Gas and Oil Home Heating Furnaces - Furnace pilot not lighting

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frank s
12-28-06, 11:12 PM
Please note that I'm not a HVAC pro, just a homeowner looking for some help.

The other day I turned on our furnace, and the blower came on, but no heat.

I went down and looked at the unit, it's a Lennox model G16Q3X-75-3.

I shut of the power, then powered it up with the thermostat still set to heat on. Looking at the pilot I noticed no igniter spark.

With everything 'on' I held a match by the pilot, the pilot lit and stayed lit, and the gas flowed to the elements and the heater was working.

So I think both the pilot and main gas valves are ok, and pilot circuit is also ok. Which makes me think the igniter is at fault.

I check things out and the ohm meter shows that there is no resistance between the tip of the igniter and the control module, a Robert Shaw #18G9101. Likewise the ground to the pilot is ok. I hook up the voltmeter to the ignition and to ground, but don't see any action, however I'm sure that the spark is pretty high voltage, and very quick, so I don't know if my meter would measure it. I do hear a faint "click" a few seconds after I switch it on, but I don't know if that's an igniter, or something else. I would guess that the igniter circuit would be a series of clicks and sparks until the pilot lights and heats the thermocouple, at least that's how our gas stove top works.

I'd hate to replace the control/igniter unit only to find that it wasn't the issue. Am I on the right track here?


Jay11J
12-29-06, 07:26 AM
Sounds like the modular needs to be replaced.