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No Heat? Clean Your Flame Sensor
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The Story
The highlights from this video
Imagine it's a chilly winter evening in Dallas, and you settle in for a cozy night, only to find your furnace blowing cold air. Frustration sets in as you realize the warmth you were counting on is nowhere to be found. This was the exact scenario a family faced when they called Medley Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing. Their furnace had gone through its ignition cycle but kept shutting off, leaving them in the cold.
When our technician, Texas, arrived, he immediately got to work diagnosing the issue. "The furnace has already run through its sequence. It's at the part of the cycle where it's trying to ignite the flames," he explained. However, due to a dirty flame sensor, the furnace wasn't recognizing the flame and would kick off right away. This issue can happen when dirt and grime accumulate, preventing the sensor from doing its job.
Texas detailed the process he would use to resolve the problem. He started by ensuring the furnace was powered down for safety, unplugging it from its source. "If you're in an attic, you may have a plug or a light switch to turn off," he noted, emphasizing the importance of safety first. He then examined the internal components, identifying the flame sensor, which resembles a steel rod, and the igniter that glows orange during operation.
Once he located the flame sensor, Texas carefully removed it and showed the buildup obstructing its function. "You can see we've got all this buildup on here, and that's why this furnace isn't sensing that flame even though it's there," he pointed out. The buildup was the culprit of the family's heating woes.
Texas preferred a simple yet effective cleaning method using a dollar bill. "My preferred method for cleaning the flame sensor is to take a dollar bill, kind of fold it up, and use this to get in there and clean all that stuff off there," he explained. This method avoids scratching the sensor, unlike sandpaper, which can cause damage over time.
After a thorough cleaning, he reinstalled the flame sensor, secured it, and plugged the furnace back in. The moment of truth arrived as he turned on the thermostat. This time, the flames roared to life and stayed on, filling the home with much-needed warmth. "This sucker is going to start heating up the house," Texas said with satisfaction, knowing he had resolved the issue.
The family was relieved and grateful, their home transformed from a cold, uncomfortable space to a warm haven. This simple maintenance task not only restored their comfort but also prevented potential long-term damage to the furnace. For Dallas homeowners, regular upkeep of your HVAC system is crucial. Don't wait for the cold to set in—clean your flame sensor or call Medley Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing for expert service and keep your home cozy all winter long.
Hey guys, my name is Texas with Medley Heating and Air and today we're going to teach you how to clean your flame sensor. Let's get to work. So the tools you're going to need to clean your flame sensor are something to remove the door on your furnace, either a 5 16ths or a quarter inch nut driver, something to remove the flame sensor, either a stubby nut driver or a flathead screwdriver, and something to clean the flame sensor like a dollar bill. Go ahead and start by removing the door and we'll go ahead and show you what the furnace does when the flame sensor does need to be cleaned. So what you're going to see happen here is the furnace has already ran through its sequence. It's at the part of the cycle where it's trying to ignite the flames. When that flame sensor is too dirty, it won't recognize that the flame is present and it'll kick right back off. So the first thing that you're going to want to do is turn the power off to the furnace. In this closet here, we're just going to unplug the furnace right there. If you're in an attic, you may have a plug or you may have a light switch kind of like this that you're going to turn off. If you look in here, you've got two burners. Your furnace may have three, four, even five, but the flame sensor is always going to be located downstream from the burner, right in line with where you'll see the flame from the burners. There's two components that you'll see when you look back in there. One of those is the igniter and the other is the flame sensor. The flame sensor is going to be the one that looks like a steel rod. If you're still unsure which one is which, go ahead and turn the furnace on, watch it run through a cycle, and the component that glows orange is going to be the igniter and not the flame sensor. Once we've located the flame sensor, you're going to follow it right to the top side of that. You're going to go ahead and take that wire off. They almost always have just one wire going to them. Now we've got to remove this screw. This is where your little stubby nut driver or your screwdriver comes in handy. Set your screw to the side and go ahead and pull out that flame sensor. You can see we've got all this build up on here and that's why this furnace isn't sensing that flame even though it's there. So my preferred method for cleaning the flame sensor is to take a dollar bill, kind of fold it up, and use this guy's shirt and all this rough area here to get in there and clean all that stuff off there. Some people use sandpaper. It's probably fine, but it does score up the flame sensor, but a dollar works pretty well. Just going to keep on going back and forth on it using that part right there. And that one is pretty clean now. Put it right back in its little slot there. Take your screw right back where you found it and put that one wire right back on. We're going to go ahead and plug this right back in. Go over to our thermostat and turn it on. The last time the flames came on they would kick right back off after a couple of seconds. This time we expect to see them stay on. The blower is going to turn on and this sucker is going to start heating up the house. Now the only thing left is to put the door back on. And there you go. You just saved the day. I hope this was helpful. Thank you for watching and for all of your heating and air conditioning needs, call Medli.
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