I have a Rheem forced hot air gas furnace. Pretty old.
I called in a technician and he replaced the thermocouple. But by night the pilot light had gone out again and it was thanksgiving so no one would come to fix it.
When I went to relight the pilot light, I noticed that I jostle a wire and it sparked (a black wire on a panel that said 'load'), the flames flickered. I tightened this up and it worked for a few days, until the pilot light went out again. Since then, I have been relighting the furnace and fiddling with that wire to have it work for 48 hours or less when the pilot light goes out again.
Can anyone tell me what is happening here?
Thanks!

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Originally Posted by mynamehere

I have a Rheem forced hot air gas furnace. Pretty old.
I called in a technician and he replaced the thermocouple. But by night the pilot light had gone out again and it was thanksgiving so no one would come to fix it.
When I went to relight the pilot light, I noticed that I jostle a wire and it sparked (a black wire on a panel that said 'load'), the flames flickered. I tightened this up and it worked for a few days, until the pilot light went out again. Since then, I have been relighting the furnace and fiddling with that wire to have it work for 48 hours or less when the pilot light goes out again.
Can anyone tell me what is happening here?
Thanks!

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Your pilot is either too weak or not surrounding the thermocouple enough. Direct consistent flame is all that will keep the thermocouple sending its signal to the gas valve. Try adjusting the distance between the two or cleaning out the pilot orifice by removing the pilot tube from the gas valve and sucking and blowing through it. Make sure the gas has been turned of at the unit prior to attempting this. Good luck

The flame sure seems pretty strong, but I will try your advice when I get home today.

Rather disappointing that the guy that likely charged you $50-$100 to change a $5 part didn't clear up the other problems. If the above doesn't fix the problem, it is possible the gas valve is going bad.

The loose wire may be a separate problem. The line label suggests it is the relay for the blower. If once you keep the pilot light on, the gas shuts off without the blower coming on, likely the black thing is the problem. By tightening it, you may have headed off another problem.

OK I think I fixed it- there was a partial blockage of the fan causing an abnormally large amount to leak out to where the pilot light is, blowing it out sometimes (my blower seems to stay on for quite a while after the furnace turns off). I also had repositioned the thermocouple to be more in the center of the pilot light.
That jackass service guy obviously didn't even look in the fan compartment when he worked on the furnace.