Furnace Troubleshooting: 4 Possible Reasons Your Heat Won’t Turn On
When the weather’s cold, you want your furnace to work. And when it goes bust, tensions in the house can get high. But we don’t want you to have to go through that stress.
So continue reading and we’ll walk you through some possible reasons why your heat won’t turn on.
1. Poor Maintenace
Poor maintenance, or none at all, is one of the most common reasons why your heat won’t turn on. There’s a very good chance that your furnace is just too dirty to operate properly.
When this happens, the blower motor can stop working and the entire appliance can fail. That’s because when your motor is really dirty, the heat exchange won’t make contact with enough moving air. It needs cool air to stop it from overheating.
Also, dirty air filters limit airflow. You should swap out your filters every three months or so.
And if your flame sensor is dirty, then the burners won’t get lit. And when the flame sensor doesn’t detect any flame, the furnace isn’t going to operate.
To avoid these problems, you should have your system cleaned at least once a year by someone who knows how to perform home heat repair.
2. Too Much Gas
When you have a furnace, there’s a certain amount of gas that the machine is designed to burn. During installation, you have to calibrate the furnace so that it will work correctly. If you don’t, it can stop working.
Many times, furnaces that aren’t calibrated properly burn more gas than they’re supposed to. When this happens over long periods of time, one of two things is likely to happen.
First, you might end up overpaying for gas during the cold months. Second, the furnace will overheat and then cycle on a limit switch.
If this happens, call a repairman and have them do a combustion analysis. This will let the servicer know if the equipment is burning too much gas.
3. The Blower Capacitator Is Dead
When the thermostat tells your furnace to turn on, it is the capacitor that actually starts the equipment. But these capacitors have tolerance levels. When the tolerance gets too low, the blower might not be able to reach the necessary RPM.
These failures can be rather common. During your furnace’s routine inspection, have the servicer check it out. If the capacitator is on its last legs, you should replace it.
4. Refrigerant Levels Are Low
When your refrigerant level gets too low, your heat strips might come on more than you would like. This can lead to high energy bills.
When this happens, you can correct it by adding to your refrigerant charge. And if you leave it too low for too long of a time, the compressor can fail from overheating.
The Importance of Knowing Why Your Heat Won’t Turn On
When you know the common causes of why heat won’t turn on in your furnace, you can be better prepared to prevent these problems. More than anything, remember to practice proper maintenance and look out for the issues listed above.
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