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Issue with Carrier 58MVP 100 14120


whitedavidp

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whitedavidp

Hello. In a rental property I own (used to be our own home) we have a Carrier furnace installed in 1999 which has been really pretty great. A week ago we had a problem where it simply would not start. It would try to do so and then click off in a cycle over and over again.

A technician came and told me that he found 3 different fault codes. If I got it right they pertained to: low fire pressure switch stuck closed, inducer outside valid speed range, and pressure switch calibration fault. He was, however, able to simply cut power to the furnace and when re-applied all was well again. He said this was common place. Since then, our tenant says the furnace has been operating just fine - better than before. Seems odd but there are circuit cards in there and perhaps, like most computers, they require a reboot now and then.

The other thing the technician said was that this furnace is basically at end-of-life which surprised the heck out of me. He said that repairing this would be very expensive and that replacing is likely the thing to do at this point. I have no way to confirm this one way or the other. It just seems a pretty short lifespan for a unit that was so expensive to begin with and that actually sees use less than 1/2 of the year. Maybe these are just not made like they used to be?

I was called by the service company and they are saying the the inducer assembly and the pressure switch assembly would cost over $1900 installed (1-1.5 hours labor). I have no idea what these entail or should cost. But I do know that in 1999 the cost to install the furnace (along with gas meter/pipe, direct venting, etc) was about $5000. I have to guess that it will be more than that now.

So can anyone speak to these issues? Are the parts prices over-stated? Are they even actually needed since the furnace seems fine since its "reboot"? Should the thing be tossed?

Thanks for your viewpoints.

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I've never worked for an hvac company just an appliance company. I do know hvac and have repaired some. I can't speak on the pricing of those parts, but I feel like $1900 seems a bit high in my opinion. Then again not every company has the same cost of doing business, so prices can vary.

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Considering this furnace has a 20 year warranty on its heat exchanger, I would say NO. it is not at the end of its life. 

 

Here is the service manual  http://xpedio.carrier.com/idc/groups/public/documents/techlit/58mvp-1sm.pdf

 

The $1900 price is way out of line. the wholesale cost of a whole  furnace  can be  lower than that . 

 

Check with carrier for a authorized dealer next time you have a problem.  http://www.carrier.com/homecomfort/en/us/find-a-dealer/     

 

You had one of two things . A very inexperenced tech or one that was told SELL SELL SELL or both.  

 

 

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If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck it's probably an overpriced duck.  I Googled Carrier inducer motor assembly. The most expensive I found was $660 and most were under $400. Even with a 90% efficient furnace, the price strikes me as a lot more than I would charge. 

 

When it malfunctions again, call another service company. The model number of the furnace wasn't included but the manual that ACtechGUY posted is extremely thorough. If this is your model and this manual was used properly, you might get the actual part that is broken quoted for repair, I am suspicious about all three parts being  bad. Heck, it might be a bird nest in the vent.  I was not on the call so don't quote me.  

 

I surf HVAC-Talk a lot. They have a section on their site to find a contractor in your area. ACtechGUY carrier dealer is a good idea too. 

 

There are a lot of factors to consider in end-of-service. Have the coils ever been cleaned? Was/is the filter changed regularly? If you live in the north, the furnace sees more use per season.  Is there rust on the burners or heat exchanger? What is the static pressure of the duct work? Is there a zone system installed? Get the furnace model number and see if its part of any recall or class action suit. Some Carriers are part of a class action suit in reference to the heat exchangers. 

 

Find a reputable HVAC contractor and have them do a clean and check. The "cheap" clean and check in my area are loss leaders, designed to get their foot in the door so they can sell you a new system. Have them inspect the heat exchangers. Request a combustion analysis. It will be hard to find but request a duct static pressure test. This unit is old, BUT that doesn't mean it's automatically time to replace it.

 

Especially since this is a rental, install a CO detector. Any house with gas fired anything needs a CO detector. In my area any rental, gas or not, is required to have one.   

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  • 3 weeks later...

ACTechGuy, that link to the manual doesn't work any more. Can you resolve, plz? I would very much like to add that manual to my collection - if I don't already have it.

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