A furnace is an essential appliance for keeping your home comfortable and warm during the winter months. The thought of your furnace blower motor acting up is something you do not want to experience when the weather is chilly.
However, this is something that’s almost bound to happen eventually with time. After years of blowing warm air in your house, the wear and tear effects eventually catch up with it. This happens to almost every element in an HVAC system.
But besides old age, issues like overheating, excessive vapor, debris, dirt, and dust pile-up can cause some bearings and windings to burn up faster. For this reason, you need to conduct regular maintenance and inspections to ensure that your blower motor is in good shape.
So, how do you identify a failing blower motor that needs replacement? Well, let’s get an in-depth perspective.
Top Signs of a Failing Blower Motor for Furnace
1. Lack of Airflow from the Vents
Whenever you turn on the heat and no air is coming out from your air vents, this is a sign of trouble. Your furnace blower motor can be broken. And at this point, replacing it would be the best available option.
However, there are other reasons that cause a lack of airflow, such as a fan control problem, a faulty thermostat, or a bad relay. Therefore, be certain that it’s the blower causing the airflow issue.
2. Increasing Energy Bills
In the entire HVAC system, the blower motor consumes the most energy. If your energy bills keep escalating, it means that your furnace is not operating efficiently.
A decrease in efficiency means that your furnace is working extra hard to produce the same amount of heat.
There are several issues that can cause this. Get in touch with a professional who will assist in replacing the motor blower.
3. Weird Noises
Sometimes, you may experience strange noises when you are operating your furnace. These might be in the form of clanking, squealing, rattling, or screeching.
When this happens, calling your heating contractor will be the next best thing. Screeching and squealing sounds are indicators of bearing issues in the drive furnaces.
A rattling or knocking noise from your heating system could mean damaged or broken components. Banging sounds are the most serious noises to be aware of, and at times, it means that the entire blower motor needs replacement.
A technician will carry out a thorough inspection to determine the causes of these noises.
4. Overheating Blower
If your furnace motor blower is overheating, it is a sign that you need another one. An overheating motor blower is often identifiable by a funny smell coming from the air vents.
Additionally, if the blower stops when you are operating the heater, or it shuts down completely, it means it is overheating.
Get in touch with a licensed HVAC expert to sort out this issue before it causes electrical damage.
5. Limited Airflow from Air Vents
This is the first indicator that your blower motor may need attention. Other causes of poor airflow from your air vents are bad capacitors, leaky air ducts, or dirt. If the motor also has excess moisture, it causes poor airflow.
6. Constant Adjustments to your Thermostat
The thermostat specifies the amount of heat your furnace requires to emit and what temperature to sustain.
If your house never achieves the correct temperature, then there might be a major problem with the thermostat’s wiring. Alternatively, your burner could be the problem.
Or, this could be another sign that you need a new motor blower for your furnace to function effectively.
7. Cold Air from the Unit
You should schedule an inspection if your furnace is blowing more cold air than hot. The various determinants that make your furnace not produce heat are: dirty air filters, blocked air ducts, or a clogged blower motor.
Some of these complex problems will require the attention of an expert.
8. Your Furnace is Not Powering Up
With a faulty blower motor, your furnace will have problems with turning on as it ages. If you keep on restarting it throughout the day, then this is a cause for alarm. It means that your unit needs to be assessed.
You can either repair or replace the affected components of your unit to resolve this issue.
9. Your Furnace Blower Motor is 15+ Years
The lifespan of a furnace is 15-20 years on average. This depends on the size of the home and how well you maintain it.
If you have used it for far too long, you will experience constant breakdowns or major repairs. In the worst-case scenario, the furnace blower motor will shut down prematurely. If you require a furnace blower motor replacement, the blower motor for furnace cost is typically around $450.
10. Yellow Pilot Light
In normal cases, the pilot light for your furnace should be blue and contains a steady flame. The blue pilot light is a sign that your furnace blower motor is burning natural gases. It also means that it is operating under good conditions.
A yellow pilot light, on the other hand, can be a sign of a poisonous carbon monoxide leak, which is harmful to your entire household. If the yellow pivot light is flickering, contact your technician to fix it right away.
In the long run, you will need to purchase a carbon monoxide detector for safety purposes.