A furnace that clicks, tries to start, and shuts off in a Victoria-Fraserview home often points to a worn or failed ignitor rather than a bigger problem.
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Quick answer
A furnace ignitor in a Victoria-Fraserview home that fails typically causes the furnace to run its blower and fan but never actually light, or to light briefly and then shut down, since the ignitor is what starts the burner's flame on modern gas furnaces. This is one of the most common and generally straightforward furnace repairs, diagnosed by testing the ignitor and the ignition sequence together rather than replacing parts by guesswork. CANRO diagnoses the specific cause before recommending a repair, since a few other faults can mimic ignitor symptoms.
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Most gas furnaces built in the last few decades use an electronic ignitor rather than a standing pilot light. The ignitor heats up, the control board confirms it reached the right temperature, and gas is released to light off the burner. Ignitors are fragile components, often a thin ceramic or silicon carbide element, and they wear out with age and repeated heating and cooling cycles, sometimes cracking or simply losing the ability to reach ignition temperature.
Victoria-Fraserview's housing stock is largely post-war bungalows from the 1950s and 60s along with newer infill homes, and furnace age varies considerably block to block depending on when each home was last upgraded, so ignitor failures show up across a wide range of furnace ages here rather than being tied to any one housing era.
A dirty flame sensor, a failed control board, or a gas valve issue can all produce similar symptoms to a failed ignitor, which is why diagnosis matters before a part gets replaced. Testing the ignitor directly, along with the ignition sequence and flame-sensing signal, tells a technician which component is actually at fault rather than guessing from symptoms alone.
Once confirmed, ignitor replacement is generally a straightforward repair: the old ignitor is removed, the new one installed and tested through a full ignition cycle to confirm reliable lighting. Pricing depends on furnace make and ignitor type and is confirmed after diagnosis; we do not quote repair costs before seeing the actual fault.
If a furnace is older and has had several unrelated component failures recently, an ignitor replacement on its own may only be a short-term fix. We will tell you honestly if that pattern applies to your situation rather than simply replacing the part in front of us.
Safety note
Gas equipment work must be done by a Technical Safety BC licensed gas fitter. If you ever smell gas, leave the home, avoid switches and phones inside, and call FortisBC at 1-800-663-9911 from outside before calling anyone else.
We do not recommend it. Ignitors are fragile and gas ignition components should be tested and replaced by a licensed technician who can also confirm the fault correctly.
A technician tests the ignitor directly along with the ignition sequence and flame sensor, since several different faults can produce similar no-heat symptoms.
Typically a straightforward repair completed in one visit once the diagnosis confirms the ignitor as the cause.
Yes, they are one of the more frequently replaced furnace components, since they are a fragile part that repeatedly heats and cools with every cycle.
Not necessarily. Ignitor failure happens across furnaces of many ages and is usually an isolated, reasonable repair rather than a sign the whole furnace is failing.
That points to a different fault, such as the gas valve or control board, and the technician will diagnose further rather than simply repeating the same repair.
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