Hello,

I have a old model Bryant Gas furnace. It is not a standing pilot. It is electric pilot. My troubleshooting Question is I noticed today the furnace did not come on. The residence got cold. When I checked the Tstat, The temp said 64 and have it set at 70. So I turned up the Tstat to 74 to see if the furnace will kick on. I went to the furnace and listened. I did see the pilot come on. However, after about a good minute or more the pilot came on, the burners did not ignite and pilot shut off. I went back to the Tstat, cleaned it a bit to see if dust or anything might have been the issue. After I cleaned it, the furnace pilot came on and burners also. It has been 12 hrs now and still no probs so far after I cleaned the Tstat.

My question is, Is this true that a Tstat could've been the issue? Or is it just a luck on my part and suspest it to be something else to watch out for?

Thanks a lot.:(

You might have the old two or three wire pilot light safety assembly. These are notorious for causing the exact problem you are having. Carrier and Bryant used these for many years and are still available to purchase.

The picture I posted is of the three wire style and has a connector on the end to plug in the wires. The two wire style while not as popular as the three wire one just has two wires that you attach where the originals cam from. Easy does it when replacing this part. It is always good to spray a little WD-40 on the brass nuts that hold the aluminum tube in the gas valve and also on the pilot. The aluminum tube corrodes and makes it difficult to remone the brass nut from the assembly. This in turn causes the aluminum tube to twist and become damaged. You do not want to damage the aluminum tube or you will be making a new one and that is absolutely no fun.

If this is the kind of pilot you have turn off the gas and electric to the furnace. Remove and replace item for item turn the gas back on and try the furnace. It should now work with the new pilot.

Note of caution. At the pilot there is something called a orifice and it is right under the brass nut. The new pilot assembly should have one with it but if not clean the little hole carefully with compressed air or anything else that will not damage the little hole in the orifice.

One more note: If you have propane gas instead of natural gas you will have to remove the orifice out of the old pilot assembly and use it over. This is critical since the pilot hole for for propane gas is a lot smaller than the one for propane.












Good luck and have a Great Thanksgiving