Intertherm furnace clicking on and off - http://www.hvacmechanic.com/ Forums

Original message

louist

128.253.114.161

"Intertherm furnace clicking on and off" , posted Mon 31 Mar 12:53

Hi,

I have a Intertherm furnace in our house. I have it serviced each year in the early stages of winter. I have recently noticed it is taking longer and longer to blow hot air out. In fact it seems be clicking on and off during numerous cycles, up to 10 minutes in total time, before it starts forcing hot air out.

I recall a similar problem in the first winter in the house 4 years ago and phoned a local HVAC company to solve the problem (it is the same company I have been using since then each year to service the unit). If I recall correctly the technician said the problem was the ignitor was not clean and he either cleaned it off or replaced it. I am loath to contact the same HVAC company because I had them in December 2007 for a service and I suspect they are just going to rip me off.

I opened the outside cover last night and was able to see the ignitor glow red hot, followed by the gas igniting off the ignitor. Then a few seconds later the ignitor turns down followed by the flames shutting off. Then about a minute or two later the cycle starts up again. The clicking sound initiates this cycle, but do not recall where the "closing" clicking sound occurs.

Any suggestions will be welcomed.

Thanks
Louis

Replies:

theduke03

68.9.215.23

"Re(1):Intertherm furnace clicking on and off" , posted Mon 31 Mar 17:55

Most likely a dirty or bad flame sensor. Or a bad ignition control or circuitboard(whichever it uses). Try cleaning the flame sensor with steel wool or a wirebrush. If that doesn't work then replace it. If that doesn't work then replace ignition control or board. If your not handy then call your tech back.

Typical flame sensors:

You can't put a price on comfort! Be Safe.

louist

128.253.114.161

"Re(2):Intertherm furnace clicking on and off" , posted Tue 1 Apr 08:58

Something I did notice the night I removed the cover of the unit was that the filter (12" X 24") was not correctly in place (I had replaced it the week before). I then placed the filter in the correct position and re-checked it again last night. It would appear that this has solved the problem. I will however pursue the suggestion of cleaning the flame sensor (your advice and picture are much appreciated).

Thanks
Louis

theduke03

68.9.215.23

"Re(3):Intertherm furnace clicking on and off" , posted Tue 1 Apr 17:22

Trust me when I say that whatever you did with the filter is having no impact on your systems operation. Only a dirty filter will affect operation and that would be for the worse.

You can't put a price on comfort! Be Safe.