My Trane Furnace Does Not Start Heating

Gas Supply

• If your Trane gas furnace won’t heat your home, it could be because it doesn’t have a fuel supply. Gas furnaces need natural gas or propane to heat; if no supply exists, the burners can't light and create heat for your house. Check whether or not the gas main is turned on, and ensure that gas flows to the appliance. If you use a propane tank, check its fuel level. Gas furnaces can burn a lot of fuel in very cold months, and you may run out of fuel before you anticipated. Another possibility is work on the main natural gas line near your location. See if your other gas appliances work, and find out if the gas is off to the whole house. If it is out, check with the gas company.

Power Supply

• Although gas may be the fuel for your Trane furnace, it needs electricity to power blower fans and central controls. If your Trane furnace is an electric heating system, it needs electricity for heat as well. After verifying that the electric power is on at your house, go to the circuit breaker box or fuse box, and ensure the breakers assigned to the furnace are all in the "on" position or that no fuses are blown. Also, ensure that the reset switch on the inside unit hasn’t tripped because of an overload. In most cases, pressing it back in place gets the system going again. If breakers or resets continue to trip when you turn on the furnace, call for a service technician because your home may have more serious electrical problems.

Thermostat Settings

• The thermostat may be set incorrectly. A central heat thermostat could disable the whole system in several unintentional ways. Verify that the selector switch is set to “heat” and not “cool” or “fan.” Also, the thermostat's temperature selector needs to be set to a temperature higher than the actual room temperature in order for the furnace to provide heat.

Dirty Filters

• The furnace may have a dirty air filter, which can cause restricted airflow in the system and potentially overheating. That situation could cause the system to shut down and lock itself out. A Trane furnace's air filters are on the inside unit near the blower. The filters should be changed regularly, usually at least once every couple of months, to maintain good airflow.