Why would my Goodman gas furnace start but not stay on for more than 2-3 minutes?

Question

I've got a problem with my 15 year old Goodman furnace. It starts w/o problem, inductor begins working, hot surface ignitor lights up and ignites the gas. Then the main blower starts working and the whole thing stays on for 2-3 minutes. Then the flames go off before the thermostat reaches the target temperature. Though it continues to recycle the air. It will restart 20-30 min later with the same effect. Sometimes the flames don't appear at all (I guess gas valve stays off) even though everything else stays on (including HSI).

I checked the termocouple. It looks clean but may be I still should replace it? Could it be a faulty air pressure switch?

Answer 1

There are a couple of things that it might be: It could be the flame sensor. I have seen them where they look clean but are dirty enough that the DC voltage being generated is not enough for the circuit board to keep the gas valve open. I would pull it out and clean it with some scotch brite or a brillow pad. be care full not to damage the porcelain base. It is generally fairly easy to remove, one or maybe two 1/4 screws holding it in place. Gently pull it out and clean it with the pad like you would if you where sanding a wooden dowel. The 2nd thing it might be (less likely) could be a roll out switch. If your air filter is dirty it would prevent enough air flow across the heat exchanger to keep it from over heating causing the roll out safety switch to open. If this is neglected for a long period of time it can cause the ROS to weaken and begin to trip at lower than designed temperature. ps. there are typically LED lights on a the circuit board that will blink error codes to help in diagnostics. It is best to capture that info and will usually point you in the right direction.

Answer 2

Sounds like either a bad over-temp switch, or cause for an over-temp. Replace the plenums over temp sensor, or remove obstructions from the air system (dirty coil or filter, closed registers, half detached and now hanging duct insulation.) If all else fails cut the gas back some by slightly closing the gas valve, however be prepared to have to reset the furnace if your local gas pressure drops intermittently. My step one on Goodmans is as mentioned, clean the flame sensor, but I think they only run for a few seconds if that's the case.

"Sometimes there's no flame at all" sounds like a bad pressure switch on the exhaust blower. Until that switch is satisfied the gas valve won't open. But you must be sure it's not still in a lock-out. This applies to only when you do a cold start (flip the switch that should be there, or the breaker).

Answer 3

I had the same problem. The blower would run, then the unit would fire up briefly, then quit after a few seconds. I cleaned the flame sensor and solved the problem.

Answer 4

Your primary limit is on lockout. You have to change it out. The problem is either a dirty filter that hasn't been changed in a couple years, or you have to clean off A - coil Finns to get better air flow due to running a system without a filter for a long period of time.

Answer 5

bypass pressure switch and see if it doesn't fix the problem. make sure you are not jumping the wires to the pressure switch until after the draft inducer motor has started. 18 years experience spent several hours Gran 3 minutes shut down. pressure switch diaphragm was bleeding off and opening