Furnace Pilot Light Sensor

The small button or dial next to the pilot light opens the valve to release a little gas.

Furnace pilot light sensor.

This is typically the problem if you can hear your furnace click on but it does not fire up. Tape down the safety switch temporarily if you need to keep the panel open to prime the furnace. Newer furnaces don t have pilot lights. Shop here and find a variety of pilot and thermopile assemblies replacement thermocouples and more.

These units have electronic igniters that light the gas for the burners while the flame sensor makes sure the burners have lighted successfully. Keep the knob in for 20 seconds and then release it and turn it to the on position. If your old gas furnace has a standing pilot you can follow a standard procedure to relight the pilot light. A gas furnace s standing pilot in which the flame is lit at all times is sometimes referred to as a pilot light but no matter what you call it its purpose is to serve as a small ignition flame for the gas burner.

When the thermostat signals for gas to be delivered from the gas valve to the burner it is the standing pilot that ignites the gas flowing to the burners to heat the air in the combustion chamber. Occasionally a standing pilot light will need to be relighted or a thermocouple will need to be replaced but these are easy and infrequent repairs. A small heat sensing device known a thermocouple makes sure that major gas flow is delivered to the main burners on the furnace only when it is kept warm by the presence of the pilot light. Furnace sensor rod fix no heat pilot light on.

Flame sensors are used in furnaces with electronic ignition rather than a standing pilot light and might include an intermittent pilot or a hot surface ignition type. Turn the gas control to pilot and hold it in while you light the flame with a match or a lighter. The pilot light or ignition sensor is usually the most common issue when your furnace will not ignite. Choose from silicon carbide and silicon nitride hot surface igniters with flat round and spiral tips.