What should I do if my furnace light keeps going out?

A note about furnaces with standing pilot lights If you are trying to light a standing pilot light on an old furnace but it keeps going out, make sure you are holding the pilot button long enough. Once you light the pilot, you need to keep the button depressed for at least 30 seconds (sometimes up to 1 minute).

Why is the pilot light not lit on my gas furnace?

Your furnace will still have a flame sensor, but it will be over the burner’s flame. If you have a furnace with a standing pilot light, step 4 won’t happen. Your pilot light will be lit (by you) before any of the other steps happen. Side note: you may want to consider getting a new furnace since yours is very old and inefficient.

What does it mean when your furnace is not igniting?

The oldest way is by a pilot light and over the last 30 years or so these have been replaced by electronic ignition systems. If these fail to do their job your furnace will not come on. This is a small flame which is constantly burning inside your furnace. It’s so small it does not consume much gas.

How can I tell if my furnace has a failure code?

The boards can perform self-diagnostics and provide failure codes, similar to the diagnostic computer in your car. If a failure occurs, LED lights on the control board light up in a blinking pattern to indicate a specific failure code. The codes are listed in a chart in the owner’s manual and usually on a door or access panel on the furnace.

The oldest way is by a pilot light and over the last 30 years or so these have been replaced by electronic ignition systems. If these fail to do their job your furnace will not come on. This is a small flame which is constantly burning inside your furnace. It’s so small it does not consume much gas.

A note about furnaces with standing pilot lights If you are trying to light a standing pilot light on an old furnace but it keeps going out, make sure you are holding the pilot button long enough. Once you light the pilot, you need to keep the button depressed for at least 30 seconds (sometimes up to 1 minute).

Your furnace will still have a flame sensor, but it will be over the burner’s flame. If you have a furnace with a standing pilot light, step 4 won’t happen. Your pilot light will be lit (by you) before any of the other steps happen. Side note: you may want to consider getting a new furnace since yours is very old and inefficient.

The boards can perform self-diagnostics and provide failure codes, similar to the diagnostic computer in your car. If a failure occurs, LED lights on the control board light up in a blinking pattern to indicate a specific failure code. The codes are listed in a chart in the owner’s manual and usually on a door or access panel on the furnace.