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Furnace won't come on

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 7:12 am
by zepe
My daughter has an Intertherm electric furnace model E2EB-012H. The problem is that sometimes the furnace works fine and at others it won't come on. She said that when she notices it getting cold, she'll check the thermostat which is a new Honeywell unit. She'll turn it down then back up again, but it still won't start.

Sometimes she has to reset the circuit breakers and sometime this will cause the furnace to come on again. At other times she will have to repeat the reset a few times then it will work.

I re-mounted the thermostat which she had taken down and cleaned the furnace. Visually there was nothing I could see that was wrong so I suspect that the breakers may be faulty, but I'm not sure how to remove them.

There also appears to be two, 240 volt breakers in the furnace which seem strange to me. Why two?

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanx,
zepe

RE: Furnace won't come on

Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2007 4:16 pm
by hvac1000
The circuit breakers in the panel could be weak or defective. I would check the furnace for any short circuits on the heater before I would replace the breakers.

Usually when there is a breaker problem in the panel inside the home it is a heater circuit and not a breaker problem.

Many manufactures use two or more breakers in the furnace area. The reason is that there are two separate heater circuits and they have to be protected separately.

If you are not comfortable working on electric I would call a pro to figure out the problem.

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 7:39 am
by zepe
Thanks for the response,

I don't have a problem working on electrical things, my back ground is in electronics. I think one of the biggest obstacles is going to be getting at the things I need to get at. There is virtually no room to work in. It appears that the furnace was just slid into the small 'box' it's in. I can't even get an offset screwdriver on the side panel screws.

What type of heater elements problems can one expect to find, do the elements just draw too much current, develop a short somewhere or are they intermittent? I don't think they're opening up because that wouldn't trip a breaker.

Are these breaker of the same type as those used in a service panel and if so do they just pull out the same way?

It's a long way from where I live to her place so I want to arm myself with all the smarts and tools I'll need before I go.

Thanx

RE: Furnace won't come on

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 9:47 am
by hvac1000
Sometimes the elements droop down and touch ground. It could also be a defective power wire so check it over with the power off first just to see if everything electrical is up to spec.

The breakers are plug in or bolt in depending upon the manufacturer. If the breakers in the furnace are not tripping then they are usually OK.

RE: Furnace won't come on

Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 6:23 pm
by Robert
Just wanted to add that the two breakers inside furnace are not over current and are for shutting down power and to protect the inside heating circuit should a short occur.


The service panel in home is over-currant and covers the circuit in the walls from panel to furnace.


If you remove the blower assembly by removing screws in side flanges, disconnect wiring harness and slide out, you can see down onto the coils to see if intact.


Possibles:


Breakers (Furnace or service panel)
T-Stat
Sequencer
Limits
Wiring





Thanks,
Robert

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 10:14 am
by zepe
I'll check these out when I go back out to her place.

Thanx

RE: Furnace won't come on

Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 9:32 am
by leroysue
THIS IS EXACT PROBLEM I AM HAVING. PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU FOUND OUT. THANKS

RE: Furnace won't come on

Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 12:16 pm
by Robert
Hi,


This thread is over 4 months old. Please start a new thread with all info on furnace and problem.


This one will be locked from further posts.




Thanks for inquiring,
Robert
www.mobilehomerepair.com