6 Common Reasons the Heater Stopped Working

 

Your most undesirable nightmare may turn out to be true if, on the chilliest winter day, your heater malfunctions. You could fix the issue in the DIY method if thoroughly probed. Before calling up technicians unnecessarily for your heater repair in California, you may try your hand to sort out the problem. But, for that, you need to know about the proper maintenance steps to prevent your heater from being dysfunctional. 

 

You may attempt the following probing and troubleshooting tips to ensure that your heater starts functioning again- 

 

1. Thermostat Issue 

 

Check whether your 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 it fails, set the thermostat to 90-degrees Fahrenheit to ensure it doesn’t switch on and off when you're attempting 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. 

 

2. The Filter May Require Replacement 

 

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. Change the filter if 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.  

 

3. The Gas May Be Turned Off 

 

Ensure that the gas is on. Similar to the thermostat, the gas valve can easily turn off and you may completely forget about it. For probing this, detect the gas line from the furnace back to the meter. If you find a handle, perpendicular to the gas pipe, turn it yourself to make it parallel. 

The older furnaces or boilers mostly feature pilot lights. If yours has so, remove the front panel and the burner cover to confirm whether it’s lit. 

 

4. 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. 

 

5. Congested Exhaust Vents 

  

Clean the leaves and debris congesting the exhaust vents. Once your furnace vents out the side of the house, there’s every possibility that leaves or debris are obstructing the intake or exhaust. When the pipes are covered with screen mesh, they should be replaced with a half-inch mesh hardware cloth. A major challenge could be ice clogging on one of the pipes. Immediately clear off the ice, call up an authorized service provider for heating repair in California and they’ll do the needful. 

 

6. 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 maintenance is necessary before the cold winter sets in.