When your furnace won’t start, doing your own furnace repair in Port Orchard, Washington, can feel pretty overwhelming.
Figuring out a furnace-related problem might feel like an overwhelming chore when your heat won’t power on. But it doesn’t have to be like that.
There are a few fast, inexpensive fixes you can do yourself to skip a furnace repair call.
If your furnace won’t turn on, won’t stay on or won’t ignite, try the troubleshooting list below before getting in touch with an HVAC professional.
If you find you need help from a heating and cooling pro and live in Port Orchard, Air Masters Heating & Cooling can assist you. We can repair most makes of heating systems and also provide emergency furnace repair.
If you need a new heating system, we also offer furnace installation.
While you’re in touch with us, consider a regular furnace maintenance plan that could help you avoid problems in the future. We can tell you how frequently your furnace should be inspected by one of our NATE-certified Pros.
Use our easy guide below to start troubleshooting your furnace. Most of these steps don’t require mechanical abilities.
Furnace Repair Checklist
1. Check the Thermostat
To start, make sure your thermostat is instructing your furnace to start.
Digital Thermostat
Change the batteries if the screen is blank. If the digital screen is jumbled, the thermostat may need to be replaced.
Make sure the switch is set to “heat” rather than “off” or “cool.”
Ensure the program is showing the appropriate day and time and is set to “run.” If you’re having trouble overriding the program, set the temperature by using the up/down arrows and press the “hold” button. This will make the furnace to ignite if thermostat programming is causing a problem.
Increase the temperature setting to 5 degrees warmer than the room temperature.
If your furnace hasn’t kicked on within a couple minutes, make sure it has power by toggling the fan switch from “auto” to “on.” If the fan doesn’t run, your furnace might not have power.
Smart Thermostat
If you have a smart thermostat—like one made by Nest, Ecobee, Lux, Honeywell or Bosch—troubleshooting is very model-specific. Refer to the manufacturer’s website for help. If you still can’t get your Wi-Fi thermostat to work, call us at 360-205-7115 for heating and cooling service.
2. Examine Breakers and Switches
Next, you will need to check if your breaker and furnace switch are on.
Look for your house’s main electrical panel. If you have no idea where it is, search for a gray metal box in your basement, garage or closet.
Make sure your hands and feet are dry before touching the panel or breakers.
Look for the breaker labeled “furnace” or “heat,” and make sure it’s switched “on.” If the breaker has tripped, it will be in the middle or “off” position.
Using one hand, firmly switch the breaker to the “on” position. If the breaker immediately trips and pops back to “off,” leave it alone and contact a professional from Air Masters Heating & Cooling at 360-205-7115 right away.
It doesn’t matter how old your furnace is or what brand it is, it has at least one standard wall switch located on or near it.
Make sure the switch is flipped up in the “on” position. If it was turned off, it could take your furnace up to five minutes to ignite. (If you don’t know where to find your furnace, check your basement, garage or utility closet. It could also be in a crawl space or attic.)
3. Replace the Air Filter
When it comes to furnace problems, a filthy, clogged air filter is often to blame.
If your filter is too dirty:
- Your furnace won’t be able to stay on, or it could overheat from reduced airflow.
- Your energy bills could go up because your furnace is turning on too often.
- Your furnace could fail prematurely because a dirty filter causes it to work overtime.
- Your furnace can be disconnected from power if an extremely dirty filter causes the breaker to trip.