Did you heater stop working? Make sure you take a look at these common furnace problems and what you should do about them.
The average cost to fix common furnace problems is $240 if you call a professional. There are some things you can fix on your own, but other times, it is better to let the professionals handle things.
If you’re a DIY kind of person, you might already be at work diagnosing your problem. We are here to help you figure out what’s going on and what you should do about it once you find the problem.
Continue reading this article to learn more about common problems with your furnace and what the next best steps are.
Your Heater is Blowing Cold Air
Your heater blowing cold air could be a simple mistake of hitting your thermostat over to air, so make sure to check that before you get worried. Even if your heater is set to where you normally put it, try kicking the heat up a couple of notches to see if the air temperature changes.
Another common mistake is people changing their settings to “fan on” instead of “auto,” which means only air will blow vs. heat.
Once you know your settings are all proper, it’s time to look into what is causing the cold air coming from your heater.
Something as simple as a dirty air filter could cause your furnace to blow cold air. Leaky ductwork and pilot light issues are a couple of other common problems. You may even have a lack of fuel for your furnace.
Work your way up from the least difficult fixes to the most difficult fixes, or call a heating repair service to help you find and remedy the problem.
Heater Just Keeps Going
If your heater won’t stop running, your energy bill is going to shoot up sky high. Head over to your thermostat and see if your settings are on “auto” or if they are clicked over to “on.” If your setting is clicked over to “on,” your heater won’t stop running until you change it to auto.
The two most common problems that could cause your heater to keep blowing even when it is the desired temperature in the town is a malfunctioning or miswired thermostat, or a furnace blower that is acting up.
Look at your thermostat’s wiring to make sure they are all going to the right places, reset your thermostat to its factory settings, and give your system another go. If your heater still keeps going, you might need to replace your faulty thermostat.
Let’s say you replace the thermostat and the problem persists. If that happens, it’s time to look at the blower, and you want to call a professional for this type of issue.
Only Parts of the House Are Heating
If some parts of your house are toasty warm and other parts have a chill in the air, you may have faulty ductwork, or the issue could just be a dirty filter.
Check all filters in the home to see if they have too much dust or debris. If they need to be changed out, fix that issue, and try your system again. If you run the furnace for a day and you still find your house is not heating evenly, it’s time to look at the ductwork.
Your ducts may have leaks or other issues. If you find your ductwork needs repairing, you could try to do it yourself, but this can be a tedious project that you want a professional’s help on.
Heater Failing to Lite or Stay Lit
Depending on the newness of your furnace, you may or may not have a pilot light. Newer furnaces have electronic ignition systems that make sure the gas isn’t running without the heater being on.
These sensors can get dirty or become faulty. If you notice that your sensor is dirty or doesn’t appear to be working, all you have to do is change it out. It’s a simple fix that you can DIY, and it isn’t expensive to do.
Fan on the Fritz
If your fan isn’t working, check the thermostat to make sure all the settings are as they should be. If the settings are correct, move on to the filters to check for dirt or debris. If your filter is very dirty, this problem could cause the fan to stop working altogether.
Your circuit breakers could also be the problem. Check your circuit breaker that controls that part of your house, and flip it on if necessary. Do not try flipping it on and off as this could cause a fire.
If your fan still doesn’t come on, you might have a more serious problem that calls for the help of professionals.
Furnace Turning On an Off Quickly
When your furnace turns on and off quickly, this is called short cycling. Short cycling could mean that only parts of your heating are warming up.
Dirty filters, oversized units, thermostat placement, or a thermostat fault could be the culprit of your short cycling problem. Your furnace should be running for at least 15 minutes to get the best results. If the time running is less than 15 minutes during the usage frequently, that could cause problems with the heater exchanger.
Fixing Common Furnace Problems
Now you know more about common furnace problems, and what you can do about them. Whether you’re fixing them on your own or you’re getting someone else to take care of them, it’s important that you don’t let them go unattended.
Do you feel like you need more help with home maintenance issues and other important topics? Our site is full of articles that can help you as you’re trying to fix key issues.
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