → high inducer → high PS.
  2. Blower. Heat/cool taps or profiles, not a serial CFM request. Wrong heat tap is the E250 generator.

Faults on this IFC

  • E207

    HSI sensed open

    lockout

    Hot-surface ignitor circuit measures open.

    • Cold ohms, then 120 VAC during trial. Same ignitor family as EL296V.
  • E223

    Low PS failed OPEN

    lockout

    Low-fire pressure path did not make.

    • Trap, PVC, low hose, inducer port (same known EL296 clog).
    • Two hoses, never teed.
  • E224

    Low PS failed CLOSED

    lockout

    Low switch made with inducer off.

    • Unplug it. Water in the hose or a welded disc.
  • E225

    High PS failed OPEN

    lockout

    High-fire prove failed.

    • Inducer actually high? High hose on the high tap only.
  • E226

    High PS failed CLOSED

    lockout

    High switch made when it should be open.

    • Unplug the high switch. Residual draft or welded disc.
  • E227

    Low PS opened during trial or run

    lockout

    Made, then dropped mid-cycle.

    • Wind, ice, trap siphon, half-clogged inducer port.
  • E228

    Inducer calibration failure

    lockout

    Could not finish PS calibration.

    • Fix the port and hoses first. Calibration will not pass on a clogged collector.
  • E229

    Ignition on high fire

    info

    Low PS did not close; IFC lit on high. OEM: not a separate high-fire repair.

    • Fix E223 physics. Do not start on the high-fire manifold screw.
  • E240

    Low flame current — run mode

    warn

    Weak µA while running.

    • F menu, rod, ground. Repeating E240 becomes E270 / E273.
  • E241

    Flame out of sequence — flame still present

    hazard

    Flame with valve off. Hazard.

    • Shut the cock. Leaking valve.
  • E250

    Limit switch circuit open

    warn

    Limit / rollout string open. Open >3 min → E274.

    • Heat tap vs rise — this is a CT motor, not VS CFM.
    • Media cabinet, coil, filter. Rollout if E274 stores.
  • E270

    Soft lockout — max retries, no flame current

    lockout

    Never saw flame current.

    • Watch a try. HSI, gas, rod. Not rollout.
  • E271

    Soft lockout — last retry PS opened

    lockout

    Last try died on a pressure switch.

    • Hardened E223 / E227. Port, trap, PVC.
  • E272

    Soft lockout — last recycle PS opened

    lockout

    Ran, then draft dropped.

    • Same two-hose / port-clean cluster.
  • E273

    Soft lockout — last recycle flame failure

    lockout

    Lost flame after it had proven.

    • Rod µA, ground, manifold after blower-on.
  • E274

    Soft lockout — last recycle limit open or limit >3 min

    lockout

    Hardened E250.

    • Heat tap, static, rollout string.
  • E290

    Ignitor circuit fault

    lockout

    Failed ignitor or trigger circuit.

    • HSI ohms and 120 VAC during trial.
  • E201

    Indoor blower communication (wrong motor)

    lockout

    Serial-blower comm. Stock EL296E does not use this as the motor story.

    • If someone put an EL296V VS motor in this cabinet, E201 / E202 / E310 show up. Put the CT motor back.
    • A stock tap motor that will not run is a tap/profile / harness / module problem — not E201.

Workflows

Someone put an EL296V motor in it

No heat after a motor change. E202 / E310 / E201.

  1. EL296E is constant-torque. The V motor talks serial and wants a P-menu size code this IFC is not running as a VS board.
  2. Match the motor to the plate: UHE / DFE / EL296E = CT taps. UHV / DFV / EL296V = serial VS.
  3. Set heat/cool taps to the EL296E chart, not the V CFM menu.

E223 / E229 on the E

Same 96% draft call as the V.

  1. Same cluster as EL296V: clean the inducer port, two hoses never teed, trap and PVC.
  2. E229 is still ‘fix low fire,’ not a high-fire adjustment.

E250 on a tap motor

Limits after 10 minutes.

  1. Read the heat tap. This is not a VS CFM menu.
  2. Media cabinet and coil next. Then rollout if E274 is stored.

Test points

Motor
Tap / common — not an EL296V serial plug.
LPS / HPS
Two NO switches, two hoses, never teed.
Heat tap
Rise in the plate range. Wrong tap = E250.

Gotchas

  • EL296UHE in a search hits both this chart and EL296V. Read the plate: E = constant torque, V = variable speed.
  • Same E223 physics as the V. Different blower. Do not run the P-menu playbook here unless a VS motor was installed by mistake.

Related plates

  • lennox-el296v — Variable-speed Elite sibling. Same E2xx gas/PS/limit. Serial blower and P-menu live there.
  • lennox-ml196 — Merit 96% flash. Same PVC trap story, 1–9 LED instead of E2xx.