Honeywell Thermostat Won't Turn On Heat: How To Troubleshoot In ...

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Last winter, on a frigid Sunday, I turned my Honeywell thermostat on, but it didn’t pump any hot air.

Nothing I tried could turn the thermostat on, and I was freezing all day. It reminded me of the time I faced connection issues with my Honeywell Thermostat.

I tried every solution given in the thermostat guide, and none of it seemed to work.

So I spent the rest of the day online looking through every resource I could find online to fix the issue.

A Honeywell thermostat won’t turn on the heat because of faulty sensors, improper installation, tripped circuit breakers, etc.

The heat not turning on issue on your Honeywell thermostat may be fixed by resetting the Thermostat. Read on to find the other solutions.

Reset your thermostat

Usually, when the main heat source isn’t working, a feature called EM Heat on Honeywell Thermostat gets activated to maintain the temperature.

If that didn’t take care of the issue, the first step that you should opt for when your Honeywell thermostat is malfunctioning is resetting your Honeywell Thermostat.

Over time, Honeywell has released many thermostat models with different functionalities and features.

The mechanism for resetting varies with these models. The resetting mechanisms for some of these models are given below:

The Honeywell Thermostats 1000, 2000 & 7000 series

The 1000, 2000, and 7000 series thermostats from Honeywell have the same mechanism for resetting:

• Turn OFF the thermostat and the circuit breaker.
• Remove the thermostat cover and remove the batteries.
• Insert the battery in the opposite direction, i.e., the positive end of the battery on the negative side and vice versa.
• Wait for 5-10 seconds, take the batteries out, and put the batteries in the proper way.
• Turn ON the thermostat and the circuit breaker.

There you have it. Your thermostat has been reset.

The Honeywell Thermostats 4000 series

The 4000 series comes with a reset button. The steps to be followed while resetting this thermostat is given below:

• Turn ON the thermostat.
• Press the PROGRAM button thrice.
• The reset button is located inside a small hole on the front panel of the thermostat and to the right of the buttons. Use a sharp object(toothpick, paperclip, or pin), put it in the hole, and press the button for about 5 seconds.

Now, your thermostat has been reset.

The Honeywell Thermostats 6000, 7000, 8000 & 9000 series

This series of thermostats come with advanced features such as an onboard console and buttons, touchscreens, etc.

You can reset them by using these features. The steps for resetting are different for each series of thermostats.

Tripped circuit breakers

HVAC systems have a circuit breaker in them to prevent overloading and damage.

If these circuit breakers are turned off, your thermostat won’t pump hot air.

If you’ve installed your Honeywell Thermostat without a C-wire, opening up your electric panel and getting to the wiring will be a lot easier.

So, if your thermostat won’t turn on the heat, just open the electrical panel and check whether the circuit breakers are in the OFF position.

If so, then switch it to the ON position.

Ensure the furnace is on and the cover is closed

Before you operate the thermostat in “heat” mode, ensure that the furnace is switched on.

Also, check that the breaker of the furnace is also in the ON position.

In certain cases, the thermostat won’t pump heat if the cover of the furnace is open.

Hence, close the furnace door completely while operating the thermostat.

Broken Sensor

If the temperature sensor in your thermostat is faulty, it won’t pump heat properly.

To check the status of your sensor, use a thermometer to measure the room temperature and check the temperature that your thermostat is displaying.

If the temperatures are not the same, you can assume that the problem lies with the sensor. Then, you will have to replace the sensor.

Improper Installation

There are 2 cases when it comes to improper installation:

1. You have installed the thermostat without the aid of a technician(either by yourself or a handyman). In this case, errors such as improper wiring, misalignment of the thermostat, etc., may occur.

Open the thermostat panel and refer to the thermostat guide while checking the wire connections.

If you are not sure about what to do, best to leave it to a technician.

1. The thermostat has been installed near a window, air vent, or any place with airflow. In these locations, the thermostat readings will be affected by the incoming wind. Hence, the thermostat won’t be able to heat or cool your room adequately.

To solve this issue, reposition the thermostat to a place where the airflow is minimal so that the thermostat can take temperature measurements accurately.

Call Honeywell support

When all of the above fixes fail to deliver, you should reach out to Honeywell for a technician to come take a look at your thermostat.

How to Bring the Heat with Honeywell Thermostats

Other causes can affect the operation of your Honeywell thermostat, such as weak batteries, dirty filters that can block airflow, vents that something, incorrect settings, etc., have obstructed.

So, it is crucial to clean the filters and vents once in a while and replace the batteries from time to time.

Also, when a power outage occurs, there are chances of the day and time settings being altered. In such cases, the proper operation of the thermostat is not possible.

I’ve also put together this comprehensive guide on replacing Honeywell Thermostat Batteries.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a reset button on a Honeywell thermostat?

The Honeywell 4000 series comes with a reset button inside a small hole on its front panel, which can be pressed only with a sharp object (paper clip, toothpick, etc.).

You can reset the rest of Honeywell’s thermostats either by removing batteries or by using inbuilt options.

What happens when Honeywell thermostat goes blank?

A blank screen on your Honeywell thermostat indicates that no power is going into it.

This can be attributed to dead batteries, tripped circuit breakers, etc.

What is recovery mode on Honeywell thermostat?

When your Honeywell thermostat is in recovery mode, it will gradually turn on heating(or cooling) until the desired temperature is achieved.

Therefore, recovery mode is more like a warm-up mode for the thermostat.