Floor Furnace Pilot Light Goes Out

Gas heater pilot light troubleshooting.

Floor furnace pilot light goes out.

Thermocouples work by producing a small amount of voltage when it is heated. In addition to needing to turn on the pilot light after it goes out unexpectedly there are times that a homeowner might choose to turn off the pilot light. Gas heaters whether they warm up air or water in a home rely on a pilot light to trigger the flame of the actual heater. The pilot orifice may be full of dirt.

A weaker flame won t envelop the thermocouple properly. An older gas furnace has a standing pilot that stays on all the time or at least it s supposed to. Louis area homes is when the pilot light goes 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.

Call a service technician to repair these problems. If this pilot light ever goes out. Any gas furnace uses a pilot light to trigger the burners to heat your home. Other problems like low gas pressure a loose or faulty thermocouple or a gas control valve that s not working right can also cause the pilot light to keep going out.

Once you light the pilot you need to keep the button depressed for at least 30 seconds sometimes up to 1 minute. The pilot light is a small flame that is either lit manually and remains burning. Depending on the source of the problem this can either be a one time incident or something that happens over and over again. The pilot light needs a strong flow of gas to make a strong steady blue flame that the thermocouple can sense.

Stays lit for a few seconds but goes out. A modern gas furnace usually has an electronic spark generator to ignite the gas when the thermostat calls for heat. Sometimes pilot lights go out because the flame is set too low. Cleaning out the pilot orifice means disassembling the pilot and clearing out the debris using a needle or compressed air.

The owner s manual provides information for adjusting the flame. For these reasons it is important to know how to relight the pilot light. If your pilot light. The pilot light is supposed to be a strong blue cone not a weak yellow flame.

The process is simple and the instructions can generally be found printed on the furnace in an easily found location. Furnace pilot light troubleshooting. The number one reason why the pilot light keeps going out is the thermocouple either the thermocouple is going bad or it is dirty and needs to be cleaned. This is the pilot flame that provides the heat.

A number of things can make an old furnace pilot light go out including a strong draft a faulty thermocouple or a loss of gas. Has a weak yellow flame instead of blue then you most likely have a dirty or restricted pilot light orifice.