Central Heat will not come on unless I flip the breaker on and off in my garage. Then it will stay on until it reaches the temp set on thermostat. Then it shuts off and will not come back on, unless of course... I trip the breaker again.

Sounds like there is a short somewheres.is the breaker the right amps?

Marc
(DELAWARE)

Hi Marc,
The breaker is the original breaker that came in the house 11 years ago.
The system started acting up last winter and I just kept flipping the breaker to turn the system on.

It sounds like you are having to reboot the control board. Nothing is simple anymore. The one for my furnace is $300. To have a professional confirm the board is bad might add $100 in labor. Most boards are a tough DIY project to diagnose and fix. Most HVAC techs won't try.

Sounds logical to me. Do you have any tips on removeing the board? Or where I could get some information about removeing it? I haven't opened the unit but guess everything should be connectorized and hopefully not too hard to get to. I do have electronic skills. I layout, stuff and test pcb's for a living. So a bad controller board is right up my alley. But... I am a newbie at HVAC. However, if I can get to and remove the board I should be able to check it out and perhaps repair it.
Thanks,
I really appreciate your help.

Shouldn't be too much to taking it out. Likely the thermostat wires are screw terminals. Check, red wire on the R terminal, white on the W, etc. Repairing boards is a specialty most of us don't do.

Thanks guys, I had the tech come out and they said the board was bad, not to hard to replace. That's my next weekend job.

Marc

Hi Labman,
Thanks for your support. You where right... it was the controller board. I was able to remove it without too much trouble. Then I took the board to work and examined it thoroughly. Noticed a electrolytic capacitor was leaking and a couple of high wattage resistors had burnt the board a little. The resistors checked out OK so I just reflowed the solder on the terminals and replaced the capacitor with another 47uF 50V cap (cost.. 25 cents) Just finished reinstalling the board and everything seems to be working fine.
Thanks again.

Wow. I paid $300 for a board than may have just had a bad relay for my furnace. I get tired of telling people ''Well it sounds like the relay is bad, but it is hard to troubleshoot and repair a board.'' You have a big advantage over many of us. Thanks for the report.