You’ve probably just noticed that there is a little red light on your furnace that you didn’t see before. It’s ok; it’s supposed to be there. If it is glowing solid amber or yellow, then that means everything is fine, and you have a happy furnace. But if you see your Furnace Light Blinking, that’s when your furnace is trying to tell you something.
Doc Dancer is Fort Wayne’s trusted heating and cooling company. For over 75 years, we’ve been helping Hoosiers stay comfortable in every season. When it comes to furnace repairs and tune-ups, contact the HVAC professionals at Doc Dancer.
What Does It Mean When My Furnace Light Is Blinking?
Your furnace can’t talk, so how does it let you know when something is wrong? The most obvious way is when you hear strange noises coming from your furnace, you’re not getting any heat, or you’re smelling strange odors. When your furnace light flashes, that’s just another way it’s trying to communicate with you that there is a problem.
When you see a flashing light, your furnace is sending you an error code. Similar to morse code, this blinking is made of dots and dashes. Before calling someone to fix your furnace, write down the code you’re seeing. Sometimes these codes are displayed on the furnace, or you may have to find your furnace manual. From there, you can interpret the error code.
If you are looking at your furnace and do not see a red light at all when you know it should be on, that means your furnace is not receiving power. Check your circuit breaker box to see if you tripped the breaker for the furnace.
Interpreting the Blinking Light
Let’s break down what the error codes are referring to and some easy fixes to try.
Blower Running After Power Up
Oftentimes when power is restored to your furnace, your blower will fire up. You may see an error code, but everything is fine. This is a system check for your furnace, and it should start up soon.
Gas, Ignition Failure, or Proving Fault
Codes that indicate an error with the gas, ignition failure, or flame proving failure are usually directed at the burner assembly area. This could be an indicator your flame sensor is dirty, and cleaning it should fix it. However, this could also mean there is a problem with the gas valve or ignitors. Gas can be intimidating to mess with, so it’s best to call Doc Dancer.
Pressure Switch and Inducer Failures
Inducers and pressure switches are parts of the furnace that make sure the furnace is venting unwanted gas. Although this is best left to a professional technician to deal with, check to see if your chimney or exhaust is blocked first. That may solve the problem.
High Limit Switch & Roll Out Switch
These switches are for detecting heat. The high limit switch detects temperature inside the heat exchanger. It tells the fan to turn off to keep the heat exchanger from overheating. The roll out switches are all over the inside of the furnace to detect heat where it shouldn’t be. If you get a high limit switch error code, try replacing your furnace filter. If that doesn’t work, call a technician for help.
Furnace Lock Out
A furnace lock out occurs when a furnace has attempted to fire multiple times but has failed to ignite. You can reset your furnace by cutting the power to the furnace at the breaker. Leave it off for a few seconds, and then turn it back on. Like your computer, sometimes you just need to turn it off and back on again.
Call Doc Dancer to Fix Your Furnace Today
If you don’t know what you’re doing and you mess with your furnace too much, you could cause yourself more problems. Once you interpret the cause of your furnace’s blinking light, call Doc Dancer to have it fixed fast.