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Heating Cycle Won’t Begin if You Have a Faulty Igniter

Snow is in the forecast for Madison this week, so now’s the time
– before family and friends come over for the holidays – to
make sure your furnace is in working order.

A customer recently called us because his furnace was not lighting up.
He said the igniter continuously tried to ignite the gas, but it just
wasn’t turning on.

It’s important to understand how an igniter should be working, so in case your furnace doesn’t turn on, you can see if a faulty igniter is a cause.

How the Igniter Should Work:

The thermostat will tell your furnace that heat is needed and the furnace
should turn on.
Once it turns on, the blower-inducer motor should start turning.
The pressure switch should then close, as it senses negative air pressure
from the inducer motor.
The gas flow may not begin until about 30 seconds after the inducer motor
starts running.
After those four steps, you should see the igniter glowing. The flame sensor
should sense the flame from the igniter, turning the burners on.
From there, the heating cycle should start.

But, if the ignitor doesn’t glow, the flame sensor won’t allow
the gas to remain on. This, then, means the heat cycle cannot begin, leaving
you and your family in the cold.
In the case of this particular customer, the furnace was about 10 years
old, and he had just moved into the house so was unsure about regular
maintenance. To prevent these sorts of problems from occurring in the
middle of a snowy, winter night, your best bet would be to make sure you
have maintenance performed each year.

At Arco Comfort Air, we not only repair any furnace problems you may be
experiencing, but we also offer that yearly service.
When you call us for a repair, here’s what you can expect:

Our technicians will fully inspect your furnace.
They will determine the cause of the issue.
Then, they will provide you with a job-based quote upfront before starting the job.

You will always be in the loop and will walk away with a working, reliable
furnace in the end. If you are having trouble with your furnace, call
Arco Comfort Air today!

Today’s Offers

20%

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What Are Customers Are Saying

Princeston was excellent, very friendly and very efficient! He did an excellent job and helped sort out multiple leaks!!

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Brian Suter

September 20, 2025

Had an issue with scheduling and had to be rescheduled. ARCO reached out to me with a very considerate resolution and we are very pleased with their professionalism. We have used them in the past and plan on working with them in the future.

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D

David Jackson

September 20, 2025

Eugene was out for the furnace check today. He took a lot of time to explain what he would do and extra features associated with my account. He was very thorough and did everything I asked him to do. He was very polite and friendly but professional.

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Francine Beekman

September 20, 2025

Kellyed did amazing work and was very informative.

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Nathan Wisniewski

Nathan Wisniewski

October 27, 2025

Dominic was awesome and super helpful

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DarkLordChibi

DarkLordChibi

October 27, 2025

Technician was incredibly knowledgeable and did an amazing job fixing a persistent issue plaguing our house for years

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Bug VonD

Bug VonD

October 27, 2025

Jesse was a good guy to converse with and got the job done quick and easy. Friendly guy and great service!

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Căļĕb Ğ

Căļĕb Ğ

October 27, 2025

jesse was a great help finding out was was wrong with my furnance and explaining so i could understand what the problem was i highly recommend!!!

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Trent Manas

Trent Manas

October 27, 2025

Jessie came out today to service our heating system. He was on time and very personable. We have had great experiences with ARCO and Jessie in the past. He got right to work and checked over the system and found that the igniter looked a bit “Iiffy” We had it replaced. Very reasonable. Very Happy with ARCO and will schedule our AC tuneup in the spring..

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David Jackson

David Jackson

October 26, 2025

Princesten Was stellar!! He went above and beyond will be using them in the future!

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Zak Gaydos

Zak Gaydos

October 23, 2025

The technician was incredibly thorough and detailed with his work inspecting the electrical in our home. He clearly explained what he was going to do and all that it would entail. When he was finished he went over anything that needed to be done and why, and then offered reasonable quotes in different price points so it wasn’t overwhelming.

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Kortnee Schubert

Kortnee Schubert

October 23, 2025

Jesse was great ,he was very professional

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Linda Muckleroy

Linda Muckleroy

October 23, 2025

Jesse the technician was amazing! He was very knowledgeable, friendly and quickly diagnosed the issue with my furnace right away. The work was completed efficiently and my furnace is working better than ever before! Very highly recommend!!!!

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Jeneba Yaskey

Jeneba Yaskey

October 23, 2025

Jesse was great, straight forward, gave some advice and I appreciated it!

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Alex Price

Alex Price

October 22, 2025

Princeton Gordon went above and beyond to solve problem!

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david evans

david evans

October 22, 2025