My Oil Furnace Keeps Shutting Down & the Pump Is Making a Funny Noise

Clogs

• Clogs are caused by contaminants in the oil that slowly build up as the oil is used. When these contaminants become too thick, the burner will not be able to produce enough oil to light properly. Instead, it will quickly turn on and then turn back off again. The furnace may make noise as it struggles with the unhealthy pressure in the oil lines.

Wiring and Sensor Issues

• Oil furnaces depend on wiring to receive instructions from the thermostat and to sense the proper temperature of the flame. When the wiring and sensors start to fail, the furnace may begin to shut down quickly because it has wrongly detected an overheating problem or has lost the connection with the thermostat. This can cause the oil pump to make noise as it suddenly shuts down and then tries to recover when it starts back up again.

Ignition Problems

• The ignition system in an oil furnace may also be at fault. In this case, the oil furnace will start, but the oil will not ignite, and the furnace will immediately shut back down again. You may hear a series of clicks as the ignitors try and fail to light the oil, or a sudden combustion sound as the ignitor works but ignites too much oil at one time. Adjusting or replacing the ignitor electrodes can usually solve this problem.

Fan Motor Problems

• Your oil furnace uses a fan system to send the warmed air throughout your ductwork. What you may be hearing is a motor problem with this fan. If the motor is dying, the fan (which usually makes the most noise in the system) may suddenly shut down. The motor will also sound much more noisy as it starts to burn out or begins working too hard.