4 Things That Can Cause a Furnace Blower to Stop Working
Easily one of the most important parts of your HVAC system, the blower motor activates and runs the system’s fan. This distributes heated and cooled air throughout the building and creates a comfortable and uniform temperature in every room. If it breaks, your furnace might turn on, but conditions of the interior of your Raceland, LA home won’t change. Read on to discover four reasons why furnace blowers stop working and what you can do about them.
1. A Bad Capacitor
At startup, the blower motor requires more electricity than your home’s electrical system can deliver. To overcome this, these components rely on capacitors to store energy and provide a brief but powerful startup charge. Capacitors then regulate power input all throughout the blower motor’s operation. If your furnace’s capacitor has failed, your furnace will start, but you won’t have any air coming out of your vents. Worse still, continuing to run a furnace with a bad capacitor could cause its fan motor to overheat and burn out.
2. Worn Belts and Bearings
Furnace blower motors typically last between 10 and 20 years. To extend their lifespans, homeowners should schedule annual furnace maintenance. During these appointments, HVAC technicians look for, clean, and replace worn bearings. Fan motor bearings can fail prematurely due to built-up debris. However, they’re also subjected to ongoing stress during normal operation.
Blower motors use belts to rotate fan blades. If the belt in your blower motor has cracked or snapped, the fan’s blades won’t spin. Like motor bearings, these components are inspected and replaced as needed during professional furnace maintenance.
3. Damage at the Motor’s Electrical Windings
High heat at the interior of your furnace blower can melt the insulating materials around its electrical windings. High heat can also create shorts in between a furnace blower’s electrical windings due to excess friction between conductors or between conductors and pole materials. Whether related to installation, manufacturing, or maintenance, this issue frequently results in the need for total motor replacement.
4. Insufficient Airflow
Furnace blowers circulate air. If there’s no air to circulate, they won’t engage. Check your HVAC air filter. If this component has a thick mat of lint-like debris on its surface, install a fresh one. You should also make sure that your furnace filter’s orientation is correct and that it’s properly sized for your system. If this doesn’t correct the problem, make sure that the air registers, vents, and grilles throughout your house are free of airflow obstructions as well.
We proudly serve Raceland homeowners with first-rate heating, air conditioning, and electrical services. We also provide duct cleaning, energy audits, and advanced indoor air quality solutions. Contact Guidry's Air Conditioning & Refrigeration, Inc today to schedule an appointment!
