[mviker]

well...I've been through the darn furnace and cleaned and checked everything. Grounds are good also. I'm leaning towards the control board going south as mention of the polarity issue got me pointed at bad grounds. Found another mention about polarity that was solved replacing the board.

The trick now, is finding the right control board. Apparently, there is a newer one out as mine isn't around any longer. I call my local HVAC suppliers and get the cold shoulder. They claim only a licensed tech in the industry can buy from them. I also need the actual model # of the board. I found a place online that can help, but without the Product or serial number, they're blind. I gave them the make and model with no luck.

I also set an appointment with a heating company, but they can't show until this coming Saturday. I'm going to cancel them and just get the info on the board and order from the online source.

The furnace is spic and span though. I got a lot of dust out of it. Should be an easy job replacing the board, that is, if I can find one.

Thanks for the tips, info and suggestions guys.

Kevin

[mviker]

Last update...

I located an HVAC company and got a control board shipped to me. It's an updated version that supposedly resolves some issue (Like the old board frying perhaps?) and is more efficient

The board was about $280 so I saved some bucks. I heard that a tech visit and board replacement would run around $800.
.
I replaced the board and all is well in the heating universe again. Thanks for the advice and support!

Kevin

[GT182]

That sure is good news Kevin. Glad you got the fix and could do it yourself.

[4dblnkldude]

Good news. Just curios but why would you jump the fan at the board? Why not just turn the fan on at the stat?

[cuz68]

I am glad that you got it fixed also, Just in time for old man winter. I had a board go out about 3 yrs ago on the coldest days while waiting on one no fun at all.

[mviker]

Originally Posted by 4dblnkldude

Good news. Just curios but why would you jump the fan at the board? Why not just turn the fan on at the stat?

Thanks guys.

I'm glad it fixed too. It's just now starting to get pretty chilly out, so the timing was good as far as I'm concerned!

4dblnkldude...When I first had this furnace installed, a friend of mine showed me the jumper trick. Yes, there is a fan only switch on the thermostat, but for some reason, it doesn't work. I don't know if it's the thermostat itself, the furnace, or by design. I've just gotten used to doing it as part of my spring/winter ritual, I don't ask why any longer. I'd really like to get a central air unit and be done with the fan deal altogether. Getting too old to put up with the heat in the summer. Maybe this year.

Yeah...Replacing the control myself saved some dollars. I love not spending money or saving money that otherwise would have gone out the door!


Kevin

[beemergary]

Is that jumper wire tied into that board. Maybe the constant running (heat build up or something) took a toll on the board. I'd hook up a seperate power source to the fan. Had to do this once for my Dad when the board nuked and wouldn't turn on the fan waiting for a new board on a cold Mich. day.

[mviker]

Gary,

The jumper was just a piece of wire that I used to connect the red and green wires on the control board. I suppose it's entirely possible it may have caused a problem on the board, but my guess is it had to do with a lightning strike near my house earlier this year. We had a bad storm blow through back around July. It took out a bunch of my electronic stuff, but since I had the gas shut ff and the fan jumpered, I wouldn't have known about the furnace until now when I'm firing it back up. That's my guess at least.

I'm going to look into trying to figure out why I can't just use the fan going through the thermostat and see if I can't go that route down the road. It has settings for fan only, but it doesn't come on when I do it that way. It's a four wire thermostat and they're all connected properly, so you would think it should work. I'm just darn glad I have heat now that things are cooling off for the winter!

[Stuckinda60s]

I think you'll find you have a bad diode on the control board. I'm assuming that is what they use to determine the polarity of the AC in. It would be coming off where the line attaches to the board and would be the first thing that might be damaged from a storm. It should be a simple fix if you want to have it for a spare.

[4dblnkldude]

Order a aprilaire 8446 t stat. Will work with ac, or have your contractor install a heat pump with that gas furnace and do a dual fuel set up with a aprilaire 8466 and drop the heat pump at 35 deg outside and run the gas furnace when the temps are below 35.