The usual suspects are cheap parts with outsized symptoms: a failed igniter that leaves the house cold overnight, a dirty flame sensor that shuts the burner after seconds, a blower motor bearing that announces itself at 2 a.m.
What this covers
- Igniter and flame-sensor replacement
- Blower motor and wheel repair
- Gas valve and pressure-switch diagnostics
- Heat-pump defrost-board and reversing-valve repair
- Cracked heat-exchanger screening
- Limit-switch and control-board diagnosis
Signs you need this
- Burner lights then shuts off within seconds
- Blower runs constantly with no heat
- Loud screech or rumble at startup
- Cold air from the vents in heating mode
- Thermostat calls for heat but nothing starts
- Burning smell at the first start of the season
Shoals notes
A heat pump icing up in a wet Shoals January is often a defrost problem, not a dying unit — the diagnosis matters before anyone quotes you a replacement.
Questions we get
Is a burning smell at first startup dangerous?
A brief dusty-burn smell after months off is usually dust burning off the heat strips or exchanger. A sharp electrical or persistent chemical smell is not normal — shut it down and call. Any gas odor means leave the house and call the gas company first.
Why does my heat pump blow cold air in winter?
Briefly, during defrost, that is normal. Continuously cold air means the reversing valve, charge, or defrost board is failing — that is a repair call, and it is diagnosable in one visit.