Furnace doesn't turn on

[Stephan Bour]

I have an intermitent problem with a 2-year old Carrier natural gaz furnace. Expecially in the morning, when the house temperature is at

65 degrees, the furnace fails to turn on despite the fact that the thermostat is sending the proper signal. The strange thing is this: there is a switch on the main power supply for the furnace. Usually, one or two on/off flicks of that switch get the furnace started. Any suggestion to troubleshoot this problem? Thank you, Stephan.

[Tom]

mebbe try replacing that switch?Tom Stephan wrote:>I have an intermitent problem with a 2-year old Carrier natural gaz

Someday, it'll all be over....

[CBhvac]

That service switch...has nothing to do with your problem, and without model numbers, and serials, type of thermostat (hint, it AINT the thermostat, but some have weird effects on ICBs without the right resistor that no one tells you about since you are supposed to know about it already) and if its a 2 year old unit, WHY ARE YOU NOT CALLING FOR WARRANTY SERVICE??????????????????????

SHEESH...you got warranty, use it and stop messing with things you do not fully understand.

[Darryl]

[Mason121]

I believe the furnace is having problems starting up......doh. I had a similar problem with my Carrier.....3 yrs old. I also fiddled with the breaker and sometimes it would start and sometimes not. After calling the "man" and telling him that I thought the furnace was causing the breaker to trip.........he informed me that the furnace will try 3 times to start and after the 3rd try will shut down automatically. The turning on and off of the breaker resets the memory of the furnace and sometimes it will start. After reading the manual I found out that the furnace has a red LED on it and when there is a problem it will flash. The different flash patterns will tell you what the probable cause of the problem. The problem with my furnace was: There is a metal temperature probe that sits in front of one of the burners. When the furnace tries to start .........if the probe doesn`t sense heat from the burner it shuts down. After a set time ? it tries again. If , after three tries, it doesn`t sense heat it shuts down totally. The "man" told me to take off the metal sensor........2 screws .....and rub the metal sensor with steel wool to remove any deposits that are on it. I did that and replaced it and it worked. I don`t know if this is the problem with your furnace but it was in my case. Dan

[Stephan Bour]

Thanks for the reply but frankly, I don't post to this board to be patronized. It's a furnace, not a space ship. There is nothing complicated about it and I feel that flicking a power switch is hardly "messing with it". Thanks to the other helpful people on this board I'll look into the error codes and mess with it a little more. You make a good point though. I assumed the warranty was only one year but I ought to have checked first and I will.

[CBhvac]

message news:...

Frankly, that wasnt.

Then fix it...dont ask for help, just get in there and do it. I mean...its not like you have a clue anyway....(hint..THATS patronizing. )

You are sooooo right. I mean...nothing like a delayed ignition problem a little flicking of the switch wont cure... I mean..really...once you get the heat going again, all you have to do is get the delta right and bingo...dead on.

Well..that was the point. I got a call Friday evening, and I COULD have let the guy have it....parts cost more than his unit, but, being the kinda guy I am, I got his stuff taken care of under warranty.....on a 9 year old unit, with a 5 year warranty...go figure. You may feel patronized, I feel like facts are facts. Take it as it is.

[Stephan Bour]

You were right. There is a diagnostics LED that flashed fault code 14 (Carrier 58MXA model). The code means Ignition lockout which means that this now requires professional service. The 3-year warranty on the control center is up in 2 weeks so we'll see how much this is going to cost me. Thank you all for the help.

[Matty]

Cost us $170.00 around here(MI). Our igniter element(?) needed replacing(was cracked) - part was $90.00, emergency service call was $80.00(temperature in house got down to 61 degrees by the time the guy showed up @ 10pm - it was

10 below outside).

My 2c,

Matty

[cornytheclown]

wow .... 100 percent mark up on that igniter.........you got by cheap

[CBhvac]

$80.00(temperature in

Umm...100%??? LOL..ok...I buy those ignitors for $19 all day long. The ceramic ones we pay more for, as they also come with the adaptors for about every situation..about $66 for them.

[cornytheclown]

made a mistake in my previous post.......I should have said 1000 percent mark up......I am terribly sorry for the mistake.