# Intermittent furnace ignition



## Ruben17 (11 mo ago)

Hi all
I am having an issue with my furnace, where it’s working properly most of the time but every few days I will catch the flames trying to ignite, then failing. It does this 2-3 times before the blower turns on and blows cool air. The inducer motor starts, I will hear a series of clicks (not necessarily the normal clicking sequence) the igniter glows, the flame flashes a few times then fails. I had an HVAC professional do a checkup on the system which included cleaning the flame sensor, but I am still seeing this issue.
The furnace is about 9 years old, and it is an airtemp (nordyne) brand. I have heard these are unreliable, but it is the brand that came with our home. We recently put it a new Amana AC.

I am attaching a video of what I am seeing. Thanks in advance!Furnace Video


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## GregHVAC (10 mo ago)

Hi Ruben, are you still experiencing issues with your furnace? My recommendation would be to check the ignitor and see if you have a burnt out ignitor or it's not getting power. When you turn your furnace on, your inducer motor will kick on when there's a call for heat (thermostat temp). At that point, your ignitor should start to glow. The gas valve will open, ready to send gas to the ignitor, but if you have a burnt out ignitor, it will not light. This is an issue I've come across. I have an HVAC Services company and have seen this issue before. I hope this helps and let me know if you have any other questions. I'm happy to help.


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## Ruben17 (11 mo ago)

Hi Greg. Thanks for your reply. The issue is still intermittent. Right now we don’t need heat, but over the course of February and early March this issue was still happening, but never to the point where it would not work at all. We always got up to temp, 70 degrees, but I would notice the igniters trying to light and failing when I would be down in the hvac room. It would not work for a few tries, then kick on in be fine. If I had a burnt out igniter, it wouldn’t work at all correct? Most of the time it’s goes through the whole sequence as normal. Truly odd.


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## Steven123cool (Mar 2, 2021)

Check your combustion air and flue. Check the flue all the way to the end for leaks clogs or too many 90’s. Sounds like a gas or air problem


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## Steven123cool (Mar 2, 2021)

Also could be a birds nest or partially covered flue vent. If the vent or intake is facing the windward side high winds could cause a lot of problems


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