BRYANT FURNACE #383kav060111 heater not heating

[4everJAZZ]

a family member has a Bryant heating/ac unit in their house, which, up till two weeks ago had been running fine.(at least the AC was). But now its get'n cold out here in CALI and his babies need some heat but the doggone furnace wont lite.

I looked at it briefly, although I'm not a "HEAT-GUY", and I could see the ignitor glowing but no heat and no gas followed. After look'n at the thing for a while, I saw a reset button, I THINK..., on the flue (or somethin), pressed it and then restarted the unit. IT WORKED... for a few minutes and then STOPPED. I can KEEP doin this and it will keep restarting and then stopping after a few minutes.

PLEASE HELP...WHAT IS FAILING AND WUT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED?????????

[BrntToast]

well i'm not a furnace guy either, but till someone else jumps in, i'm the best you have

are there no test procedures on the inside of the removable front panel? if there are i need a picture of them and this part you are resetting

the manual for the furnace usually comes with technical info as well

 

[4everJAZZ]

Wellll...... Since your "ALL I'VE GOT"......., There is some guide on the tech sheet say'n how to read the codes(thru the flash'n red lites), but it's not REAL clear as to where or wut I'm to do AFTER read'n the code.

I'm not there rite now... but wut I remember is there was a code 13(one long three short) and when cleared, a code 31 three long one short.

and The reset was at about eye level ( stand'n 5' 10") ( minus the few inches from the top of my head to my bi-focals):shock:

Question... R U goin to be around n say.... 5 hrs? If so, I could be THERE, in front of it/

[4everJAZZ]

ALL SOOOOO....

I'm going to try n get some pictures for U. but then I gotta get someone to help me post them. (I aint never dun THAT b4 either....).

[BrntToast]

its sunday

its canada

the snow is still falling, about 4 inches where the wives van was parked this morning, i aint going anywhere other than outside to shovel

so ya, i'm gonna be around, but out shoveling, then in warming up(repeat if necessary)

so btw, you complaining its cold in california.......    but i'll try to help anyways, and we can hope someone with more furnace experience jumps in

i only fix mine and fix em for friends, i understand how they work and what the components do, but by no means am i an expert

i'm the frigidaireman

 

out of curiosity, what is cold in california?  in Fahrenheit

 

[4everJAZZ]

UNDERSTOOD!!!!!!

My wife was tryn'na show me how to attach pictures to this here computer gismo. Its more complicated then I want it to be. so... Im'ma go take the pictures and when SHE finds the time.... SHE will post the pictures U need, and I'll stick to the typ', and the fix'n cause thats the stuff I know. ( well... sort'of......)

And wut I wouldnt give to b in the CANADIAN SNOW (for a day or two!!!!!)]:coolblast: and Yea, U definately got the worst of it, but mannnn.... a nice fireplace, plenty of wood, and a neighbors kid to do the shovel'n for me..... dude... I'm there!!!!! and no heater to fix!!!!!!

I'll keep U posted on the pics and codes, but I gotta wait for "WIFEY" now. SHE says later tonight (Like 8pm our time). Maybe by then someone else may jump in, but I 'preciate-cha for wut EVER U have to offer!!! Thx.

[4everJAZZ]

ohh.... That last part about HOW COLD in California, I almost missed. Im so used to seeing your BIG WRITING.... I Almost missed the small stuff, till IRE- read your response.

2 the point... its 49/f and wet/rainy. last nite we had our thunderstorm. seemed louder then I've ever heard it b4. thought "the END" was get'n close!!!

Got thru it fine. just hate rainy weather. SNOW OR HEAT. Thats the way I like it!!!

[BrntToast]

ok, gotta admit by 49 we do have furnaces on too, once it gets that cold in the house

damn i wish that was the coldest i had to worry about though

snows fun, for the first week, first month tolerable, after 4 months it gets really old

its such a pain in the A$$ chasing the polar bears away from the garbage cans all the time, those suckers are MEAN

 

[RegUS_PatOff]

Check the combustion-air intake and vent/exhaust pipes on the outside of your home for blockage/animals/nests/critters

[4everJAZZ]

Hello RegUS_PatOff...

welcome aboard and thx for join'n in. NOW... we have a party!!!!!!

I will check the vents and stuff, but I have a question on that. But FIRST... a reprise...

I AM able to get the fire lit once I push the reset button. but INITIALLY... it wont start. ARE YOU SAY'N A CRITTER MAY HAVE CRAWLED IN THEIR AND THAT THAT IS ( or maybe)... STOPP'N IT FROM IGNITING?????!!!!!!

[RegUS_PatOff]

If the Combustion can't get enough air...  IN/OUT

[4everJAZZ]

BRNT TOAST...

Speak'n of 49... U keep'n up with these doggone 49'ers gett'n beat down by TAMPA??? At least our OAKLAND RAIDERS are doin somethin' to keep the Bay Area alive.

and speak'n of U be'n a "Friggyman"... ALL of my kitchen appliances are Frigga dare-e-airs... and Ive been happy with them ALL... 3 years and No problems to speak of. The dw selector switch is start'n to act up a little bit, but other then that... its been great. Also... Ive also noticed that of All the different appliances I work on out this way, FRIGIDAIRE is the LEAST one that I work on. So when people as me wut do I recommend... Thats wut I tell'um.

But....Thats MYYYYYYYY story.

and I wish U 'da-best with the t'angry-gerz, I know they can be a little harder to program then a control board.

Still wait'n for the pic's. Thought I was goin out there to get'um. Got shut down instead and told they would come to me by E-mail. Wut family luv huh... Tryna help and they dont even want u to come by......

:pisser:. YESSSSSSSssssss. FAMILY LUV......................

[4everJAZZ]

RegUS_PatOff...

O.K. Plz keep in mind that i am NOT a hvac guy. and its been a while since I got some train'n on that, so Im a bit rusty and the cobwebs are thicckkk...

I Will call and have them chk the vents. Dont know if they'll do it today tho' (football day n all). I have to be out their way tomrw tho' so I'll stop by and chk for them, I guess< (cuz its wut I do...). All I know is that "wifey" says her grand-babies are in the cold so I gotta get it done, and THAT'S all I know!!!!!

( A HAPPY WIFE... IS A HAPPY LIFE) ( SO I'VE HEARD......).......

[applianceman18007260692]

If your ignitor comes on at all and runs fer a sec then dies then confirmation of flame aint getting back to the control board. You need to clean the flame sensor.

Note on older models the dang thang will simply lock out instead of recycle.

[ACtechGUY]

Another thought is a possible failed heat exchanger.

If there is a hole in a END SHOT BURNER type furnace, then when it fires... ... and the fan comes on..... the rollout switch will trip after a short while..

Just a thought....

[Bobice]

Problem: Your furnace will not ignite the gas to produce heat for your home. When a furnace has a bad ignitor what I see most of the time is the following sequence of operation:

1. Thermostat calls for heat.

2. Draft inducer motor starts.

3. Pressure switch attached by a small plastic or rubber tube senses the negative pressure produced by the draft inducer and closes.

4. Draft inducer runs for 30 seconds to a minute before you hear a gas hissing sound. The ignitor did not glow, the flame sensor (a small metal probe about 1/8" in diameter, with a white porcelain base) does not sense the flame, so after 8 to 10 seconds the hissing sounds stops with no ignition of gas to heat your home. Your furnace shuts down and goes into a lock out condition until you turn your power switch back off and on again. Then the sequence starts all over again with no ignition of the gas.

Solution:You probably need to purchase and install a new ignitor. I would suggest that you inspect your ignitor closely for cracks. Make sure you do not touch the ignitor with your bare hands. If you do not visually see a crack, then you could have a furnace control board problem or a limit, rollout switch problem. The furnace's control board might not be supplying the voltage to the ignitor. If your furnace lights and the gas stays on for 8 to 10 seconds, then shuts right back off, then you need to clean your flame sensor with light sand paper or steel wool. You might need a new flame sensor, but most of the time they can be cleaned an will work well after cleaning.

[4everJAZZ]

O.k. I'm back at it again.... The sensor has been cleaned (sanded), and it worked for a day, buuttt..... the next day when it got turned on, it started ok, but shut off shortly afterward. It has not been working properly since. So NOW the wife has called a HVAC service tech in that area of the home, who came out today and diagnosed the problem (supposedly). His diagnosis was that he "THINKS" its the main board, aand based on that "think" it tells me that he's not sure so now Ive gotta pay for somebodys thought rather then a solution.. VERY FRUSTRATING........ So, does ANYBODY OUT THERE have a parts list or schematic breakdown of parts that can give me part numbers??? I tried the REPAIR CLINIC but no parts showed up for this model number. ALSO... please help me with information in diagnosing the main board. I would like to KNOW rather then "THINK". ANY and ALL help is GREATLY appreciated...

[Bobice]

Problem : Nothing works on your heating system. The fan will not blow in the fan "ON" position. The gas burners will not light,Solution: Use a Volt Ohm meter, set the meter to "Volts AC," to check and see if you are getting between 24-28 volts between your "C" and "R" terminals on your low voltage board, or between "R" the red low voltage thermostat wire and ground. You might have to tape the blower door safety switch, to keep the voltage on so you can perform this test. Turn your power back OFF after completing this test using the Volt meter. Check for fuses on the furnace control board to see if the furnace has a low voltage protection fuse. If the furnace has a fuse pull the fuse out and see if it is blown. If the fuse is blown check all your low voltage wiring to make sure it is not grounding out anywhere. I have seen pinched wires that are stuck between furnace doors, animals that have chewed through wires and just weathered low voltage wiring that has lost its insulation due to the hot sun over the years. Any wires that are touching together can cause the low voltage fuse to blow. The fuse protects the expensive furnace control board from getting burned up because of a short to ground. If the fuse is blown then I would go to the local hardware and purchase 5 to 6 new fuses. If you do not find the problem that is causing the fuse to blow right away then you will need more than one fuse for testing. If your fuse is OK or your furnace does not have a fuse, and you are not getting low voltage between the "C" and "R" terminals then you might need a low voltage transformer. I have seen some of the transformers just go bad.

[4everJAZZ]

THANKS Adept, for your quik response and very helpful info. I will test the board tomorow and see what I can see see see.... will let you know. Jazz

[ACtechGUY]

I do not believe it is the " main board". Your previos problem indicate a tripping flue switch. The reset switch may have failed.

Also You said "it has not been working propery ever since". What exactly does that mean . is it dead? or just doing stupid stuff?