An oil-burning furnace is essentially a blowtorch in a fireproof box. Electrical ignition sparks a high-pressure mist of oil and air, heating the air in an adjacent chamber. A blower pushes the warmth throughout your home. Despite its complexity, problems with an oil-burning furnace are rare. The good news is that many common problems can be addressed easily by a home owner. However, some repairs call for an HVAC professional.
- Troubleshooting Guide For Carrier Furnace Code 33
- Troubleshooting Guide For Carrier Furnace Atmospheres
If Your Heat Is Out If the family is already getting chilly and anxious, take immediate steps to preserve the safety and comfort of you and your family before you venture into furnace analysis. Spend Oh-So-Wisely on a Kitchen Remodel. Start Out Easy. Check the thermostat. Is the fan mode set to “automatic?” Is the set to “heat?”. Check your fuel oil supply. Don’t just rely on the gauge — it’s as prone to failure as any component. Unless you just had it filled recently, check the fuel tank itself. Use a dipstick to determine how much fuel you have.
By the way, it’s never a good idea to let your fuel level get low; that’s when sludge and sediment get sucked into lines and plug up filters. Inspect the furnace. Can you hear it running? Is the cabinet warm to the touch? The air filter may simply be so dirty it’s blocking the flow of warmed air. Remove the filter.
Problem solved? Install a clean filter ($3-$30, depending on make and model furnace) and bask in your good fortune. In rare cases, clogged ducts can restrict air flow sufficiently to reduce the performance of your furnace.
Is dirty work that’s best left to professionals. Related:. Still Not Working?
Try These Steps If the furnace isn’t running, go back to the thermostat and crank it up by 5 or 10 degrees. Does the furnace start? If not, switch the fan setting from “automatic” to “on” or “run.” If air isn’t moving and the furnace fan isn’t running, check your circuit breaker. If the circuit breaker is tripped and resetting it only causes it to trip again, have an electrician check the wiring and circuit capacity. If the fan is running, your circuit is fine.
Next step: Look for the “reset” button on the furnace control module. Your problem may be fuel-related — either a lack of supply or an obstruction in its flow.
Press the reset button and check your oil tank and in-line filter. Clean or replace the filter ($4-$7) if it’s gunked up.
Don’t hit “reset” more than twice. The process pumps oil into the burner chamber, where it can accumulate if you have no ignition. Then when the furnace finally does start, it can do so explosively.
So if the button won’t reset, or quickly pops up again, it’s time to call a professional repair service. As you examine your furnace system, watch for two potential culprits: Leaks in oil lines and soot in the burner chamber.
Leaks let air into the system, which can hurt performance. And soot indicates inefficient combustion that can lead to other problems. Either condition should be corrected by an expert. When It Sounds Like Trouble. Knocking sounds: You likely have air in the lines.
Purging the air — called bleeding the lines — isn’t difficult, but it can frustrate a beginner. If you’re not confident, have your system checked over by a service pro. Clattering sounds: Check the access panels on the furnace itself. They can work loose and rattle, with the annoying sound carried through the house on warm air from the furnace. Squealing sounds: Probably indicate problems with a belt or the blower motor.
Shut down the furnace, check the belt, and put just a few drops of electric-motor oil in any oiling ports on your firing assembly fan (some sealed units run oil free, so you may not have ports). The furnace sounds like it’s running intermittently: Check the air filter first.
Then check your oil supply and filter. If the tank is full and the filters are clean, it’s time for a service call focusing first on the burner nozzle and electrodes that ignite the fuel. What Does a Professional Cost?
Expect to pay $80 to $120 per hour for professional help. On the upside, these folks work quickly. Typical service calls last only an hour or two (less if you stay out of the way). And if the word from the pro is, “It’s gotta go,” consider alternatives, such as.
Your Best Defense Against Problems. Prevent breakdowns with regular maintenance.
Replace filters at least twice a year ($10 to $20 each). Vacuum the blower wheel (“squirrel cage”) and clean dust and crud away from the electric eye sensor. Replenish fuel oil regularly to keep levels high.
GlobalPhotoGroup / Shutterstock.com Though should repair most furnace problems, you can take care of a few furnace repair tasks yourself. Is your furnace not working? If your heater doesn’t heat or works poorly, this guide will help you troubleshoot and fix typical problems. Need furnace help NOW? If your home is heated with a, a furnace or a heat pump is at the heart of it. Here we look at how to handle furnace problems from a furnace working poorly to a furnace not working at all.
For heat pump problems, see. Though forced-air furnaces are normally quite reliable, they can break down. To avoid break downs, it pays to know how to take care of your furnace and fix it when something goes wrong. Inevitably, a furnace stops working when you need it most. Consequently, fixing becomes urgent very quickly.
Troubleshooting Guide For Carrier Furnace Code 33
The following instructions will help. With a little do-it-yourself experience and the proper guidance, you can troubleshoot and repair a variety of furnace problems yourself. General Furnace Maintenance For starters, once a year, vacuum out the area around the furnace’s blower. If possible, also slide out the fan unit, clean each fan blade with a toothbrush, and then vacuum with a brush attachment on a vacuum cleaner.
While you’re at it, look for oil ports on the motor, normally located near the motor shaft. If the motor has these, apply two to three drops of non-detergent motor oil into each port (you may have to remove a cover plate to do this). Though most contemporary motors don’t require lubrication, do lubricate motors with oil ports once a year. For more about maintenance, see.
©Don Vandervort, HomeTips To shut off the gas supply to your home, turn the valve until it rests perpendicular to the supply pipe (here the gas is on). Turn off the gas supply valve, typically located by your gas meter on the gas inlet pipe. Turn off the gas by rotating the valve one quarter turn with an. When the gas is off, the valve’s oblong stem points perpendicular to the inlet pipe. Then call your gas utility or the fire department from a remote location. Do not return to your home until you know it is safe. Furnace Not Working—No Gas Flame Older gas and combustion-fuel furnaces have pilot lights, whereas some newer ones have electronic ignition. Furnace with a Pilot Light If your older furnace utilizes a pilot light that won’t stay lit, the may be loose or faulty, the pilot orifice may be clogged, the pilot’s flame may be set too low, or the safety cutoff valve may be defective.
The thermocouple is a copper rod that the pilot flame heats-up. When it gets hot enough, the thermocouple signals that there is enough heat to burn the gas fuel being released into the appliance—and so it allows the gas to be released to the burners. In some cases where the pilot light won’t stay lit, the thermocouple needs to be adjusted or replaced. This is generally a job for a professional. Electronic Ignition Furnace On an electronic-ignition furnace, turn down the or turn the power switch off and then on again to reset the ignition control module. Listen for the sound of the spark or watch for the hot surface ignitor to glow (see your owner’s manual).
Next check and clean the furnace’s flame sensor. The video below shows you how—note that this guy fixes it in about 5 minutes.
We would probably use a little bit of emory paper, but he cleans the sensor with a 5-dollar bill. Another video further down the page under the discussion of “ If your furnace keeps shutting off after about 5 minutes” shows the same project with a different brand of furnace. If your furnace has a pilot light, look for the flame. Check your owner’s manual or the instructions posted inside the furnace cabinet for step-by-step lighting instructions. Usually this involves first turning the gas valve to Off and waiting a couple of minutes.
Jcb 214e series 3 service manual. Then you turn it to Pilot. Next, press and hold it down while you light the flame. Last, wait a minute or so, release it, and then turn it to On. If the furnace won’t light or ignites but fails again, call a Heating or Cycling Problems If your furnace runs and provides some heat but not enough 1Be sure nothing is blocking the flow of warm air. 2Be sure the thermostat is set properly to “Heat” and the fan is set to “On” or “Auto.” Then try raising the set temperature 5 degrees and waiting a few minutes.
3Be sure the room heating registers are open. 4Check the filter. Because a dirty filter can reduce efficiency, replace it with a if it’s dirty. 5Last, if these simple steps don’t work, have a check out your system because either the blower isn’t working properly or the system is out of balance. Need help NOW? If your furnace does not heat at all Thermostat malfunctions cause most heating system failures. Other causes include a tripped circuit breaker or blown fuse, or—in the case of combustion furnaces—a pilot light that has gone out.
If the heat doesn’t come on even when you adjust the thermostat above room temperature: 1Be sure the heater’s is set to Heat (if yours is a heating and cooling system). ©Don Vandervort, HomeTips If a circuit has tripped, reset it by turning it off and on. 2Be sure the furnace’s circuit breaker is on or that its fuse has not blown. Check both the main electrical panel and any secondary subpanels that supply power to the unit. If the circuit has blown or tripped, reset the circuit breaker by flipping it all the way off and then on again.
Troubleshooting Guide For Carrier Furnace Atmospheres
Or replace the fuse. If the circuit blows again, there is probably a short in the electrical system providing power to the furnace.
For this, you may need to call an electrical contractor. 3Be sure the furnace’s power switch is turned on. Look for the switch next to or inside the furnace cabinet. If it isn’t on, turn it on, and wait for the furnace to engage.
4The motor may need to be reset because of an overload. Look for a Reset button near the blower motor’s housing and, if you find one, press it. If nothing happens, wait about 30 minutes for the motor to cool, and then try the Reset button again.
5Turn off the power to the furnace at the main electrical panel or subpanel. Look for a fuse in the power switch.
If one exists, see if it has blown. Replace the fuse (be sure to follow the instructions in your owner’s manual). If you don’t have an owner’s manual or are unclear about what it will take to do this,. 6With a gas furnace, the pilot light may have gone out or the gas valve may be shut off. Check the furnace’s ignition. 7If the furnace still doesn’t work, be sure the thermostat isn’t faulty.
If your furnace cycles on and off too often The problem is often with the thermostat—especially if you have a combustion furnace. For information on how to solve and repair this problem, see. If your has a small lever that moves along a calibrated scale that indicates “longer” (not the heat temperature lever), you can try adjusting this—the heat anticipator.
Just set it one calibration mark closer to the “longer” setting if the furnace goes off and on too frequently or one mark away if the furnace allows room temperature to rise too high or drop too low before going on or off. It may take several hours for the thermostat to stabilize at this setting, so wait a while and then adjust it again if necessary.
If making these adjustments doesn’t solve the problem, consider replacing your thermostat. When an electric-resistance furnace or heat pump turns off and on too frequently, the problem may be that the unit is overheating because of a clogged filter or a blower that is malfunctioning.
First try cleaning. If none of these measures do the trick, call a furnace repair technician. If your furnace keeps shutting off after about 5 minutes This often indicates a problem with a faulty or dirty flame sensor. The video here shows how to deal with this problem. Furnace Does Not Blow Air If your furnace’s motor runs but the blower doesn’t move air, the belt that connects the two probably has broken. Replacing it is an easy fix. First, turn off all power to the unit and turn off the gas at the gas valve that serves the furnace.
Remove the door on the front of the furnace cabinet to give you access to the blower (it might be on a slide-out drawer.) Check the number stamped on the belt and get an exact replacement from a home center or heating supply outlet. ©Don Vandervort, HomeTips Replacing a blower pulley is an easy fix. You can usually slip the belt on the motor’s (smaller) pulley first and then start it on the blower pulley. Rotate the blower pulley by hand, holding the belt in place but keeping your fingers from getting caught between the belt and the pulley. The belt should slip right into place. If it seems to be too tight or difficult to set in place, it may be necessary to adjust the motor mount to provide more slack.
Then you can re-tighten the tension once the belt is in place. Check the manufacturer’s specifications for proper tension—in most cases, the belt should deflect about an inch when you press down on it. Finally, some fan motors and fans need oiling; some have sealed bearings. If recommended by your maintenance manual, oil the bearings according to the manufacturer’s directions. Blower Runs Continuously Two things can cause a blower to run continuously: the room thermostat or the limit switch located on the furnace just below the plenum (the box that distributes heated air to all the ducts). The limit switch shuts off the furnace if the air in the plenum gets too hot. Check the thermostat to see if the Fan switch has been turned on.
If it has, turn it to Off or to Auto. If it is set to Off or Auto, the furnace’s limit switch must be adjusted. Call a to adjust the limit switch, or follow the instructions in your owner’s manual to reset the pointers on the fan side of the limit control.
Typically, the lower pointer should be set to about 90 degrees F., and the upper one should be at about 115 degrees F. Noisy Furnace or Duct Work Many heating ducts are metal, so they conduct noise quite readily from the air-handling unit to your rooms. To break the conduction of sound, you can have a heating contractor insert flexible insulation duct work between the furnace or air conditioner and the duct work runs. Pinging or Popping Sounds A pinging or popping sound coming from the duct work can come from thermal expansion—the ductwork expanding and contracting as it heats and cools. Or, air blowing past a loose flap of metal can make the sound.
Track along the duct runs, listening for the sound. If you locate it, make a small dent in the sheet metal to provide a more rigid surface that’s less likely to move as it heats and cools. Rattling Noises If the furnace cabinet makes rattling noises when it runs, be sure the cover panels are screwed on tight. Tighten any loose panels.
Squealing Noises Squealing sounds from a forced-air furnace generally occur when the belt that connects the motor to the fan slips. Tighten the fit by adjusting the motor mount. Or, the belt is improperly aligned or worn and needs replacement. Follow the instructions in your owner’s manual. This job involves removing the access panel, loosening a couple of bolts that hold the blower motor at the proper tension, and adjusting its distance or realigning the belt. In many cases, it’s a good idea to remove the belt and buy a replacement at a home center. Last, when reinstalling the belt, be careful not to over-tighten it; this can wear out the motor bearings.
Grinding Sounds If the blower is making a grinding noise, shut off the unit and call a; the motor’s bearings are probably shot. Furnace Not Working—Oil Burner First of all, if the oil burner goes on and off too much, clean. If your oil burner doesn’t work at all, check to see if it is receiving electrical power, if the thermostat is broken or turned off, or if a flame sensor in the burner or heat sensor in the stack has signaled the unit to shut off. In the event that replacing the filter or checking these issues don’t solve the problem, call a furnace repair technician because oil-burning furnaces are complex to repair.
Content Navigation. Troubleshooting Common Gas Furnace Problems Every year, thousands of homeowners ask, “What’s wrong with my gas furnace?” If you’re in that situation, this guide will arm you with information before you call a furnace company. Knowledge is protection against being taken advantage of – though most repair professionals have sound ethics.
Note: This guide covers the most common problems, especially those most homeowners can easily check with no tools or basic tools such as screwdrivers and a multimeter. The gas is turned off, so check the gas cock near the furnace to make sure it is parallel to the gas line, its position when the. The gas control valve isn’t opening and must be replaced. The ignitor is failing and must be replaced. The draft motor isn’t functioning or the fresh-air intake is blocked, perhaps by snow or debris, and needs to be cleared Read our detailed post for more info:. 3. The Draft Motor Runs, Furnace Won’t Start The draft motor is also called the inducer motor.
It pulls hot combustion gases through the furnace and out the exhaust stack. If it starts and then the furnace shuts down, the cause might be:.
The motor or the board that controls it has failed and must be replaced. A blocked air intake or blocked exhaust chimney (snow, debris and bird’s nests are common causes) must be cleared. One of the issues discussed above with gas, gas valve and ignitor must be addressed 4. The Draft Motor Won’t Start The problem, in this case, is either that the motor is bad or the capacitor that supports it is bad. This video will assist you in troubleshooting draft motor issues and what is causing them.
The Flame Starts, but the Furnace Shuts Down If the burner starts making heat but soon shuts off without warming your home, the flame sensor isn’t working. If the sensor has corrosion on it, sanding it might work, though replacing it is a longer-lasting fix. The Blower Won’t Shut Off If the blower motor runs all the time, there are three common issues:. The fan switch on the thermostat is set to “on” rather than “auto”. Relays in the control board are stuck in the closed position, so the blower is getting a constant supply of electricity, and the control board must be replaced. The thermostat also has contacts that control power to the furnace, and they can be worn, so the thermostat must be replaced.
Here’s a video that covers this troubleshooting a furnace blower motor that won’t shut off. 7. Why Does the Furnace Keep Shutting Off If your furnace burner lights but the furnace soon shuts off, there are a few common issues that might cause this:.
The furnace filter is dirty and should be cleaned or replaced. The flame sensor isn’t working and should be replaced. The thermostat is failing While these are common, there are several other potential causes best diagnosed by a furnace technician. This video gives in-depth coverage to the problem of furnace short-cycling. The Furnace Runs but Can’t Keep the House Warm If your furnace is properly sized for your home, then it should keep your home warm even in extreme cold. If it runs constantly but isn’t providing enough heat, the likely causes are:.
A dirty filter that must be washed (only if the washable type) or replaced. The filter is the wrong type for your furnace and restricts airflow, so should be replaced. The filter is installed backwards, an issue that can be checked by looking for the arrows on the filter frame that show proper installation direction with the flow of air. Air ducts are leaking, sometimes producing telltale whistling noises, and it is time to have them sealed 9. The Furnace Makes Loud Noises A noisy furnace is most often the result of:. The furnace being a single-stage model that runs on high capacity all the time, so it’s going to be loud.
A bad bearing in the draft motor or the blower motor that must be replaced. A leak in the furnace cabinet, sheet metal plenum or ductwork near the furnace that must be tightened. A dirty filter, which can also cause whistling 10. The Furnace Leaks when AC is Running Water condenses on the evaporator coil in your furnace, and if it leaks onto the floor, the issue is most likely a clogged drain pan or drain line, an issue covered in our. The Air Coming from the Furnace Smells Bad Foul odors from the furnace are usually caused by:. A very dirty filter that should be washed, if washable, or replaced. A dead rodent or bird somewhere in the system, usually a job for a professional furnace technician 12.
The CO Monitor Going Off A carbon monoxide alarm should be taken seriously. Turn the furnace off at the thermostat. Don’t go into the room where the furnace is located.
Open doors and windows, and go outside. Call 911 from a cell phone outside your home.
How to Choose a Gas Furnace Repair Expert Some homeowners choose the cheapest repair service in town, and the results are usually poor. Cheap services are either just getting started, so lack experience or they have a bad reputation, so must give cheap pricing to get jobs. On the other hand, some services are overpriced. The best way to find quality furnace repair at a fair price is to get estimates from several of the top furnace repair companies in town. Meet with each, learn about their history and the experience of the technicians that will do the work. Choose an experienced furnace repair contractor with reasonable rates. You can expedite this process by using our.
When you fill out a quick form and submit it, you’ll soon be contacted by three of the top furnace repair and installation companies near you. They are prescreened for experience, and all are licensed and insured for your protection.
If this guide has helped you diagnose a furnace repair issue, consider passing it along on social media to friends and followers that might have furnace issues too! Copyright 2014-2018, PICKHVAC All Rights Reserved. PICKHVAC Terms of Use: Some of the products seen on our site are delivered through a relationship with outside suppliers like Networx.com, Google, and others. We may or may not be compensated for purchased you make as a result of our recommendation. This will NEVER affect our opinion of a product or service!
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