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View Full Version : Furnace sometimes won't start, then need to trip circuit breaker on and off


jjaplit
Jan 21, 2009, 11:49 AM
I live in a condo, and I started experiencing this problem in the middle of last winter.

I will notice that the temperature will drop past when the furnace should kick in. I found that tripping the circuit breaker on and off will usually do the trick. It would happen intermittently. It could work fine for days at a time, or I could find that I need to re-set it multiple times in a day.

I had an HVAC person come in and check it out, and he found nothing wrong with the system and suggested that I change my thermostat. I switched from a programmable Honeywell to a programmable Lux, and it seemed to do the trick. The problem only happened one more time late in that winter, and never had any issues in the summer with air conditioning.

Now fast forward to last week, and the problem resurfaces. I changed the batteries in my new thermostat and the issue still would come up. Although, instead of having to trip the breakers, I found that sometimes turning on/off the thermostat or removing it and replacing it back would do the trick. Except for today, nothing but tripping the circuit breaker on and off would work. Any suggestions?


My furnace is electric - Goodman A24-10
My thermostat is Ace model #4115176 re-branded Lux.

Thanks for any help!

hvac1000
Jan 21, 2009, 01:24 PM
By turning the power or thermostat on and off you are performing a sort of reset. There is nothing special about your equipment brand or model number that would cause this type of problem.

Intermittent problems are the worst to find. I suggest the next time this happens you call for service without reseting anything. This way when the service person gets there the unit will be dead and before they can reactavate it they need to do the testing.

Naturally my first guess would be a thermostat problem since that is what actually tells the unit to turn on and off but you have replaced that part so that eliminates that somewhat.

That unit does have a time delay which could be the problem. This item is sometimes called a heat sequencer.

Time Delay Relay Delay on Make 10 Seconds Delay on Break 90 Seconds SPST

Item number 101 Part number B1370738

Available here or other places

PartsGuy.com -- Goodman B1370738 Time Delay Relay (http://www.partsguy.com/cgi-bin/PartsGuy/B1370738.html)

Goodman B1370738 Air Handler Sequencer Relay - AZ Partsmaster (http://www.azpartsmaster.com/Products/Goodman-B1370738-Air-Handler-Sequencer-Relay__A10953.aspx)

See item 101 in your indoor unit for location.

http://securenet.goodmanmfg.com/pdf/infoPdf/images/P-513.004.gif

jjaplit
Jan 21, 2009, 01:28 PM
Thanks for the advice! I'll give the service person a call, then leave everything alone until he can get here. I'll post again once the issue has been resolved.

hvac1000
Jan 21, 2009, 01:30 PM
I bet they replace the part listed above since it is the only part in the unit that can cause that problem.

Item number 101 Part number B1370738


Post back with results.

jjaplit
Jan 21, 2009, 01:32 PM
Thanks for the advice! I'll give the service person a call, then leave everything alone until he can get here. I'll post again once the issue has been resolved.

jjaplit
Jan 22, 2009, 01:54 PM
Well it's been 14 hours since the last incident, and the thermostat and furnace have been working fine.

The only thing I did different this last time was making sure the wire nuts were tight to the wiring going to the furnace. If anything changes I'll post back here.