Hello,
I live in an older, rather drafty home that is centrally heated by a gas furnace, with a simple digital(honeywell) thermostat.
When I moved in the heater seemed to be working normally, but suddenly it seemed that it wouldn't come on. Even though the therm was set at 70 and the temp read 55.
I fiddled with the thermostat a bit and got some space heaters,
But then the weather warmed up a bit and I forgot about the problem.
However as it cooled off again, the heater seemed to respond and work fine, keeping the house nice and warm.
Now however, it is not responding again! Therm set at 69, temp reading 54. The face of the thermostat shows a small flame.. which I assume means it is calling for ignition of the heater but alas, nothing is happening.
I can get it to come on momentarily if I shut it all the way off and turn HEAT on again, but it just runs for a minute or so.

Also I popped the whole thermostat of the wall and re-plugged it in, but no help.
Do I need a new thermostat or a new heater? Is something clogged up somewhere?

Any responses appreciated

Thanks,
I'm Cold,
Jennifer

My guess is it is a furnace problem. See the sticky post at the top of the main page for some help diagnosing if it is the stat or the furnace.

Hello,
I live in an older, rather drafty home that is centrally heated by a gas furnace, with a simple digital(honeywell) thermostat.
When i moved in the heater seemed to be working normally, but suddenly it seemed that it wouldnt come on. Even though the therm was set at 70 and the temp read 55.
I fiddled with the thermostat a bit and got some space heaters,
but then the weather warmed up a bit and i forgot about the problem.
However as it cooled off again, the heater seemed to respond and work fine, keeping the house nice and warm.
Now however, it is not responding again! Therm set at 69, temp reading 54. The face of the thermostat shows a small flame.. which i assume means it is calling for ignition of the heater but alas, nothing is happening.
I can get it to come on momentarily if i shut it all the way off and turn HEAT on again, but it just runs for a minute or so.

Also i popped the whole thermostat of the wall and re-plugged it in, but no help.
Do i need a new thermostat or a new heater? Is something clogged up somewhere?

Any responses appreciated

Thanks,
I'm Cold,
Jennifer
Hi
We went through this with our furnace and it was a bad igniter, the heat would come on and shut right back off. You can't buy these yourself, they have to be purchased by a HVAC tech here in Illinois anyway. Hope this helps.