Help! Furnace not working!

[Gryhound]

My old GE ambassador mark II furnace suddenly went out. It is a natural gas forced air furnace about 15 years old. I just replaced the thermostat, but no luck. The furnace is getting power, but when I turn it on, absolutely nothing happens. No spark, no click, nothing. I can hear the thermostat click, so I know it is working. Any advice???? Its going be cold tonight...

-- David P. Feyen Reply to: dfeyen at wi dot rr dot com =================================================== This life is a test. It is only a test. Had this been an actual life, you would have received instructions on what to do and where to go. ===================================================

[Ed Coyne]

Does the fan turn on?

[mwlogs]

Gee, 'nothing happens' would indicate no fan either. Check the breaker to see if it's blow for some reason. You say 'no click' which indicates it may be pilotless, so it could be a bad igniter assembly. Or, if it does have a pilot, it is either out, or the thermocouple has failed.

Not much else you can do yourself if you haven't got the skills to diagnose it any furhter but call the repairman. Depending on how cold you are expecting, do it quick before you end up needing a plumber for frozen pipes as well! If it's expected to get that cold and you can't get it repaired, leave a few sinks running just slightly to keep some water flowing in the pipes. Pick sinks the furthest from where the water lines enter the house, and do a cold and a hot. Just cause the water heater is still heating the water, the pipes a few feet from the tank can still freeze if it drops low enough.

[Gryhound]

Ha! Mystery solved. A cheap fix too. I played detective for a bit with a current sensor and found a loose connection. That could have been a costly loose wire if I had to call in a furnace guy at 9pm at night.

[I-zheet M'drurz]

Just curious: Will you be ripping down the new thermostat, wiping the plaster dust off of the screws, re-packing it, and trying to take it back to the unfortunate retailer who sold it to you?

[Gryhound]

No, I wanted to upgrade from the older dial thermostat to a programmable one anyway. Guess I can check that project off my list of things to do.

[Stormin Mormon]

Did you call a furnace guy for a clean and check? I mean, seeing as how the stress is off, now it might be time to get the maintenance done.

Congrats on finding the one loose wire -- bet that feels good to have your heat back on. Now get it cleaned out, motor oiled and all that. Be less likely to break down again.