Ask Experts Questions for FREE Help !
Ask
    mynamehere's Avatar
    mynamehere Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
    New Member
    		  
    #1

    Nov 29, 2007, 01:40 AM
    Pilot light shutting off
    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!
    kanrdc's Avatar
    kanrdc Posts: 12, Reputation: 1
    New Member
    		  
    #2

    Nov 29, 2007, 05:12 AM
    Quote 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!
    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
    mynamehere's Avatar
    mynamehere Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
    New Member
    		  
    #3

    Nov 29, 2007, 07:45 AM
    The flame sure seems pretty strong, but I will try your advice when I get home today.
    labman's Avatar
    labman Posts: 10,580, Reputation: 551
    Uber Member
    		  
    #4

    Nov 29, 2007, 08:17 AM
    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.
    mynamehere's Avatar
    mynamehere Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
    New Member
    		  
    #5

    Nov 30, 2007, 08:04 AM
    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.
Not your question? Ask your question View similar questions
 

Question Tools Search this Question
Search this Question:

Advanced Search

Add your answer here.


Check out some similar questions!

Does putting gas hot water heater dial on PILOT put pilot light out? [ 5 Answers ]

My gas hot water heater dial has OFF to the left, PILOT in the middle and ON to the right. If we are going away and want to not have the water heated can we just turn the dial to PILOT and the flame will stay lit but just won't heat the water or does the flame go out completely and then PILOT would...

Pilot light stays on but pilot switch keeps resetting [ 5 Answers ]

I have a baso L62AA-5 pilot switch and it used to keep resetting. I would hold the switch down for a good minute and the gas lights, but after a half an hour or so it would go back to its reset position. The standing pilot light was always on and never a problem. After a few days of manually...

Pilot light on propane furnace won't light [ 7 Answers ]

Hi! This is a little long, please bear with me... Two days ago we woke up to a very cold house, and upon investigation found that the pilot light on the furnace had gone out. Searched around, didn't smell much gas - so we tried to re-light it. Well, it lit and stayed lit (and we got the...

Cannot light Pilot Light on Water Heater [ 2 Answers ]

My water heater is located in my attic. After Katrina, I had to repair my damaged roof and it seems that the attic fan went out. Since then my water heater pilot light has repeatedly gone out. I can re-light it usually, but the lack of air up in the attic causes the light to go out. Presently,...

Another pilot light won't light (gas wall heater) [ 1 Answers ]

I have the same problem as the person who asked about getting their wall heater to light. The answer was to make sure the flame was touching the thermocouple.. . But how do you do that? I can't make the flame higher, so do I move the thermocouple lower and what does a thermocouple look like...

View more questions Search