I have an electric pilot for my gas furnace. I have to turn down the thermostat .to
the lowest setting and shut everything down, fan and gas switch, then turn everything on and turn up the thermostat to high, then it will start. this will happen about every 12 hrs a day on average. this is a goodman brand furnace and ii live in Minnesota.
This can be a number of things; 1. Thermostat is not programmed properly and all your doing is rebooting it 2. Bad electric ignitor for the furnace 3. Wiring is wrong from thermostat to furnace or vice versa
This can be a number of things; 1. Thermostat is not programmed properly and all your doing is rebooting it 2. Bad electric ignitor for the furnace 3. Wiring is wrong from thermostat to furnace or vice versaThis can be a number of things; 1. Thermostat is not programmed properly and all your doing is rebooting it 2. Bad electric ignitor for the furnace 3. Wiring is wrong from thermostat to furnace or vice versa
Check thermostat programming, bad electric igniter, wiring wrong from thermostat to furnace or vice versaCheck thermostat programming, bad electric igniter, wiring wrong from thermostat to furnace or vice versa
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I had the same problem, I had to remove the lower black rubber stopper right next to the exaust fan and hook up a drain to the unit, as soon as the water drained out the furnace fired right up.
The first thing to look at is the flame sense rod.
Shut off power to the furnace, remove, clean sensor with steel wool or sandpaper then reinstall the sensor. Reapply power and it should run properly.
There are dip switches on the main board.. When you remove the lower panel on the air handler there are instructions to where the dip switches should be for your units fan control. if the switches are in the correct configuration.. The Thermostat may be malfunctioning or not wired properly. and last.. and most expensive.. the motherboard may also be failing.
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Turn of the system at the thermostat. If you turn off the blower, assuming you mean at the tstat, there's no need to turn off the pilot. If blower is running and won't stop, even if turned off at tstat, turn off power by any means necessary, and pilot does not need to be turned off. A "standing pilot" is made to stay lit at all times, running or not.
Multiple issues that are not related. If the pilot light goes out then the thermocouple might be bad. If the pilot ignites the gas and everything shuts off, it sounds like the over temperature sensors are detecting heat in excess of what is allowed in the firebox. The thermostat issue has nothing to do with this.
Try cleaning the thermocouple tip if you can see ashes or any buildup on it. If you know the wind isn't blowing it out (had mine blow out from high winds before) then I would change the thermocouple before anything else.
A thermocouple is a bi-metallic junction that when heated gives an small electric output. The tip of it sits where the pilot light is ( and it is a copper tube going to the gas valve) and the pilot light heats it up. It creates electricity after it heats up (which is why you have to hold the pilot light knob down when lighting) and opens the gas valve to keep pilot light lit after you let the pilot knob go back up. When it stays lit without having to hold it down, (make sure the thermostat is set low so it doesn't light the burner while you have your hand down there) then you turn the pilot knob to on. It should stay on and you can set the furnace to heat and raise the temperature where you want.
see this causes and fix it. God bless you o light the pilot on a standing-pilot (always on) ignition system,
follow the lighting instructions located near the control. Otherwise,
try these steps:
Light the pilot:
Press and hold the pilot control knob to start the pilot.
Set the control knob to the
pilot position. Hold a long match under the pilot gas port.
Press the control knob; the pilot should light. Hold the control
knob down until the flame is burning brightly (about 30 seconds).
Release pressure on the knob, and turn it to the
on position.
If the pilot goes out when you release the control knob, try
relighting, holding the control knob down longer. If the pilot again
goes out, check the thermocouple (below).
Adjust the pilot:
Remove any cap covering the pilot adjusting screw on a combination control.
Turn the adjusting screw counterclockwise to increase the flame or
clockwise to decrease it. It is correctly adjusted when the flame
envelops the thermocouple bulb by 1/2 inch and appears dark blue with a
small yellow tip.
Test and replace a thermocouple:
Hold the control knob to
pilot and light the pilot as above.
Unscrew the thermocouple fitting with an open-ended wrench.
Set a multimeter to the DVC (lowest voltage) scale.
Clip one multimeter lead to the end of the thermocouple tube
nearest the pilot and the other lead to the fitting on the other end of
the tube.
If the multimeter shows a reading besides zero, the thermocouple is functioning. Replace the thermocouple tube.
If there is no reading, you will need to clean or replace the thermocouple following steps 7 through 11.
Release the control knob and shut off the main gas valve on the
gas-supply pipe that leads into the burner. Shut off power to the burner
at the electrical service panel.
Remove the thermocouple from its mounting bracket.
Wipe the combination control clean and install a new thermocouple,
tightening it by hand, then give it a one-quarter turn with a wrench.
Insert the thermocouple into the pilot bracket, being careful to not crimp the tubing.
Turn on power to the furnace and relight the pilot (above).
Adjust an adjustable burner air shutter:
Set the thermostat to its highest setting to keep the burner
running. Once the furnace has heated up, remove the burner access panel
and loosen the locking screw.
Open the shutter by turning it to the right until the blue base of
the flame appears to lift slightly from the burner port surface. Then
close the shutter until the flame reseats itself on the surface.
Clean removable burner tubes and ports:
Shut off gas and power to the furnace.
Unscrew or loosen and remove the tubes from the supporting bracket.
Carefully clean the tubes with a brush or vacuum, making sure not to damage the burner ports.
Use a stiff wire to clear any debris from clogged ports.
If this is a standing pilot system, turn the gas valve to pilot position. push in the knob & hold while lighting pilot...keeping holding knob down for a minute... this will pick & hold the gas valve. Let go of the knob & see if the pilot stays lit, if it does, then turn the knob to on position & the furnace should start if there is a call for heat from the thermostat
It could be several things: Is the Control Knob turned from Pilot to ON? If that is the case, wait a few minutes after turning it to ON. That will allow the Thermopile to heat up sufficiently. Be sure the flame is touching the Thermopile. If everything looks correct turn up your Thermostat to higher than the ambient room temperature and see if the burners light. Remember to turn your Wall Thermostat down to the lowest temperature setting before turning the knob from Pilot to ON.
FYI - That Wall Furnace does not have a Thermocouple. It uses a Thermopile instead to generate millivolts of electricity to open the gas valve and maintain the pilot flame.
If it is the Thermopile, you can order it directly from Empire Comfort Systems, as well as download your Owners Manual at www.empirecomfort.com
Simple things first. Is the gas turned on? Some furnaces have a gas line fitting to shut off during summer months. The gas valve should line up in the direction of the gas line. Two: is the pilot lighting. Can you see a flame? It may also have an electronic igniter. When it comes on you should see a glowing hot stick or something similar in the pilot viewing hole. If you have a combination valve for you pilot. You must first turn it to pilot, hold it in and light it manually. Hold that button in until the pilot stays lit, then trun it to "on". If the thermostat is in the "heat " position and the thermostat is set to call for heat by turning the emo up higher than the current room temperature, the main flame should come on. Otherwise something complex is wrong with your system
If the burners do not fully ignite, the sensor will shut the furnace down. The lack of sufficient burner flame is a gas valve or gas pressure problem within the valve. Replacing the gas valve with the original one may get you going. I surely suggest a professional service company for safety reasons and a thorough inspection. A 20 year old furnace is past it's normal life span.
I'm a little confused by your terminology. You are saying you have a pilot lite and electric heat strips? Are you possibly meaning burners? Is the heater running for 2 hours straight without shutting off? how cold is it there? Lastly what temperature do you have the thermostat set at and how close does it get to the temp. before it shuts off?
Press and hold the pilot control knob to start the pilot.
Set the control knob to the
pilot position. Hold a long match under the pilot gas port. 
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