Hi guys. I am brand new here and found the site through google while trying to fix my heater. Usually when it doesn't kick on it's because I forgot that I had turned off the gas for the summer (it runs about 15.00 a month just for the pilot
) but this year I was on top of things.
I turned on the gas.
I lit the pilot.
I turned on the heat on the thermostat and set it for 72. The thermostat clicked and the heater fired. All was well.
Then last night it got down to ~30 degrees here and I woke up shivering. I have a house full of kids (6) so this was a big problem. I raced to the thermo to make sure someone hadn't turned it off accidentally. It was fine.
I went out to the furnace to check if the pilot went out after a storm we had.
(click for a larger pic)
It was lit.
And so then I checked online for other ideas which lead me here. I cleaned the temp/flame sensor with a wire wheel.
Still not good. Then I saw the "jumper R/W" threads and tried that. No cigar.
So I did what all idiots do. I took my screwdriver and poked around a little, wiggling wires and generally making sure everything was connected.
Then I plugged it back in. Still nothing but the normal "hum" and the pilot light hiss.
So I poked in there again with the screwdriver but I forgot to unplug it this time. I happened to tap this thing, which I have no idea what it is.
That's when it seemed to depress a bit and WHOOSH! My gas kicked on and I had fire. Scared me half to death, but the fan kicked on at that point and the house warmed up. It had no problem kicking on after that so I guess it had crud in it or something and my poking freed it up.
At any rate, this post has two purposes.
One, I hope this helps someone else with an old furnace. They are old and don't have fancy lights but darn it if you can't fix them with a bit of bailing wire and some bubble gum!
And two, what is that thing I hit and did I cause myself further problems down the road?
Thanks!
Linear Mode
