Re: Carrier Furnace Ignition Lockout - why?

>Hi all,
>Got a furnace problem that has me running in circles. Perhaps some
>quick advice can point me in the right direction at least. We have a
>Carrier furnace, older that 5 years old, and this year is has been
>failing to ignite, flashing error code 14 (ignition lockout) causing
>it to wait 3 hours before the next attempt. FYI here is the code
>legend:
>#14 default= ignition lockout, control will reset after 3 hours. Refer
>to #34.
>#34 default= ignition proving fault. Check for gas valve turned off,
>oxide build up on flame sensor, main shut valve turned off, Green wire
>must be connected to furnace sheet metal, proper flame sense microamps
>(.5 micro amps DC minimum), inadequit flame carry over or rough
>ignition, low inlet gas pressure.
>Now, a little history:
>1) Four years ago we had a crawlspace dug out and the project and the
>project went poorly, causing the basement to be exposed to excessive
>dust and moisture for much of that winter.
>2) This winter we began having trouble with the thermostat. The
>backlight would not light, it would display gibberish, and sometimes
>not display anything. Shortly thereafter we noticed that this
>behavior happened at the same time the furnace had the ignition
>lockout.
>3) We called an independent contractor and described the problems.
>The tech wasn't aware or (or wasn't concerned with) the codes and was
>only concerned with the thermostat. He indeed found and straightened
>some bent pins and we could notice a tighter fit when we closed the
>cover of the stat. He figured that solved the problem, and he never
>even looked at the furnace itself.
>4) A month later the lockout recurred, and the contractor sent another
>guy on the callback. The furnace had restarted by then so he didn't
>see the codes, and I don't think we mentioned them when we made the
>emergency call. Anyway, he was certain it was an overheating issue
>and when he went in he found the coil was *very* dirty (from the
>crawlspace project) and had to scrape it with cleaning solution.
>5) Now, another month later, the problem has returned.
>I don't know which direction to take this. I don't want to keep bring
>techs out who don't fix the root cause (whatever it is). Before I
>invest in another call, perhaps someone could tell me:
>- Could this problem really be caused by a defective stat or dirty
>coil? The stat HAS been loose and the coil HAS been dirty, but the
>error codes don't mention these, and don't seem to allude to them.
>For that matter, if the ignition is locked out, will it cause the stat
>to act funky when I use it? I don't want to pay for another scraping,
>or a new coil, if I don't have to.
>- If I call the techs back, after I make sure they are aware of the
>codes, what directions should I give them?
>- Is there anything I can check on my own fairly easily before
>resorting to another callback?
>Thanks for any advice,
>-Larry

> Bubba wrote:

> > On Sat, 22 Mar 2008 09:33:32 -0700 (PDT), ltravisjr@gmail.com wrote:
> >

> >> Hi all,
> >> Got a furnace problem that has me running in circles. Perhaps some
> >> quick advice can point me in the right direction at least. We have a
> >> Carrier furnace, older that 5 years old, and this year is has been
> >> failing to ignite, flashing error code 14 (ignition lockout) causing
> >> it to wait 3 hours before the next attempt. FYI here is the code
> >> legend:
> >> #14 default= ignition lockout, control will reset after 3 hours. Refer
> >> to #34.
> >> #34 default= ignition proving fault. Check for gas valve turned off,
> >> oxide build up on flame sensor, main shut valve turned off, Green wire
> >> must be connected to furnace sheet metal, proper flame sense microamps
> >> (.5 micro amps DC minimum), inadequit flame carry over or rough
> >> ignition, low inlet gas pressure.
> >> Now, a little history:
> >> 1) Four years ago we had a crawlspace dug out and the project and the
> >> project went poorly, causing the basement to be exposed to excessive
> >> dust and moisture for much of that winter.
> >> 2) This winter we began having trouble with the thermostat. The
> >> backlight would not light, it would display gibberish, and sometimes
> >> not display anything. Shortly thereafter we noticed that this
> >> behavior happened at the same time the furnace had the ignition
> >> lockout.
> >> 3) We called an independent contractor and described the problems.
> >> The tech wasn't aware or (or wasn't concerned with) the codes and was
> >> only concerned with the thermostat. He indeed found and straightened
> >> some bent pins and we could notice a tighter fit when we closed the
> >> cover of the stat. He figured that solved the problem, and he never
> >> even looked at the furnace itself.
> >> 4) A month later the lockout recurred, and the contractor sent another
> >> guy on the callback. The furnace had restarted by then so he didn't
> >> see the codes, and I don't think we mentioned them when we made the
> >> emergency call. Anyway, he was certain it was an overheating issue
> >> and when he went in he found the coil was *very* dirty (from the
> >> crawlspace project) and had to scrape it with cleaning solution.
> >> 5) Now, another month later, the problem has returned.
> >> I don't know which direction to take this. I don't want to keep bring
> >> techs out who don't fix the root cause (whatever it is). Before I
> >> invest in another call, perhaps someone could tell me:
> >> - Could this problem really be caused by a defective stat or dirty
> >> coil? The stat HAS been loose and the coil HAS been dirty, but the
> >> error codes don't mention these, and don't seem to allude to them.
> >> For that matter, if the ignition is locked out, will it cause the stat
> >> to act funky when I use it? I don't want to pay for another scraping,
> >> or a new coil, if I don't have to.
> >> - If I call the techs back, after I make sure they are aware of the
> >> codes, what directions should I give them?
> >> - Is there anything I can check on my own fairly easily before
> >> resorting to another callback?
> >> Thanks for any advice,
> >> -Larry

> >
> > Perhaps you should run in "squares" instead of "circles"?

>
>
> Can't be done! That is a different Union. Unions must never counter each
> other. It could create nasty turf wars. ;-p Besides that it is very
> hard to estimate flat rates for Squares. The Software is still in its
> infancy.
>

> > After all, you pay for work repeatedly not done correctly so Id figure
> > you'll probably run in "squares" just fine.
> > Bubba

>