Weird furnace issue

Serious Business 50 replies 1,780 views
password's avatar
password
Posts: 2,360
Oct 8, 2012 11:42pm
sherm03;1290848 wrote:There is a guy in my neighborhood that worked for an HVAC company for years. My wife also cuts the hair of a guy who owns his own HVAC repair company. We haven't had to pay for a service call on our furnace or AC yet. My suggestion is to move.
Maybe Justin can offer the HVAC company some free advertising on the OC, if they fix his furnace for free.
believer's avatar
believer
Posts: 8,153
Oct 9, 2012 5:18am
mcburg93;1290687 wrote:You can easily pull it out and clean it off and try that if that does not work you need a new one.
You were already warned once about posting sexual content on OC. If it happens again the adsense Gestapo will be knocking on your door. :cool:
ernest_t_bass's avatar
ernest_t_bass
Posts: 24,984
Oct 9, 2012 5:45am
My brother in law pens am HVAC business. My suggestion would be to start an HVAC business.
ZWICK 4 PREZ's avatar
ZWICK 4 PREZ
Posts: 7,733
Oct 9, 2012 5:46am
My flame sensor went last year. Same issue. I took sandpaper to it and it worked fine.
DeadliestWarrior34's avatar
DeadliestWarrior34
Posts: 3,101
Oct 9, 2012 6:45am
Unplug it and plug it back in.
ernest_t_bass's avatar
ernest_t_bass
Posts: 24,984
Oct 9, 2012 7:03am
DeadliestWarrior34;1290888 wrote:Unplug it and plug it back in.

Gooby pls
FatHobbit's avatar
FatHobbit
Posts: 8,651
Oct 9, 2012 10:29am
Not sure if this will help, but my furnace has a light that blinks in a pattern. On the inside of the panel is a list of codes that you can match to the pattern to see what error code it's giving. Right now it blinks 3 fast and 4 slow which according to the panel is error 34 ignition proving failure. Whatever the hell that means.
ZWICK 4 PREZ's avatar
ZWICK 4 PREZ
Posts: 7,733
Oct 9, 2012 10:59am
FatHobbit;1291032 wrote:Not sure if this will help, but my furnace has a light that blinks in a pattern. On the inside of the panel is a list of codes that you can match to the pattern to see what error code it's giving. Right now it blinks 3 fast and 4 slow which according to the panel is error 34 ignition proving failure. Whatever the hell that means.
Flame sensor.
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Tiernan
Posts: 13,021
Oct 9, 2012 11:08am
justincredible's avatar
justincredible
Posts: 32,056
Oct 9, 2012 11:15am
That's not my welcome.
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Tiernan
Posts: 13,021
Oct 9, 2012 12:54pm
justincredible;1291054 wrote:That's not my welcome.
Ungrateful byatch.
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BlueJayRay
Posts: 106
Oct 10, 2012 2:53pm
Sounds like your thermocouple may be shot.
Commander of Awesome's avatar
Commander of Awesome
Posts: 23,151
Oct 10, 2012 3:06pm
I think its time to call a furnaflamesensorceress.
Heretic's avatar
Heretic
Posts: 18,820
Oct 10, 2012 4:33pm
xKoToVxSyNdRoMe;1290706 wrote:Sounds like you have a poltergeist. Moving out is probably the only reasonable solution.
Indeed. I've seen enough of the Paranormal Activity movies to know that if he lives there ONE MORE DAMN NIGHT, there will be a demonic possession followed by everyone dying.
password's avatar
password
Posts: 2,360
Oct 10, 2012 10:09pm
He must have fixed the problem, we haven't heard anymore about the furnace. It is amazing that when you pay your bill, the furnace starts working again.
justincredible's avatar
justincredible
Posts: 32,056
Oct 10, 2012 10:24pm
There was a bunch of water in the little fan enclosure. Not sure what the exact name of that part is but somehow the drain hose got plugged and it filled up with water. We got all the water out of there and it's working fine now.
password's avatar
password
Posts: 2,360
Oct 10, 2012 10:45pm
The little fan is called a furnace exhaust fan. Glad to hear you have heat, I am sure your wife doesn't want you trying to snuggle up against her every night because you are cold.
Ironman92's avatar
Ironman92
Posts: 49,363
Oct 10, 2012 11:54pm
justincredible;1292307 wrote:There was a bunch of water in the little fan enclosure. Not sure what the exact name of that part is but somehow the drain hose got plugged and it filled up with water. We got all the water out of there and it's working fine now.

Victory in Jesus
J
jmog
Posts: 6,567
Oct 12, 2012 9:41am
Being an industrial furnace guy (think furnaces bigger than your house), I agree with the assessment above.

Look inside, if when it is going "on and off" you actually have flame, then it is almost certain to be your flame rod (flame detector). They are cheap and easy to replace, just get the exact same model number as different models have different lengths of rod (the end of the rod has to be directly in the normal flame or it doesn't work.

When you pull it out it might just be "dirty" with some carbon buildup or a white corrosion. If that is the case then it can be cleaned with steel wool or something pretty abrasive (sometimes I would use contact/electrical cleaner, a solvent after the steal wool) and reinstalled. The buildup can sometimes make contact between the two "sides" of the flame rod and case it to short out shutting off the gas valve.

The only other option off the top of my head is that you could have a clog in your pressure switch line. Its a small rubber tube connecting your fan to a little device (called a pressure switch). The switch is just proving that your fan is on before the ignition sequence is allowed to go.

If the tube is clogged, the switch could get varying readings which would trip and untrip the switch. If the switch thinks the blower is off then it will shut off the gas valve.
J
jmog
Posts: 6,567
Oct 12, 2012 9:43am
justincredible;1292307 wrote:There was a bunch of water in the little fan enclosure. Not sure what the exact name of that part is but somehow the drain hose got plugged and it filled up with water. We got all the water out of there and it's working fine now.
Do you have a "drip leg" or "sediment trap" in the gas piping going to the furnace? Basically just what would look like an extra piece of pipe going down by itself and then capped off?

That is typically used to let any water condensation or dirt in the gas line to "fall out" by gravity before it gets to your gas valve.

You might want to open that up and clean it out if you have one before you have a similar problem in your gas valve.
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MontyBrunswick
Apr 22, 2014 1:08pm
Bump
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WebFire
Posts: 14,779
Apr 22, 2014 1:14pm
Damn it dlazz. I just spent 2 minutes reading most of this thread.
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MontyBrunswick
Apr 22, 2014 1:20pm
WebFire;1607944 wrote:Damn it dlazz. I just spent 2 minutes reading most of this thread.
My job is done here.
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WebFire
Posts: 14,779
Apr 22, 2014 1:22pm
But it did remind me that my AC condenser/fan isn't kicking on.
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thavoice
Posts: 14,376
Apr 22, 2014 1:29pm
sherm03;1290848 wrote:There is a guy in my neighborhood that worked for an HVAC company for years. My wife also blows a guy who owns his own HVAC repair company. We haven't had to pay for a service call on our furnace or AC yet.

My suggestion is to move.
Now if you she can also hook up with the car repair guy you wont have many worries at all.