Yossarian 208 #1 Posted January 1, 2022 8:30pm New Year's Eve, First real winter storm of the season on it's way overnight and the furnace just died. The little flashing red diagnostic light blinks once. Apparently that means it has exceeded the allowable number of attempts to fire up. Not sure if it's a propane supply issue, ignition issue or what. Not even sure if I can figure that out. On call HVAC would cost a medium sized fortune. DIY is out of the question until at least Monday if parts are needed. For a lot of folks it would be panic time. But, I'm just gonna fire up the wood stove and fill the kerosene heater. If we lose electricity I might worry a little bit about frozen pipes since we will also lose the well pump at that point. Oh, yeah portable propane heat solutions too. That should work for the pipes. I love redundancy all over again. 8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 48,821 #2 Posted January 1, 2022 (edited) Prolly just an ignitor on the furnace. Reboot it and see if it glows. Also check the pressure switch. Pic or model of the furnace would help me fix it. Edited January 1, 2022 by WHX?? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yossarian 208 #3 Posted January 1, 2022 The exhaust fan kicks on, then a few clicks, fan keeps going for a bit the it starts over with the same thing a few times then quits. Also noticed that the LED blinks three times during the first attempt. Pressure switch stuck open. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 48,821 #4 Posted January 1, 2022 Thats an old girl .... 93 vintage so says the serial number. Must have alot of house as that's a125KBTU unit which is alot for a house these days. Might be time to consider a replacement as that was only an entry level unit and not known to work fine last a long time. Check the pvc intake exhaust for blockage if they check ok whack on the pressure switch to try and get it to close, or jumper it after the draft blower starts. Check the pressure switch hose for condensate & check the drain for blockage. Watch for the HSI glow through the sight glass or better yet just pull the burner box door off. eliminates a blocked intake pipe issue. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yossarian 208 #5 Posted January 2, 2022 It's warm enough with the wood stove that I had to turn up the thermostat to keep testing the furnace. I do appreciate your time. This is one of the things I love about this forum. Haven't found any blockages yet. Checked the intake and exhaust. There are two lines off the pressure switch. The short one to the fan had a very small amount of condensate and kind of sloppy fit. Took care of those issues. Per advice on another site I blew lightly into the line and could hear the diaphragm click. I'll mess with it more tomorrow. It's really nice to have that option. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lynnmor 7,307 #6 Posted January 2, 2022 I wonder if the igniter works the same as the one on my gas stove that I wrote about just over a week ago. Even if it glows, it must meet a resistance specification to open the safety valve. It would be a cheap and easy replacement if you want to try tossing a part at it and possibly eliminate a service call. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yossarian 208 #7 Posted January 2, 2022 33 minutes ago, lynnmor said: I wonder if the igniter works the same as the one on my gas stove that I wrote about just over a week ago. Even if it glows, it must meet a resistance specification to open the safety valve. It would be a cheap and easy replacement if you want to try tossing a part at it and possibly eliminate a service call. From what I've read so far, as long as the pressure switch won't close, the igniter won't start at all. I'm pretty confident at this point that its a faulty pressure switch. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 48,821 #8 Posted January 2, 2022 Right the module must see pressure switch closed to send 120 vac to the ignitor. It won't care what the resistance of the ignitor is. The ignitor is real easy to get at on this one. Lays right on top of the burner rack. A very comon IG 101 ignitor if I remember right. They only last a few years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yossarian 208 #9 Posted January 2, 2022 so it's your opinion that it probably is the pressure switch? I've read about people install "universal" switches. Is that an option here? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 48,821 #10 Posted January 3, 2022 2 hours ago, Yossarian said: so it's your opinion that it probably is the pressure switch? I've read about people install "universal" switches. Is that an option here? It is if you can get it fire by jumping the pressure switch but if that's not conclusive the PS is bad. Many other things can cause a PS trip. I have not had a lot of proplems with the PS on this model. Universal PSs are not for the layman tho they need to be calibrated to the unit with special instruments. I ALWAYS prefer OEM parts and for this one that part is readily available. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yossarian 208 #11 Posted January 3, 2022 Hmm. Glad I tried that. The video I watched said you had to jump it after the inducer started, not before. So I did it both both ways. If it was jumped, code said stuck closed. Not jumped it said stuck open. Not sure if my timing was off, but I think it's gonna have to be service call. Thanks so much for your time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 48,821 #12 Posted January 3, 2022 (edited) Yes you might need to let the inducer start first then jumper. Some controls need read the PS open before the inducer starts then need to read it closed after it starts. Edited January 3, 2022 by WHX?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yossarian 208 #13 Posted January 3, 2022 @WHX??, turns out I wasn't going to find the issue on my own. But I sure do appreciate the help and knowledge. A bad capacitor was making the inducer run weak and the PS was also bad. Got a new igniter as well. They cleaned the burners and checked out the heat exchanger. All that needed done anyway. All that to say, I like redundancy again. Not a single cold night and I avoided a weekend emergency call that wouldn't have fixed it anyway since they had to go get a PS to fit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 48,821 #14 Posted January 3, 2022 18 minutes ago, Yossarian said: cleaned the burners and checked out the heat exchanger Always a good Idea there. Was the tech able to replace just the cap or the whole inducer? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yossarian 208 #15 Posted January 3, 2022 Replaced the capacitor I guess. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHX?? 48,821 #16 Posted January 6, 2022 Been there done that... which is good.... cap is cheap ventor is $$$ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
