This is a follow up to my previous post about replacing my fan belt.
http://www.doityourself.com/forum/ga...fan-belt.html?

Today, the furnace has stopped running again. The thermostat makes a heat call, but nothing noticeable happens. I went and inspected the unit and found the ignition lockout had been triggered. I reset this, and returned power to the system, and heard what sounded like the oil pump running. after about 30 seconds, the lockout was triggered again. The fan does not run, nothing happens, other than the fuel pump priming before triggering the lockout.

I need a direction to go here. any suggestions appreciated.

 

Were going to need pictures or description of equipment. I'm not the oil pro but I work on them.

You can't miss the burner pump and blower running. If you are getting that then you have several choices.
1) clogged fuel filter.
2) clogged nozzle.
3) dead ignition transformer.
4) lost the prime to the oil tank.
5) out of oil.

After you pushed the button....JUST once.... did you smell oil ?

 

Would a dead fan motor contribute at all?

I do have oil, looks like around 1/4 of a tank yet.

I can't say for sure if I smelled oil at the furnace/pump, only because the smell is strong on my hands from checking fuel level (wanted to verify the gauge was within ballpark accuracy)

honestly, I called someone to come take a look. I'll let you know what they say, but I don't have time today to dig into it. I rarely like to farm things out, but w/ time constraints and learning curve, I need someone to come do it .

The person I spoke to on the phone scheduling appointments was gearing me up for a fuel filter and nozzle.

 

If you mean the blower that moves the air thru the house....no.

 

That is what I mean, thx. I wasn't sure if it had any kind of logic that would say "if no blower fan, no fire". I didn't think so, esp. given the age of the unit, but wanted to make sure.

I guess when it rains, it pours this week. Hopefully filter/nozzle gets me squared away then. They said it would be around $200 if that's the issue.

 

The oil burner itself doesn't know if the blower is working or not until the heat exchanger gets too hot and shuts the burner down on overheat.

The third item that is a definite consideration is a high voltage transformer causing no ignition spark.

 

Thx for the help and suggestions. I know *something* was replaced at some point, because the old *something* is still down there; could be the transformer, but I'll update in a bit once this fellow gets here and gets me running.

 

Alright here's the scoop:

The fan motor on the burner assembly was not running. He opened it up and tested the transformer, and it was good. The fan kicked on after testing the transformer.

Additionally, the burner tube/cone is in rough shape, and has a hole.

We're going to do the following:

Replace nozzle and fuel filter.
Replace burner tube.
adjust electrodes.
Whatever else basic tune up stuff looks like.

Looking to be about $300.

 

Maybe a visual inspection of the heat exchanger.

Although with an oil fired furnace.... oil can be smelled in the heated air if the exchanger is cracked..

I'm used to the blower and the fuel pump being powered by the same motor.

 

Well things went from bad to worse, and ended with me needing a new furnace. Heat exchanger is cracked in 2 places.

 

That is unfortunate but they weren't designed to last forever and are usually the first thing to wear out. A leaky heat exchanger allows CO into the heated air stream allowing it to fill the house up .

 

I'd be a little less salty about it if I hadn't lost my job 2 hours ago. It is what it is though. No one's fault, just how things go.