Signs your furnace needs to be repaired
You likely need to repair your furnace if it:
- Won’t turn on. This could mean a problem with your thermostat or a tripped circuit breaker. If the breaker keeps tripping, don’t keep switching it back. You could overload your electrical panel.
- Has weak airflow. If you’re not getting strong airflow from your vents, the problem could be a fan belt or motor.
- Is making strange noises. A weird noise, like a bang or scraping noise, is a red flag that your furnace needs a repair.
- Turns on and off frequently. Your furnace should run slow and steady. If it’s turning on then quickly shutting off, it could be a number of reasons, including issues with airflow or the thermostat. It could also be an oversized unit that’s short cycling, in which case you’d need to replace your unit with a properly sized one.
- Is blowing cool air. If you’re not getting warm air, there could be something wrong with your thermocouple or pilot light.
- Has water pooling around it. This most likely means the condensate line, which removes condensation from your furnace, is clogged (for condensing furnaces only).
Is your furnace blowing cold air?
Check these common problems before calling a professional:
- Is your thermostat on “COOL”?
Make sure the switch is set to “HEAT”. (It might sound obvious, but this happens.)
- Is the air filter dirty?
A clogged filter restricts airflow, which can cause a lot of problems for a furnace. If yours is dirty, replace it with a new one.
- Did the pilot light go out?
If you have an older gas furnace, it probably uses a permanently lit pilot light to heat your home. If the light is out, simply relight it. If it keeps going out, there’s something wrong with your unit.
- Is the gas off?
Your furnace can’t heat your home if it isn’t getting any gas. Make sure the gas valve lever is in the “ON” position (parallel to the gas supply pipe).
If your furnace still isn’t blowing warm air, it’s time to call a professional to figure out what’s wrong.
