I have a Carrier Air Handler with a 10KW Heater Package inside. I am concerned that the heating elements in them are not getting as hot as they should be when auxiliary heat is called for. When I looked through the inspection hole one element appears to be glowing much brighter than the other one. They both appear fine and both have 10 ohms across them when I put my meter on them. Is it possible that the limit switch might be causing it not to get as hot as it should?

I have found that turning off all power for a minimum of two hours will reset most errors,. When you switch the breaker back on, you will hear relays clicking as part of the self testing. Wait 15 minutes before operating the unit.

Th easy fix would be installing a new heating element that has burned out. You don't say what size this tankless heater but if it stopped working entirely you might have just one heating element inside. You can test it by (1) turning off the circuit serving the heater, disconnecting one of the wires to the heating element, then taking an ohmmeter to see what the resistance of the element is. If it is "infinity" then it is open and burned out. Replace element. If it is around 6 ohms (for a 10kW heater running at 240V) then the heating element is OK. Unfortunately those heating elements don't last forever. Check the repair manual on how to replace the heating element.

Is this a heat package inside a Goodman air handler? If so, it is probably at least a 10kw (two element) unit and it sounds like the first stage is not coming on. Of course it could also be a 15 or 20 kw heat package with multiple heat stages, I have no way of knowing.

Sometimes the second and subsequent heating elements operate off of the 'sequencer' of the previous stage. Not always though. If its a regular furnace it should have a terminal strip with R W G Y and C on it. With the thermostat calling for heat, check for voltage (hopefully you have at least a cheap DVOM) between W and C. If 24 vac is present, find the first stage sequencer by looking at the schematic on the air handler door. Follow the wire on W1 in the diagram to the sequencer. After locating the sequencer, check for voltage across the coil....which should be the same as W and C. If there is 24vac there and it has been there for 45 seconds, the sequencer switch should be closed which then energizes the heating element. Without an 'amprobe' (clamp on ammeter) it is difficult to determine if current is flowing through the heating element.

If you can verify that the first stage element now has 240 volts across it, but there is still no heat about all you can do is turn off the power ---------- (IMPORTANT!!!!!!)-------- and remove the high voltage wire from one end of the element and use an ohmmeter (if you are lucky enough to have one) to verify that the heating element is in fact good or not. Resistance shown on the ohmmeter shows it to be good, no resistance shows it to be open and possibly the culprit.

Of course in series with the element is always a 'high temperature cut out' that could be causing the element to not heat. The same technique is used to check and verify each sequencer and element in the furnace. Its a whole lot easier if you have an amprobe.

Remember you are in a high voltage environment which is very dangerous to the untrained individual. Do not attempt this if you are nervous around electricity !!!!!

There is a whole lot more than can be written in a concise manner but this may get you in the ballpark....
You should befriend an HVAC guy.....

One of three issues
Thermostat not wired properly
failed heat sequencer in air handler
bad heat element in air handler

If you are using strip heat as seperate mode you must install a fan isolation relay which would be energized by emergency ht mode of stat.

It's likely a bad tstat. Turn the power off to your air handler. Remove red , green, yellow and orange wires inside the tstat and wire nut them together. Not sure if your reversing valve energizes in heating or cooling but, turn the power back on. If the unit is heating turn the power off and remove just the orange wire and turn power back on. Let this run and see if it you are ONLY getting cool air ALL the time. If so you have a bad stat. If still getting heat possibly you have a bad control board in the air handler. Good Luck!!

If you need further help, reach me via phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/thomas_092728000e6acb79

Hi,

This will help you.


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Auxiliary heat is electric heat that is put into the air handler on the inside of the house. Its used when your heat pump doesn't provide enough heat, but heat strips are not always used. To see if you have auxiliary heat, look inside and see if you have breakers on the front panel of the air handler or anywhere close. No breakers, no electric heat. Hope this helps!

if you don't mind shopping over the internet here is a company I deal with on a daily bases Call Washer Specialties they have everything. 99% of the time.

http://www.wsconet.com/

Now if you have a appliance parts house in your area I would go there as this part you are talking about is a common part.

I hope this helps
http://www.xpedio.carrier.com/idc/groups/public/documents/techlit/wd-fa4c-01.pdf