Uploaded June 2019 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Remember when there used to be a toy at the bottom of the cereal box?
Yes, I replaced the capacitor first to verify that it was or was not the problem. As you can see in the video, the original capacitor was within 5-6% of the correct value, more than within tolerance. The original fan motor was absolutely choked in heavy dust, grease and cat hair. Lots and lots of cat hair.
The corrosion on the furnace likely comes from two cat litter pans placed next to it. My hands certainly smelled like cat pee when I was done. That basement also smelled absolutely awful.
This furnace dates from 2003. I can only guess that someone lost their level when it fell into the furnace while it was being installed. Being an 80% efficient model, it certainly could have gotten past the heat exchanger. But why didn't they bother to get it back?
I suspect something terrible (maybe a major flame rollout?) happened in the burner area. There's a large mess of wire all around the burner area, and it's all tied together with wire nuts, which certainly wasn't done at the factory.
The audio in this video is a great example of why I shun recording video on a phone, and prefer an actual purpose built camcorder.
Remember when there used to be a toy at the bottom of the cereal box?
Yes, I replaced the capacitor first to verify that it was or was not the problem. As you can see in the video, the original capacitor was within 5-6% of the correct value, more than within tolerance. The original fan motor was absolutely choked in heavy dust, grease and cat hair. Lots and lots of cat hair.
The corrosion on the furnace likely comes from two cat litter pans placed next to it. My hands certainly smelled like cat pee when I was done. That basement also smelled absolutely awful.
This furnace dates from 2003. I can only guess that someone lost their level when it fell into the furnace while it was being installed. Being an 80% efficient model, it certainly could have gotten past the heat exchanger. But why didn't they bother to get it back?
I suspect something terrible (maybe a major flame rollout?) happened in the burner area. There's a large mess of wire all around the burner area, and it's all tied together with wire nuts, which certainly wasn't done at the factory.
The audio in this video is a great example of why I shun recording video on a phone, and prefer an actual purpose built camcorder.
