Furnace Repair in York County, SC

What goes wrong with furnaces

Gas furnaces fail in a few familiar ways: a dirty flame sensor that shuts the burner off after a few seconds, a failed hot-surface ignitor, a stuck pressure switch or a blocked inducer motor, a tripped high-limit switch from a clogged filter, or a blower motor at the end of its life. Electric furnaces and air handlers mostly lose heat strips, sequencers or the blower. Heat pumps with backup strips have their own page: heat pumps in York County.

Safety first

• If you smell gas, leave the house and call your gas provider from outside. Do not switch anything on or off.
• Put a carbon monoxide alarm on every level of a home with a gas furnace and replace it on its stated schedule.
• A cracked heat exchanger is a replacement, not a repair. Ask to see the evidence if a technician finds one.
• Gas work is for licensed contractors. SC LLR issues the HVAC Installer and Repairer license and has an online lookup.

Before you call

• Check the thermostat mode and batteries, the furnace switch (it looks like a light switch near the unit), the breaker and the filter.
• Make sure the condensate drain on a high-efficiency furnace is not blocked and the intake and exhaust pipes outside are clear.
• Note what the furnace does: no response, clicks without lighting, lights then shuts off, runs but blows cold, short cycles, unusual noise.

Repair or replace

Replace a fuel-fired furnace when the heat exchanger is cracked or when a major repair meets an old unit. York County Permit Services says a permit is required to install, alter or replace mechanical systems (York County residential permits); inside town limits the town's building department applies. The AC replacement cost guide covers how to compare quotes, and most of it applies to a furnace or a combined system.