Carrier 58MXA060

gshock · 11-06-2007, 02:10 PM

Hey Guys,
I've had several minor problems with the pressure switch on my furnace. I checked for obstructions and found none. A technician came out and found the problem pretty quickly... it was a loose wire on the pressure switch. Eventually, the switch was replaced. Last winter, the furnace quit on one of the coldest nights - as they always do. While the technician was there, he mentioned that the igniter would need to be replaced soon, within a year or two. The technician said that it's a big job because the entire furnace has to come apart to do it. I do work on my house and my car all the time so I'm not afraid to dig in and get dirty. I'll crawl through the ductwork if I have to. I'm a mechanical engineer in HVAC, but I'm also new to it so I haven't had time to play with furnace controls. I'm just starting to the learn sequence of operations. I understand the principles, but I don't have much experience with this kind of stuff. So far, I've mostly done building heat loss calculations. It's great to figure out how big my furnace needs to be, but it doesn't help me trouble shoot it when it breaks down. Bummer!

My question is: Can I replace the igniter myself, and how do I know when it needs replacing ... before it quits? Will it run poorly and give me some kind of a warning? Or will it just not fire at all?

Thanks in advance for the help.

#CARRIERMAN · 11-06-2007, 02:45 PM

Hi gshock

I am assuming that the technician you are using has teeth that look as though he has been chewing on rocks. May have a hand made brass crack pipe in his pocket? Sure you can change that ignitor yourself. If you look on the bottom side of the burner box you will see two white wires. If you follow the wires to the burner box you will see a porcelin piece that has a stainless steel piece on either side of it. Shut the power off to the furnace and squeeze these stainless pieces on either side with your index finger and thumb. Carefully pull straight down on the ignitor, may be slightly tough as most of them had a red silicone gasket on them. When installing the new ignitor, make sure not to touch the M shaped piece with your fingers and do not bump the M shaped piece against anything. Either one will cause ignitor failure. Other than that, if you can afford to use a poor company to do your service work, you could afford to fly me to your house and do it right,lol.

Good luck
Rusty

gshock · 11-06-2007, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by #CARRIERMAN

Hi gshock
I am assuming that the technician you are using has teeth that look as though he has been chewing on rocks. May have a hand made brass crack pipe in his pocket? ... Other than that, if you can afford to use a poor company to do your service work, you could afford to fly me to your house and do it right,lol.

Good luck
Rusty

Hi Rusty,
Thanks for the tips. This guy told me that it would be about $1000 to do the job. Is there anything on the furnace that would cost $1000 to replace/repair? For that kind of money, I really could fly you out here to do it for me. But for that price, you better show me how to do it ... and then give me a crash course in furnace repair!

LOL

#CARRIERMAN · 11-06-2007, 03:14 PM

Hi again gshock

I could not tell you on your furnace what he could be talking about. The heat exchanger on this furnace has a lifetime factory warranty. If it takes him that long to change out the heat eaxchanger, I would hate to see them actually have to work. I would have to reccomend you find another serviceing company if at all possible. The ignitor should cost you between $20.00 and $40.00 dollars, they seem to vary from state to state quite a bit.

Good luck
Rusty

gshock · 11-06-2007, 03:19 PM

Rusty,

What you're saying makes more sense to me. This guy had a meter of some kind. I admit, I wasn't really paying attention to what he was doing at the time. I had other distractions to worry about.

But he checked something and said that the reading was at "80 and when they get to 110, they can go at any time." Any idea what he's talking about? Thanks for the tip on the heat exchanger. Good to know.

Thanks for all your help as well.

Kristan (Mr.)

#CARRIERMAN · 11-08-2007, 04:11 PM

Hi gshock

What he was referring to were ohms of resistance. That is correct that about 110 to 114 is almost guaranteed to fail within a short time. At 80 ohms I wouldn't even worry about failure unless it has been bumped or has been finger printed.

Good luck
Rusty

gshock · 11-08-2007, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by #CARRIERMAN

Hi gshock

What he was referring to were ohms of resistance. That is correct that about 110 to 114 is almost guaranteed to fail within a short time. At 80 ohms I wouldn't even worry about failure unless it has been bumped or has been finger printed.

Good luck
Rusty

#CARRIERMAN,
Thanks for the head's up. I'll get an extra igniter just in case, but it's good to know that it's safe for now. And thanks for the education. I hate having to count on someone else to do the work for me. So thanks for helping me be self-sufficient. I see no reason to pay someone for something I can do myself.

gshock · 11-09-2007, 09:00 AM

Just one more question, if I may. Do you know where I can find the part number for the HSI? I can't seem to find the part number in any of the documentation that I have. I just want to make sure I get the right one. How about the flame sensor? Should I get a spare for that too?