Heating

[Captain Nemo]

Thermostate calls for heat, fan comes on, pilot tries to lite ( you can hear igniter trying to lite, but no success ) I use a liter to lite pilot and flame sensor turns red but does not kick on main burners. I’am confused… Has the control box for the igniter and flame sensor gone bad or just the flame sensor???
thanks for your help!

[Angela]

Hi there. This happened with our furnace last year. Called the repairman – he came out and cleaned the flame sensor thing with emery paper I think. He said that sometimes it can get gunked up, especially if the furnace is in close proximity to a laundry area (which ours is). Don’t know if it’s a bunch of bunk or if that’s the real reason, but what he did worked and it’s been fine ever since.

Angela

[Harold Kestenholz – Hydronic Network]

You seem to be describing a White Rogers mercury cycle piot ignition with the sensor gone bad. This sensor gets hot enough from the pilot to turn red, vaporizing mercuty inside the stainless steel sensor head to press a switch that is part of or plugs into the gas valve to complete a path to open the gas valve. They need replacement after many years. The spark seems weak or out of position to light the pilot also.

[Virginia Keefer]

Looking to buy some filters for our furnace

[Frank Pappalardo]

My funace quick cycles. It ignites, runs for 5 minutes and turns off becouse it has reached the temperature inside that shuts it off. House is still not warm enough. Keeps doing this all winter long. I go through an igniter every year!

What can I do?

[S. Davis]

Help! Having numerous intermittent problems with my Comfortmaker Gas Furnace. The heating and a/c company that I use for maintenance and repair is confused about what is wrong. The gas furnace is in the attic. The washer and dryer are in the hallway below it. You can hear the furnace turn on. You can also hear when it flames up, but when the blowers go to kick on….they don’t. And then the cycle tries again and again until it just stops. After waiting for a while sometimes, it will work fine, and then again sometimes not. Usually if I turn off the thermostat and then manually turn the fan on and then off…and then turn the thermostat back on…the furnace will start to work ok??? The repair people have continuously cleaned the flame sensor each time. They have also replaced the control board serial # 50A50-112, replaced pressure switch, and the hot surface ignitor. The control board was replaced approximately two years ago and now they just replaced it again hoping it would fix the problem, but no….

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions or help!

Thank you!

[Joslin]

Thermostate calls for heat, heat sensor gets red hot, pilot lites, but main burners doesn’t. Then fan starts circulating cold air trying to bring the temp to the set temp on the thermostate. I turn unit off to stop the cold air circulating and when the repair guy arrived and we turned everything on again. It worked!!! They have been back twice and I am waiting for them again today for the 3rd straight day. I was hoping to have it fix by replacing either the gas valve and/or the heat sensor, but judging by what I have read here, now I am not too optimist. Don’t buy Comfortmaker if you have any saying on it. It was what my builder put on my new house. Just for kicks, anybody with this problem out there? This is the 1st time it happens going into my 4th year.

[Rich]

I have read the whole thread of messages regarding the burners not coming on. I have a Comfortmaker that has been converted to run on propane. The control unit light is flashing six times. According to the diagnostics on the furnace, this means:

“Control in Soft Lockout (Auto Restart or Retry Delay)”.

I can’t find any information on what that diagnostic means or what should be done to correct it.

Does anyone out there have any info on this diagnostic code???

[Author]

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