When the heat goes out in Alton, IL, the clock starts ticking, and the diagnosis depends entirely on what kind of system is doing the failing. On a gas furnace, the single most frequent culprit is a flame sensor coated in oxide: the burners light, the sensor cannot prove the flame, and the board shuts the gas down three tries later and locks out. Close behind come cracked hot surface igniters, stuck pressure switches, clogged condensate traps on high-efficiency models, and blower motors that have quietly worn out. Heat pumps fail differently: a weak defrost cycle leaves the outdoor coil buried under frost, a failed reversing valve strands the system in cooling, and a dead outdoor unit leaves the electric backup strips carrying the whole house at several times the operating cost.
Most of our service calls are for Furnace Repair. Start there if your system isn't running right.
Warning Signs for Heating Repair
Spotting the early warning signs lets you act before the problem gets expensive. Watch for these telltale signs:
- Short cycling every few minutes while the house stays cold
- Cold air, or no air at all, when the thermostat calls for heat
- Clicking and failed ignition attempts before the furnace gives up
- A loud boom when the burners light, which points to delayed ignition
- Strange smells from the vents, especially rotten egg or burning
- An outdoor heat pump coil that stays iced over
- Heating bills spiking while comfort keeps falling
- Cold rooms in one part of the house while others are comfortable
Don't Wait for a Total Failure
Left unchecked, even a small fault or temperature swing often signals a system working its way toward a breakdown. Don't wait, call (618) 450-7978 and we'll take a look right away.
