Reasons To Call An AC Repair Company For Further Inspection And Repairs Of The Furnace Control Board | Southlake, TX
With the many components of your furnace, it now makes sense that some of them might wear down and eventually stop to work. However, identifying the telltale signs of failure can place you in a position to know exactly what to tell an AC repair company when you call. This means that the professionals will fix the unit within no time to ensure that your home is properly heated again. Many signs indicate that the furnace control board has a problem. But before delving into them, let’s first understand what a furnace control board is.
What Is a Furnace Control Board?
Before looking into why the furnace control board is not functioning properly, you must understand the role of a furnace control board. The control board is responsible for several operations critical to the furnace’s operation. The control board starts the electric ignition, opens the gas valve, activates the blower motor, vents the heat exchange, checks the burner, and shuts off the gas supply. These are all the stages that result in efficient heating of your Southlake, TX home. Hence, the circuit board going down for whatever reason could make the furnace not function, necessitating an AC Repair Company for further inspection.
What Might Make the Control Board Fail?
Although various things go wrong with your furnace control board, you might have to enlist an AC repair company to determine why it is failing. After all, silicon that is 1000 years should behave similarly to one a day old. So, where does the problem lie? Today’s printed circuit boards comprise little switches and relays mounted on a stiff green board. The issue is that the material is weaker if the board is smaller. Thinner materials make relays more susceptible to deterioration and improper operation. And that is essentially the reason that most furnace control boards stop functioning. Below are some of the reasons why the furnace control board might be faulty:
Bad Solder Connections
The most prevalent cause of the furnace control board malfunctioning is a faulty or bad solder connection on your board’s back. Some plugs have stems soldered into a metallic circuit that acts as wires do in a house. Hence, the entire furnace circuit board will not work during a break. Should the plugs start to develop cracks, they leave a gap between the steps at the back of the board where they meet the circuitry. Enlist an AC repair company for routine maintenance.
Thermal Expansion
Why the cracks in the solder occur in the first place is a logical follow-up inquiry to the explanation above. Thermal expansion is the cause of this. The solder is stiff and has very little give when applied and then forms. That creates expansion when it starts to warm. Those issues can show up immediately away or might take a while to manifest. You should enlist for an air conditioning service from a reliable, licensed AC repair company to ensure that such an issue is caught before they worsen.
Stuck Switches
The furnace control board depends on the electromechanical switch. They can get stuck if they are used for the first instance in a very long time. There are a few things to keep in mind in this situation.
- Over-voltage. These are typically your voltage spikes or power surges. Overheating arises when there is a spike or rush. The switch may become damaged from overheating and stop working properly.
- Under-voltage. In contrast, under-voltage may eventually prohibit the relay’s contacts from correctly closing. Only a small portion of these parts’ damage formula involves voltage. The switches may become worn out from the electrical current and become stuck or cease functioning.
Regardless, you should have an AC repair company send a technician to inspect the furnace control board. If the switches are stuck, they will repair the unit to ensure that your Southlake, TX home is properly heated.
Transistors
The transistors are among the first components of the control board that are up and running. The energy and heat produced during the startup process could damage several other components of the board. The same heat and energy will eventually heat the transistors and prematurely wear out the board. The energy and heat damaging the transistors eventually will change the underlying material’s composition. With a lot of damage and stress, the furnace control board will eventually stop operating. Contact an AC repair company for a transistor check if the furnaces stop functioning.
Relays and Switches
On the outer parts of the condenser unit are contractors similar to your furnace’s control board. The miniature relays allow certain motors to get the right voltage to function properly.
Burning and Pitting: Like a contractor, the furnace relays might become pitted and burnt over time. This is because of the arcing across furnace contractors whenever they close.
Protective Coating: there is a protective coating on all winding at the coils of a particular relay. The high temperatures when the furnace is turned on might prevent the contacts from properly closing. Hence, ensure that a professional AC repair company inspects the furnace to ensure that it doesn’t run into such issues.
Plastic Pieces: If some plastic components are installed with contacts, the heat may cause the plastic to lose its stability. This will eventually twist the contacts on the relay, knocking them out of line and rendering them useless. Hence, this will make the furnace control board malfunction, impacting the entire furnace.
The furnace control board is critical to a properly functioning furnace system. Hence, you should ensure that it is properly functioning at all times. This includes having a routine air conditioning service performed by a professional AC repair company you can trust. If you need such services for your Southlake, TX home’s furnace, call us at One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Fort Worth. We are ready to serve you.