As we move toward the end of the year, furnaces will begin to come to life all over the Central Valley, and they’ll remain working steadily through the winter and into spring. At least, we hope they work steadily. A furnace failure can put a family in a bad position. Fortunately, you can always call us for furnace repair in Fresno, CA and throughout the Central Valley and we’ll get your furnace back in shape.
Below we’re going to look at some of the reasons your gas furnace may have shut off. Many of these are minor problems that you can correct yourself. Not repair yourself, however. These are basic troubleshooting steps. Please don’t open the furnace panel and try to tinker around inside. You probably won’t be able to fix the problem yourself and it’s potentially dangerous to try. You must leave all service on a gas furnace to licensed professionals.
Loose front panel
The front panel of a furnace must remain closed when the furnace is operating, otherwise it can create a carbon monoxide hazard. Many furnaces today are designed with a safety feature that shuts the furnace off if the door is open. When your furnace suddenly stops working, check the front panel: it might be loose and causing the safety shutoff to activate.
Tripped circuit breaker
This is one of the most common reasons for any large appliance in a home to stop working. And yes, this affects natural gas furnaces as well as electric furnaces, because gas furnaces still need the blower fan to move air through them. The blower motor can overload and trip the circuit breaker. Reset a tripped breaker and try the furnace again. If the breaker trips once more, you may have a problem requiring repairs.
Thermostat trouble
A problem with the thermostat may be as simple as somebody inputting the wrong setting or changing the programming without you knowing it. Always check the thermostat to make sure it’s set right. But the thermostat may have malfunctions, such as a lost connection to turn on the furnace or a miscalibration causing it to register incorrect temperatures. Our technicians can repair or replace the faulty thermostat.
Clogged filter
We often find ourselves coming back to the air filter in the HVAC system—because it causes multiple problems when it’s left in place for months and becomes clogged. One possible consequence of a clogged filter for a furnace is that it will trap too much heat inside the furnace and lead to tripping a safety switch. Remove the filter and hold it up to a light. If the debris in the filter blocks the light, you need to change the filter for a new one. We recommend changing the filter every one to three months.
Gas line problems
The burners may not be receiving natural gas. The furnace has safety precautions that will cause it to shut down to avoid safety problems in this case. Fixing this must be handled by professionals, so call us before you attempt to run the furnace again.
Call Purl’s Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning whenever you need furnace repairs. “Quality Is the Cornerstone of Our Success” since 1952.