5 Common Reasons the Heater Stopped Working
At the very outset, it should be clarified that this article isn’t intended to intimidate anyone. But don’t be surprised if one of the worst of your nightmares actually turns out to become true. On the coldest day of the season, your heater starts malfunctioning all of a sudden. Believe it or not, there is nothing to worry about, as you may be able to fix the issue yourself if you thoroughly probe the reason for the same. Before calling up technicians unnecessarily for your heating repair in California, you may try to solve the problem in the DIY method.
However, to accomplish that, you must be aware of the proper maintenance steps to prevent your heater from going haywire. You may try out with the following probing and troubleshooting tips to ensure that your heater starts functioning again-
- The Gas May Be Powered Off
Check whether the gas is turned on. Just like the thermostat, the gas valve can easily switch off and you may not remember about it at all. To prove this, find out the gas line from the furnace back to the meter. If you come across a handle, perpendicular to the gas pipe, switch it on yourself for making it parallel. The older furnaces or boilers usually feature pilot lights. If yours has too, get rid of the burner cover and the front panel for confirming if it’s lit.
- Thermostat Issue
Check if the thermostat is set to heat. Often the thermostat is the main area of concern. As programmable thermostats appear confusing, it’s better to check whether your thermostat is correctly set before blaming the furnace. Maybe during cleaning, the switch may have accidentally moved. The thermostat should be set to a temperature that will affect the furnace. Once set to the right temperature, wait a minute for the fan and heat to be effective. If the step doesn’t yield any positive results, position the thermostat to 90-degrees Fahrenheit for confirming that it doesn’t power on and off while you’re in progress to fix the issue.
Still, if it doesn’t work, uncover the wires back to the furnace to check for breaks. In case of a wire break, interweave it back and wrap it with electrical tape. It may necessitate battery replacement.
- You May Need To Replace The Filter
Yes, you may require a heating replacement in California as one of the main culprits of furnace problems is contaminated and clogged filters leading to high operational costs. It may so happen that the heat exchanger overheats and shuts off quickly if filters become clogged with filth and dirt. This leads to causes soot accumulation on the heat exchanger too, minimizing the efficiency of your furnace. It is better to replace the filter when the blower is running but no heat is generating. Check your user manual to trace the location of the filter and the process to remove it. Replace flat filters every month and examine pleated filters every month. If the light is visible through the filters, you need to replace them.
- Cluttered Chimney
Immediately clear the chimney exhaust channel. It could be challenging if there are birds or debris inside the chimney exhaust duct. For probing this, switch off the furnace as well as the thermostat. Disassemble the duct and check for debris. Then reconstruct the sections in the same order and direction you applied to deconstruct them.
- Blocked Drain Lines
You have to regularly flush out the drain lines. Your furnace may drain off a lot of gallons of water each day. The furnace stops functioning if the drain lines are full of sediment or fungus growth. If the drain hose is dirty, remove it immediately and fill it with a blend of bleach and water. Allow it to sit for a while before you flush it out.
Inference
As we depend largely on forced-air furnaces, they may break down. In such a scenario, you’ll be left within a chilled house and a freezing, unhappy family. That is why the heating systems should be in 100% workable condition before the onset of the winter season. A bit of little motor or heating maintenance in California is necessary before the cold winter sets in.
