Furnaces · no heat

Furnace runs or calls for heat but the house stays cold

Separate thermostat demand, household power, airflow, ignition and safety lockout before changing controls. A repeated ignition or limit fault requires service.

Direct answer

Separate thermostat demand, household power, airflow, ignition and safety lockout before changing controls. A repeated ignition or limit fault requires service.

What this covers

  • Residential forced-air furnaces with customer-accessible thermostat, power, filter and indicator checks
  • The exact condition described in the title
  • Customer-accessible checks before internal repair or reset

What it does not cover

  • ×A different brand, model family or similar-looking code
  • ×Internal live-electrical, gas, refrigerant or sealed-system testing
  • ×A guarantee that a named component has failed without isolation
Try in this order0 of 4 completed
  1. Capture the exact state

    Reversible

    Set a clear heat demand and record thermostat, blower, burner and indicator state.

  2. Separate the likely fault domains

    Reversible

    Check the service switch, breaker once, correct filter, open supply/return paths and exact panel legend.

  3. Correct only the proven, accessible condition

    Reversible

    Restore an obvious power or airflow condition and perform one normal restart.

  4. Verify once before going farther

    Reversible

    Confirm a full heat cycle starts, satisfies demand and stops normally.

Evidence ledger

Sources behind this answer

Visible sources support the visible claims. Home Product Support records the publisher, the fact used and the review date; community reports can suggest an issue but do not become a published fact on their own.

Exact questions

Common follow-ups

What should I record first for “Furnace runs or calls for heat but the house stays cold”?+

Set a clear heat demand and record thermostat, blower, burner and indicator state.

Does the symptom or code prove a part has failed?+

No. Check the service switch, breaker once, correct filter, open supply/return paths and exact panel legend.

When should I stop troubleshooting?+

Leave and contact the gas utility for gas odor; stop for soot, flame rollout, CO alarm, smoke or damaged venting.

Change recordAug. 17, 2026 — Added exact scope, evidence class, reversible checks, verification result and explicit stop condition.
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