# American Standard Freedom 90 Question



## sgthvac (Apr 15, 2007)

Are you saying that sometimes the burners light then the flame drops out? If so clean the flame sensor. It's an small rod that is located in front of the burners opposite end of the burners from your ignitor. Clean it with scotchbrite or emory cloth.


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## bobjbc (Mar 5, 2008)

Thanks for the quick reply, I guess what I was trying to say, the burners lights for about a second than drops out. But I will try what you suggested, thanks agian


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## lili (Mar 8, 2008)

*lili*

Hi I have an American Standard also. Did you check the self diagnostic controls? Mine says I have a pressure switch error, I believe the fix on that is to make sure the tubes that connect to the draft assist fan are clear. i just don't know where that is. But check the self diagnostic area first.
hope that helps.


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## HVACguy (Mar 10, 2008)

Bob - If You Get 2 Flashes, I'd Recommend Cleaning Your Flame Sensor.

That Goes For Anyone With A Newer Furnace.. If You Are Not Having Your Furnace Cleaned Annually, I Would Get A Piece of Steel Wool and Clean Your Flame Sensor.


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## JEVSkeeter (Mar 25, 2008)

*Little more help.*

Just found this forum and thank you in advance for your help.

First my problem started out as a stupid mistake. I travel and my wife let the propane tank go empty. Sunday night guess what no heat. I called the service company who came in replaced the valve, said it was leaking as they smelled gas, replaced the sensor said my was bad, replaced the drain hose, then told me I was out of gas.

Now the furnace will not light up everytime. It goes on a time or two then will not light and just runs the blower. I have to go power down the furnace, then it seems to work for a while. 

I am getting a two flash code which reads external lockout. Any suggestions or help. Did I just get taken for 479 bucks?

Thanks again.


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## sgthvac (Apr 15, 2007)

JEVSkeeter,
What furnace do you have? brand and model # would help. What valve did they replace, gas valve? If so did they set the gas pressure? Normally, 8-11" Water Column. Did they use soap bubbles or some kind of leak detector to find the leak or did they assume the gas valve was leaking? Propane smell gets stronger when the tank gets empty because the chemical used for the odor settles to the bottom of the tank so there would be a strong odor if the furnace tried to fire up after it was tank was empty.
Why did they replace the sensor? Most times (90%) cleaning the sensor will work just fine. Sounds like if they replaced those parts without propane in the tank you were taken to the cleaners. I would call them back out at no charge to fix your issue.


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## JEVSkeeter (Mar 25, 2008)

American Standard Freedom 90 single stage running on propane. They could smell the gas but did not do a "bubble test". The gas valve is what they changed and the one they put in does not look like the old one. It's more like what I was used to seeing with the switch you held down to lite the pilot. The unit has no pilot and is electric start. The plastic tube was krinked at the lower end and it was replaced also. I have no idea what pressure he set it at or if he did. I was not impressed.

I was told that I screwed up when I shut the power down as it erased the error code. Then this morning I called him and told him it was a two flash code which reads external error but he did not know what that was? I did have him replace the sensor, the old one was a little dirty but I had a new one installed.

I called this morning but they are not excited about coming back after doing all the work to find out it was not running because we ran out of propane.....

thank you!


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## JEVSkeeter (Mar 25, 2008)

Sorry to hijack this thread but I need help.

The model # is ADX100C948D1. Here's the latest. I've had three service companies here. The board was replaces last summer due to AC not working. The first guy replaced the valve with a made in China valve wired from two stage to act as a single stage. Now at least once a day I get the two quick flash error code showing an externial lock out. The hot surface ingiter is working, I can hear a click sounding like the switch in the valve is working, I cannot hear gas flowing, some times it will light some times not. When the lock out code is displayed I've got to turn the power off and wait 5-10 minutes then turn the power back on. Some times it will light then some times not and I've got to do the process two or three times.

Help.....


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## Petethor (May 12, 2008)

*american standard freedom 90*

I have two freedom 90 furnaces in my home The one furnace I have not had a problem with since it was installed 10 years ago. The second furnace I have the same problem where the furnace calls for heat the ignitor will come on and I hear the gas valve enable but only one or two of the burner will light. This causes the flame check sensor which is located at the last burner to shutoff the gas valve as a safety. About 5 years ago I had this problem start and I had the gas valve replaced and it seemed to fix the problem. The gas valve was a different style but it worked. about a year later the furnace had the same problem I could shutoff the furnace and try to restart it and it would sometimes start and sometimes I would try this three or four times before it worked. I would also try tapping on the gas valve and that seemed to fix it. The problem got worse so I changed out the gas valve again. The valve was again a different part number and that worked for about another year. I have replaced the valve now every year for the last 5 years. I have taken the valve apart and looked to see if anything looked blocked but everything looks fine. I have sent two gas valves to the manufacture White Rodgers in Missouri and they tell me that they do not know of any problems with the valves.
_I think that the gas valve is not the problem but everytime the problem happens changing out the gas valve fixes the problem. I need help fixing this problem._


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## jabass (Nov 9, 2008)

*American standard Freedom 90 Problem*

I, to, am having the same kind problem with my American Standard Freedom 90 propane furnace that bobjbc had in Mar 08 and Petethor had in May 08. 

The system will do a routine start-up and when the gas turns on I get an immediate shutdown of the gas withion 2-5 seconds, although the problem appears to be random and often the system will work fine.

I do not get any unusual flashing codes other than the normal consistent steady flashes.

Any suggestions on what the problem(s) might be and how to troubleshoot would be appreciated.

Jabass


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## beenthere (Oct 11, 2008)

JEVSkeeter said:


> Just found this forum and thank you in advance for your help.
> 
> 
> I am getting a two flash code which reads external lockout. Any suggestions or help. Did I just get taken for 479 bucks?
> ...


Yea, you had the wrong company, or tech.
A simple device known as a manometer, would have told them you were out of gas, or that the secondary regulator was not allowing gas into the house.


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## kuvasz101 (Oct 25, 2010)

*flame out after 2-5 seconds*



jabass said:


> I, to, am having the same kind problem with my American Standard Freedom 90 propane furnace that bobjbc had in Mar 08 and Petethor had in May 08.
> 
> The system will do a routine start-up and when the gas turns on I get an immediate shutdown of the gas withion 2-5 seconds, although the problem appears to be random and often the system will work fine.
> 
> ...


I had the same problem with my 2 stage Freedom 90 American Standard furnace. After changing the flame sensor I took a closer look and realized the last burner the one furthest from the ignitor was not firing up and causing the flame sensor to shutdown the furnace. The burners closest to the flame have flat slits where the flame comes out. These flat slits get dirty and prevent the flame from transferring from one burner to the next. I cleaned out the slits as told by a professional and it fires right up now. The burners popped out after removing 4 screws. A wire brush and I used some compressed air and dental floss. The slits were rusty and I could see where a problem would exist. Good luck !!!


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## geokell66 (Jan 2, 2011)

Thanks for the solution, my American Freedom 78 was having the same problem this morning. Cleaned the flame sensor and it worked perfectly.....Saved me a service call and the possibility of being screwed over by a tech. DIY chatroom is awesome!


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## chefpattyo (Mar 26, 2011)

*furnace problems*

I hav a American Standard Freedom 90 single stage and it just started tripping out when it calls for heat but I dont see any light codes.Tonight It started and I noticed it was running but blowing ice cold air.I just had the tanks filled this week .Could this also be the sensor your talking about that I need to clean and where is it located?Should I also clean the burners?


Patty


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## hvactech126 (Nov 11, 2010)

chefpattyo said:


> I hav a American Standard Freedom 90 single stage and it just started tripping out when it calls for heat but I dont see any light codes.Tonight It started and I noticed it was running but blowing ice cold air.I just had the tanks filled this week .Could this also be the sensor your talking about that I need to clean and where is it located?
> 
> 
> Patty


The flame sensor is in the burner compartment







this picture is sideways. The flame sensor looks like this.









the flash code is located here.









BTW.... Trane and American Standard are the same


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## Ducthunter (Mar 26, 2011)

chefpattyo said:


> I hav a American Standard Freedom 90 single stage and it just started tripping out when it calls for heat but I dont see any light codes.Tonight It started and I noticed it was running but blowing ice cold air.I just had the tanks filled this week .Could this also be the sensor your talking about that I need to clean and where is it located?
> 
> Patty


Sounds like it's tripping a safety switch, chk your filter if it's really dirty it could trip the hi limit. If it tripped a rollout switch near the burners call a professional out you may be having problems with proper draft


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## chefpattyo (Mar 26, 2011)

@Ducthunter It does this one out of 4 times it calls for heat .I can hear the furnace kick on with gas and then go out.It will retry a few more times then start to blow heat.All filter are clean and unit is vacuumed out.Its very clean.


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## hvactech126 (Nov 11, 2010)

did you clean the flame sensor?!


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## brandonmcginnis (Feb 14, 2010)

I know the original post was a long time ago, but it's still a relatively easy fix if you are at all gas furnace savvy. The flame sensor should be cleaned annually, as well as the crossover ports on the burner assembly. If the flame doesn't make it to the end burner the flame sensor will do it's job and shut the valve down.


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## jeff935 (Jan 3, 2013)

*1993 model Freedom 90 - 4 flash code*

I have a 1993 Freedom 90 that will not light and is giving me a 4- flash code Thermo protection open. Any idea how to repair that?


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## beenthere (Oct 11, 2008)

Is or was the air filer dirty. may need a new limit.


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## aurum79 (Jan 4, 2016)

I have a four year old American Standard Freedom 90 single stage. After running through all the obvious diagnostics (thermostat batteries good, yes power, yes gas, furnace system board reset, high limit switch, rollout switch, igniter continuity, flame sensor) I had to call a tech.

Symptoms - igniter comes on but won't light. Should have guessed the gas valve when I didn't hear it click after igniter as described elsewhere.

The gas valve had crapped out. Didn't think to ask if there was condensate / particulate in the gas line trap, but a charitable explanation is this might be what killed it. 

Very frustrating on a 4 year old furnace, doubly so since it happened on a cold January 1 and we had to wait 3 days for an affordable service call (no, the system board computer does not know the date ). As a former Houstonian, next time I pass through Tyler, TX I'm going to say a swear word.


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