On most older gas furnaces, there is a “pilot light” (newer ones tend to have electronic ignition instead). It serves to light the flame of the larger gas burner that powers your furnace. Because the flame on your heater is extinguished when the air in the home reaches the desired temperature, there must be some way for the furnace to re-light itself the next time the heater comes on. Voila! The pilot light. It stays on all the time, using a very small amount of gas, and is always there to light the larger burner. Except, sometimes it goes out. Windy days, drafts, whatever. But wait! Hold that call to furnace repair!
Agoura Hills’ heaters are no different than heaters anywhere else. Re-lighting the pilot light is fairly easy (unless there’s a deeper problem). Here’s what to do.
The easiest thing to do is check inside the door of your furnace (or possibly the instruction manual, if you still have it) to see if there are instructions for your specific model to re-light the pilot light. No luck? All right. First, turn the thermostat as high as it will go. Next, find the pilot light assembly (usually a box-shaped metal thing) and turn the valve on it to “Off” (it usually says things like “On,” “Pilot,” and “Off”). Wait 3-5 minutes for any residual gas to clear. Now, turn the valve to “Pilot,” and use a fireplace match to light the pilot light inside. Slowly turn the pilot valve to “On,” so it can turn on and off as the heater requires.
And don’t forget to turn your heater thermostat back down!
Didn’t solve the problem? Not comfortable troubleshooting on your own? Time to call an experienced service technician for furnace repair – Agoura Hills has some of the best around!
