The furnace inside your home does more than contribute to creating a comfortable interior. Maintaining a preferred and appropriate temperature inside your home plays a safety role as well. It’s natural to feel concern about your family when the temperature outside in Cheshire, CT drops below freezing. If your furnace shuts off randomly and for no apparent reason, this is a problem that requires immediate attention.
Even when the weather outside isn’t overly cold, a malfunctioning furnace’s “on-and-off” cycle could indicate a fire hazard or other serious problems. Understanding some common reasons why a furnace won’t stay on can help you take the necessary steps to fix things.
A Dirty or Clogged Filter
Not all the reasons a furnace might shut off randomly are because of complicated mechanical issues. Sometimes, lack of simple maintenance could cause disruptions in the way the unit works. For example, the furnace might overheat if the air filter is clogged or excessively dirty. Air will not be able to circulate properly when the filter becomes clogged, leading to an increase in the furnace’s temperature. The system may then turn off because it has a safety component that will shut it down to keep it from igniting.
However, therein lies another concern for homeowners. If the safety system doesn’t work, the furnace may not shut off, and a fire could start. Therefore, staying on top of all maintenance, including little things such as changing the filter every 90 days or so, is critical.
Swapping out a filter is a relatively simple task that you can do yourself. A skilled technician could also change the filter while performing a tune-up, for example, if the business offers such a service as part of routine maintenance.
Issues With the Thermostat
The thermostat communicates with the furnace as you adjust the temperature, and the heater should turn off upon reaching the programmed setting. However, if the thermostat does not communicate properly with the furnace, problems might arise, like a heating unit that keeps cycling on and off for seemingly no reason. Having a professional inspect the thermostat could reveal that it requires recalibration or outright replacement because it’s not doing its job correctly. This problem is not minor, as the thermostat could end up failing, causing the furnace to shut off at a highly inconvenient time, such as during a cold spell in the middle of the night.
Other Factors With Overheating
Beyond problems with a dirty air filter or a compromised thermostat, there could be additional issues that create a dangerous situation with your furnace. For example, the burners may also be dirty, or something else could keep the air from flowing freely. Addressing these issues can help prevent the on-and-off cycle from continuing.
Another issue involves the limit switch. This keeps tabs on the furnace’s temperature and forces a shutdown when the heat levels become too high. A broken or otherwise hampered limit switch requires immediate replacement because of the dangers that could manifest when the furnace cannot shut off if it overheats. The opposite problem could also happen: The limit switch shuts off the heater despite it not overheating. Either way, have an experienced technician inspect the limit switch and determine how to fix it.
Furnace Itself Is Too Dirty
Your furnace could become excessively dirty if you don’t change the air filters in time. Even if you swap out the filters on time, this system may still accumulate excessive dust or dirt, such as if you don’t perform regular cleaning or you’re undergoing a home renovation. Regardless, if there’s too much dirt in the unit, it could collect on the burners, thus creating the on and off cycling. A thorough cleaning of the system might be enough to address and correct the problem. You might notice an odd smell that indicates soot and dirt on the burners are burning. Weird smells combined with a furnace that shuts on and off should be a red flag.
Pilot Light Troubles
A furnace’s pilot light provides the small flame necessary to ignite the burners, which, in turn, heat the air circulating through the ducts. The furnace may cycle intermittently if the pilot light does not go on or has trouble staying on. Several factors may contribute to a pilot light going out, ranging from problems with the ignition system to poor gas circulation from the gas lines.
Troubles With the Wiring
Don’t ignore the crucial role that electrical wiring plays in the operation of your furnace. There could be problems with the wiring in the furnace control board, and electrical malfunctions may result in the unit turning on and off. Again, it’s important to stay alert to any issues that could lead to a fire hazard, such as problems with the wiring. Since you’ll likely run the furnace at night when everyone’s asleep, a fire could break out and spread before anyone can react quickly and leave the home.
Issues With the Gas Lines
A decrease in the gas supply to the furnace could result in it turning off. The problem may derive from a leak in the gas line, which is dangerous. Leaking gas could lead to poisonous fumes entering the home or creating a potentially explosive situation. Assuming that a furnace going out represents a minor problem without an inspection to determine the actual cause is dangerous.
Blower Motor Failure
When a part in the furnace ceases to work as it should, expect problems to follow. The blower motor works to circulate heated air through your home. This motor could burn out because of a clogged filter or issues with the circuit board. Regardless of the cause of the failure, an inoperable blower motor renders the furnace useless.
Stay Current With Routine Maintenance
Routine maintenance is vital to stay on top of any potential problems with your furnace. Not staying on top of regular maintenance can lead to several problems manifesting themselves, which could result in the furnace shutting on and off or displaying other signs of malfunction. Sometimes, inspections may reveal that several issues require repairs. Allowing these things to continue unchecked can contribute to further wear and tear on the system. It bears mentioning that all furnaces will suffer from wear and tear over the course of their lifetime. At some point, the proper solution involves replacing the furnace and upgrading to a new one.
Homeowners in the Cheshire area have an HVAC company they can call when their furnaces aren’t working as they should. At F.F. Hitchcock Plumbing, Heating & Cooling, our team can assist with routine heating repair, maintenance, installations, and other services. We opened our doors for business in 1970 and can help you with many heating as well as cooling service requests. We also work on heat pumps and ductless mini-split services, and we provide electrical and plumbing services in addition to commercial HVAC. Call our office today for an estimate on the job you need to be done.
