My furnace is not responding to the thermostat. The pilot light is on, the
breaker is on, the power switch is on. Have I missed something simple to
check before calling a service tech ?

Most HVAC units have a safety switch that does not allow the unit to
run if the access panels are open. Does not matter if the doors are
wide open or just ajar. I had that happen to me, so I took some duct
tape with me, pushed in the doors until a click was heard and the unit
started. Then I held the doors closed with several lengths of the
tape.


On Thu, 21 Sep 2006 21:53:10 -0500, "fuzzy57"
wrote:

My furnace is not responding to the thermostat. The pilot light is on, the
breaker is on, the power switch is on. Have I missed something simple to
check before calling a service tech ?

some mechanical thermostats have a separate off switch lever at bottom.
or pull off thermostat cover and look for insect problem.
if you have a simple 2-wire thermostat: disconnect thermostat's 2
wires and measure 24 volts ac on the wires. the thermostat connects the
2 wires when it calls for heat.


fuzzy57 wrote:
My furnace is not responding to the thermostat. The pilot light is on, the
breaker is on, the power switch is on. Have I missed something simple to
check before calling a service tech ?

Use a volt meter to be sure you have power at the furnace, check the
thermostat again to be sure its calling heat.

On Thu, 21 Sep 2006 21:53:10 -0500, "fuzzy57"
wrote:

My furnace is not responding to the thermostat. The pilot light is on, the
breaker is on, the power switch is on. Have I missed something simple to
check before calling a service tech ?

Is there a switch that is still set to AIR CONDITIONING? Be sure to
flip it to HEAT. You can always take the thermostat off the wall and
touch the two wires together. (no you wont get a shock from 24
volts). Of course if you have more than 2 wires (some do), I am not
sure what to say.

One other thing. Next to the furnace is likely a switch. Is it on?
Is the breaker on that feeds the furnace?

Mark

fuzzy57 wrote:
My furnace is not responding to the thermostat. The pilot light is on, the
breaker is on, the power switch is on. Have I missed something simple to
check before calling a service tech ?

Sometimes there is an emergency cutoff switch on the wall near the
furnace.

fuzzy57 wrote:
My furnace is not responding to the thermostat. The pilot light is on, the
breaker is on, the power switch is on. Have I missed something simple to
check before calling a service tech ?

If you have never worked on OR understand how a gas furnance works,
call for service before you blow yourself up. It amy cost you a few
bucks, but the peace of mind knowing that it was fixed properly is
priceless......

wrote:
fuzzy57 wrote:
My furnace is not responding to the thermostat. The pilot light is on, the
breaker is on, the power switch is on. Have I missed something simple to
check before calling a service tech ?

If you have never worked on OR understand how a gas furnance works,
call for service before you blow yourself up. It amy cost you a few
bucks, but the peace of mind knowing that it was fixed properly is
priceless......

I hate to say it but that is an obvious solution. I'll bet fuzzy57
asked the question here because he/she cannot afford an unnecessary
service call.

Stubby wrote:
wrote:
fuzzy57 wrote:
My furnace is not responding to the thermostat. The pilot light is on, the
breaker is on, the power switch is on. Have I missed something simple to
check before calling a service tech ?

If you have never worked on OR understand how a gas furnance works,
call for service before you blow yourself up. It amy cost you a few
bucks, but the peace of mind knowing that it was fixed properly is
priceless......

I hate to say it but that is an obvious solution. I'll bet fuzzy57
asked the question here because he/she cannot afford an unnecessary
service call.

Well, I suppose if he/she blows up, then I guess they don't have to
worry about the heat. NO excuse.....You don't put yourself or others
in danger because you can't afford a service call. And if he/she
doesn't understand what they are doing then how would they know if the
service call is unnecessary?

does it try to start up and then just cut out, then it's probably the
igniter.

Empressess #124457


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fuzzy57 wrote:
My furnace is not responding to the thermostat. The pilot light is on, the
breaker is on, the power switch is on. Have I missed something simple to
check before calling a service tech ?

my bad, you have a pilot light, then the thermocouple that tells if the
pilot is on shold be checked.


fuzzy57 wrote:
My furnace is not responding to the thermostat. The pilot light is on, the
breaker is on, the power switch is on. Have I missed something simple to
check before calling a service tech ?

wrote:
my bad, you have a pilot light, then the thermocouple that tells if the
pilot is on shold be checked.

If the thermocouple is bad, the pilot will go out and will not stay lit
once the button on the gas control is released. The voltage from the
thermocouple is what keeps the gas valve open to avoid a hazardous
situation if the pilot blows out. I have replaced thermocouples in the
past when that happened.
I think that the problem is electrical with the thermostat and any
safety switches.

"fuzzy57" wrote in message
news:ee9d0177a712fa3d5e45ef32f9b3ff64@homerepairli ve.com...
My furnace is not responding to the thermostat. The pilot light is on, the
breaker is on, the power switch is on. Have I missed something simple to
check before calling a service tech ?

What type of thermostat? If it is a programmable one with a battery, it may
be as simple as putting in a new battery. It may have just enough power for
the display, but not enough to trip the contacts for heat. BTDT.

wrote in message
Well, I suppose if he/she blows up, then I guess they don't have to
worry about the heat. NO excuse.....You don't put yourself or others
in danger because you can't afford a service call. And if he/she
doesn't understand what they are doing then how would they know if the
service call is unnecessary?

Oh stop being a worrying nanny. There are things that can be done by any
homeowner before calling the service tech. Heating appliances have all
sorts of safety devices built in to them. Checking contacts, thermostats
and switches will not cause the main gas valve to open accidentally or to
blow up anything. Rather than stop others, educate yourself and put your
fears to rest.

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
wrote in message
Well, I suppose if he/she blows up, then I guess they don't have to
worry about the heat. NO excuse.....You don't put yourself or others
in danger because you can't afford a service call. And if he/she
doesn't understand what they are doing then how would they know if the
service call is unnecessary?

Oh stop being a worrying nanny. There are things that can be done by any
homeowner before calling the service tech. Heating appliances have all
sorts of safety devices built in to them. Checking contacts, thermostats
and switches will not cause the main gas valve to open accidentally or to
blow up anything. Rather than stop others, educate yourself and put your
fears to rest.

Ya listen to you. You've probably screwed up a number of things in
your house and others. The point is, if you don't understand how it
works, leave it alone and call someone who does.

wrote in message
Ya listen to you. You've probably screwed up a number of things in
your house and others. The point is, if you don't understand how it
works, leave it alone and call someone who does.


Yes, you should listen to me. Have I ever screwed up something? Yes, of
course. But I've learned hot to fix many things a low or no cost and have
saved thousands of dollars over the years. Every project is a learning
experience. Any wiring I've done has been inspected and approved. Any
plumbing I've done has been inspected and approved.

There are many things I don't understand, but I take a little time, follow
the wires, follow the pipes, and find solutions to problems. I make a
pretty good living at finding solutions to problems. Perhaps you have a
life as a pencil pusher in an office and have no uderstanding of things
mechanical. That is OK, we all don't want to learn everything, but don't
admonish others that do want to learn.

After sitting for the summer, many a solenoid valve will stick. A tap of a
hammer can save a $150 service call. Thee is nothing unsafe about that.
Checking hte batteries of a thermostat is not unsafe. Checking the position
of switches is not unsafe. I did not recommend that pipes be opened up.

Educate yourself. You can save a lot of money.

On Fri, 22 Sep 2006 10:30:25 -0400, Stubby
wrote:

wrote:
fuzzy57 wrote:
My furnace is not responding to the thermostat. The pilot light is on, the
breaker is on, the power switch is on. Have I missed something simple to
check before calling a service tech ?

If you have never worked on OR understand how a gas furnance works,
call for service before you blow yourself up. It amy cost you a few
bucks, but the peace of mind knowing that it was fixed properly is
priceless......

I hate to say it but that is an obvious solution. I'll bet fuzzy57
asked the question here because he/she cannot afford an unnecessary
service call.

This is one of my pet peeves on this NG. Everyone knows that they can
call a professional. so why do people even bother to post such a
thing. The whole point of this NG is to find solutions for doing our
own repairs. Yes, on occasion I have read someone doing something
that does sound dangerous and have myself suggested they get a pro.
But messing with a thermostat is definately not going to blow anything
up. And for the record, calling a furnace pro will cost much more
than a FEW bucks. They are not cheap. Homeowners should be able to do
minor repairs, unless they are millionnaires.

For the OP.
1. make sure the breaker is turned ON for the furnace
2. Make sure the switch on, next to, or near the furnace is turned ON
3. be sure the thermostat is set to HEATING, not to AC.
4. turn the thermostat as high as it will go and see if the furnace
lights. (turn it back down after).
5. If you have a programmable thermostat, set it to MANUAL or (on
mine), it;s called HOLD.
6. As a last resort, remove the thermostat and either try a different
one, or temporarily short the wires together if there are only 2 of
them.
7. If you have any electrical knowledge, there is a transformer in the
furnace that supplies 24 volts. A test meter can be helpful to see if
there is voltage.

On 22 Sep 2006 10:34:59 -0700, wrote:


Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
wrote in message
Well, I suppose if he/she blows up, then I guess they don't have to
worry about the heat. NO excuse.....You don't put yourself or others
in danger because you can't afford a service call. And if he/she
doesn't understand what they are doing then how would they know if the
service call is unnecessary?

Oh stop being a worrying nanny. There are things that can be done by any
homeowner before calling the service tech. Heating appliances have all
sorts of safety devices built in to them. Checking contacts, thermostats
and switches will not cause the main gas valve to open accidentally or to
blow up anything. Rather than stop others, educate yourself and put your
fears to rest.

Ya listen to you. You've probably screwed up a number of things in
your house and others. The point is, if you don't understand how it
works, leave it alone and call someone who does.

Let me guess.....
The last time you tried to do a home repair, you tried to paint a
wall, spilled the paint on your couch and tv, and broke a window when
the defective ladder broke, you fell 3 feet, broke your spine and
spent the next 5 years in traction. Plus when the paint brush hit you
in the head you got a brain concussion. Now, you are in too much pain,
dont have a couch or a tv to watch, so all you can do is sit in front
of your computer posting scarey messages to people trying to do their
own repairs. I guess you never understood how a ladder or bucket of
paint works, so you should have left them alone.

On 22 Sep 2006 09:39:42 -0700, wrote:

my bad, you have a pilot light, then the thermocouple that tells if the
pilot is on shold be checked.


fuzzy57 wrote:
My furnace is not responding to the thermostat. The pilot light is on, the
breaker is on, the power switch is on. Have I missed something simple to
check before calling a service tech ?

In the original message he said the pilot light is ON.

Thanks, folks. I will try all suggestions and will not open or mess with
ANYTHING that I don't understand.

On Fri, 22 Sep 2006 01:02:50 -0500, wrote:

On Thu, 21 Sep 2006 21:53:10 -0500, "fuzzy57"
wrote:

My furnace is not responding to the thermostat. The pilot light is on, the
breaker is on, the power switch is on. Have I missed something simple to
check before calling a service tech ?

Is there a switch that is still set to AIR CONDITIONING? Be sure to
flip it to HEAT. You can always take the thermostat off the wall and
touch the two wires together. (no you wont get a shock from 24
volts). Of course if you have more than 2 wires (some do), I am not
sure what to say.

If there are 5 connect them all together. Let God sort them out.

I think I heard this advice in a war movie, probably during the
heating and air conditioning scene.


One other thing. Next to the furnace is likely a switch. Is it on?
Is the breaker on that feeds the furnace?

Mark

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
wrote in message
Ya listen to you. You've probably screwed up a number of things in
your house and others. The point is, if you don't understand how it
works, leave it alone and call someone who does.


Yes, you should listen to me. Have I ever screwed up something? Yes, of
course. But I've learned hot to fix many things a low or no cost and have
saved thousands of dollars over the years. Every project is a learning
experience. Any wiring I've done has been inspected and approved. Any
plumbing I've done has been inspected and approved.

There are many things I don't understand, but I take a little time, follow
the wires, follow the pipes, and find solutions to problems. I make a
pretty good living at finding solutions to problems. Perhaps you have a
life as a pencil pusher in an office and have no uderstanding of things
mechanical. That is OK, we all don't want to learn everything, but don't
admonish others that do want to learn.

After sitting for the summer, many a solenoid valve will stick. A tap of a
hammer can save a $150 service call. Thee is nothing unsafe about that.
Checking hte batteries of a thermostat is not unsafe. Checking the position
of switches is not unsafe. I did not recommend that pipes be opened up.

Educate yourself. You can save a lot of money.

I've built and fixed more things in a week then you'll see in a life
time......Sonny. I've watched many people play with gas only to screw
it up and cost themselves more money. Most of the time the money ends
up in my pocket. I agree that there are plenty of people out there
that can fix many things, but when it comes to something of this
nature, leave to the Pros......I'm sure some day I'll read about you!!!

"fuzzy57" wrote in message
news:edbd283a811eb749ae0f3b8ea8c289a3@homerepairli ve.com...
Thanks, folks. I will try all suggestions and will not open or mess with
ANYTHING that I don't understand.

Please get back to us with the resolution. If we don't hear from you, we'll
look in the newspapers for houses destroyed by gas explosions.

On Fri, 22 Sep 2006 18:04:10 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski"
wrote:


Yes, you should listen to me. Have I ever screwed up something? Yes, of
course. But I've learned hot to fix many things a low or no cost and have
saved thousands of dollars over the years. Every project is a learning
experience. Any wiring I've done has been inspected and approved. Any
plumbing I've done has been inspected and approved.

I was working on that AC last Sunday, and my friend started
complaining that before the furnace fan worked and now it didn't.

I may have touched the wrong two wires together and blown a fuse in
teh furnace. They cost a quarter and there was a spare taped inside
the furnace by the manufacturer.

Before we found the problem, I said, Don't worry, when it's fixed,
everything will work.

That's sort of obvious because otherwise it woudn't have been fixed.
But the upshot is that after another 15 minutes, I was 10 minutes away
from saying it was the contactor. I have a spare I stripped out of a
discarded compressor, and he'll be fixed in another 20 minutes.

I've never diagnosed this part before, and like you say, every project
is a learning experience.

I divide my amateur days from my skilled amateur days, not so much
because I make fewer mistakes, but because I always have a way to get
out of it now when I do make a mistake.

On 22 Sep 2006 12:30:43 -0700, wrote:


Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
wrote in message
Ya listen to you. You've probably screwed up a number of things in
your house and others. The point is, if you don't understand how it
works, leave it alone and call someone who does.


Yes, you should listen to me. Have I ever screwed up something? Yes, of
course. But I've learned hot to fix many things a low or no cost and have
saved thousands of dollars over the years. Every project is a learning
experience. Any wiring I've done has been inspected and approved. Any
plumbing I've done has been inspected and approved.

There are many things I don't understand, but I take a little time, follow
the wires, follow the pipes, and find solutions to problems. I make a
pretty good living at finding solutions to problems. Perhaps you have a
life as a pencil pusher in an office and have no uderstanding of things
mechanical. That is OK, we all don't want to learn everything, but don't
admonish others that do want to learn.

After sitting for the summer, many a solenoid valve will stick. A tap of a
hammer can save a $150 service call. Thee is nothing unsafe about that.
Checking hte batteries of a thermostat is not unsafe. Checking the position
of switches is not unsafe. I did not recommend that pipes be opened up.

Educate yourself. You can save a lot of money.

I've built and fixed more things in a week then you'll see in a life
time......Sonny. I've watched many people play with gas only to screw
it up and cost themselves more money. Most of the time the money ends

But you threatened Fuzzy with blowing up his house. Now you're just
talking about money. If Fuzzy does waste some money the first time,
that might be the prelude to saving money next time and ever after.

Anyhow, Fuzzy should know his skills, aptitude, and limitations, and
decide for himself. It's not like you think you are stopping others
from giving him leads to follow. He should know which ones he can do
and which he can't.

up in my pocket. I agree that there are plenty of people out there
that can fix many things, but when it comes to something of this
nature, leave to the Pros......I'm sure some day I'll read about you!!!

On Fri, 22 Sep 2006 17:11:52 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski"
wrote:


"fuzzy57" wrote in message
news:ee9d0177a712fa3d5e45ef32f9b3ff64@homerepairl ive.com...
My furnace is not responding to the thermostat. The pilot light is on, the
breaker is on, the power switch is on. Have I missed something simple to
check before calling a service tech ?

What type of thermostat? If it is a programmable one with a battery, it may
be as simple as putting in a new battery. It may have just enough power for
the display, but not enough to trip the contacts for heat. BTDT.

On mine, I have the feeling that the battery is only there to keep it
from forgetting things if I turn off the AC power to the furnace/AC.

I have only changed the battery once in 24 years, and I think
everything works fine as look as the power is on to the furnace.

Could that be the case, with my thermostat at least?

On Sat, 23 Sep 2006 03:13:25 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski"
wrote:


"fuzzy57" wrote in message
news:edbd283a811eb749ae0f3b8ea8c289a3@homerepairl ive.com...
Thanks, folks. I will try all suggestions and will not open or mess with
ANYTHING that I don't understand.

Please get back to us with the resolution. If we don't hear from you, we'll
look in the newspapers for houses destroyed by gas explosions.

Indeed. When we read the newspapers we'll need to know if Fuzzy57 is
your first name or last name. Perhaps your full name is F. Emerson
Vanderbilt (where F. stands for Fuzzy57.)

On Sat, 23 Sep 2006 00:19:59 -0700, Al Moran wrote:

On Fri, 22 Sep 2006 17:15:59 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski"
wrote:


Oh stop being a worrying nanny. There are things that can be done by any
homeowner before calling the service tech. Heating appliances have all
sorts of safety devices built in to them. Checking contacts, thermostats
and switches will not cause the main gas valve to open accidentally or to
blow up anything. Rather than stop others, educate yourself and put your
fears to rest.


Yep, more likely to get electrocuted than blown up.

He's working with 24 volts to the thermostat. You cant even get an
effective shock on 24V much less electrocuted.

On Sat, 23 Sep 2006 08:26:40 -0500, wrote:

Yep, more likely to get electrocuted than blown up.

He's working with 24 volts to the thermostat. You cant even get an
effective shock on 24V much less electrocuted.

I suspect that somebody is going to educate you about current, after a
comment like that...

wrote in message
...
On Sat, 23 Sep 2006 00:19:59 -0700, Al Moran wrote:


He's working with 24 volts to the thermostat. You cant even get an
effective shock on 24V much less electrocuted.

So if I send you a 24volt 40va transformer,,,,, you'll plug it in with
one hand holding the frame and your thumb of that same hand across the 24V
screws! :-)

**CAUTION** No one should try this as this as it only takes .001amps to
stop the heart***(yes, I described the act above with dumb-ass safety
protocol in mind.)

-zero