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ceejayF · Oct 13, 2009, 11:06 AM

Hi All,
I recently had a Byrant 95% efficiency Evolution Furnace and air conditioner installed a few days ago. I am already having problems with the system that are only occurring sporadically.

Sometimes, the system will shut down. I have watched the sequence of operations (inducer motor, glowing ignitor, main burner, fan) and then it just shuts down with no error codes. However, what makes this perplexing is that after waiting two hours, the system started up again. It will work fine for a few hours and then the same problem occurs.

The installer says he doesn't know what it could be and I don't think he believes there is a problem. I know I am not imagining this. He said it could be the thermostat but I am not really sure that is the problem. I did bypass the thermostat and connected the red and white wires, which worked. But also, the unit was responding to the thermostat at the time.

I checked the intake and that is clear. The filter is clean too. Everything is brand new. Any suggestions? I am just very frustrated after having a new system installed.

hvac1000 · Oct 13, 2009, 02:26 PM

Your unit is under warranty and I suggest you do not mess with it so as to void that warranty. If there is a problem the circuit board will have a error code. One thing you might have the installer check is the cycle time setting.

ceejayF · Oct 13, 2009, 02:40 PM

I am definitely not touching the internals. LOL. I am just trying to get hints of what might be happening. Right now, everything is working OK. I think the installer wants me to rule out the thermostat causing the problem. If the problem happens again, I just bypass the thermostat, which is outside the unit, and see if the problem follows. I do understand his point of finding it hard to troubleshoot when the problem isn't occurring all the time. I sympathize since I work in the Info Tech world and troubleshooting is changing one environmental variable at a time. I will also bring up the issue of the cycle time setting. It is so odd how this has happened very sporadically. This system is so much more complicated than my previous unit.

hvac1000 · Oct 13, 2009, 02:49 PM

Wait till that baby is out of warranty and you will see how complicated it is. $$$$ LOL

ceejayF · Oct 15, 2009, 01:06 PM

I found out it was the thermostat. I replaced it with a more expensive digital one and everything is fine now.

Are these units not that reliable? My previous Bryant lasted almost 25 yrs. The older units just seemed easier to troubleshoot and were less expensive to fix.

hvac1000 · Oct 15, 2009, 01:13 PM

The newer units are more complex with more parts to break. The downside really comes when the variable speed motor/controler has problems. Major $$$

patick · Dec 31, 2010, 11:06 AM

I had the Bryant 355CAV 95% furnace instaled two days before Christmas and had little heat for three days until the service man showed up. After researching problems for several hours I had to tell the company what was wrong - it can't run on a single stage cheap thermostat. Also can't run on four wires contected to multi-stage thermostat. The service man had on the job training here. The Evolution gas furnace must have the Bryant thermostat that goes with the furnace or it will not work correctly. After six hours at my house the service man finally said this is exactly why their other customers were having so much trouble. The Bryant thermostat can be used with the older four wire setup. If you indeed want the consistent temperature, etc. insist on correct and complete installation.

juliadandy · Oct 7, 2011, 12:00 PM

I absolutely HATE our Bryant Evolution. We have had it for almost a year and I keep comparing it with our old Lennox. The worse thing about this unit is that we have to keep running up and down stairs to adjust the thermostats even though we are supposed to have "dual zones" which are set to "auto". The zone system of the Lennox was far superior even allowing heat downstairs and AC upstairs if you wished.
Next the thermostat shuts down if there is a power failure and does not reset, so the house gets hotter and hotter (or colder) while it waits for someone to get home to reset the thermostat. This is a serious flaw. :(

Finally I was told we would get a new thermostat as it is a factory defect and had been recalled I'm wondering why we weren't told sooner as I had called several times to ask if this is normal.

Do not waste your money (in our case $7,000) on this product.