Had a similar situation last winter—my heater just sat there, mocking me while I froze. Thought it was the thermostat, so I swapped the batteries and gave it a good tap (not exactly in the manual, but hey, sometimes it works). No dice. Ended up tracing wires and found one with electrical tape that looked like it had survived a squirrel attack. Previous owner must’ve been a big believer in “if it sticks, it works.”
I’ll admit, I didn’t kill the power at first. Learned my lesson quick when I got a little buzz—nothing major, but enough to remind me those warning stickers are serious business. After that, I’m religious about flipping the breaker before poking around.
Panels are a whole other beast. I’ve seen setups that look like spaghetti and others that are so neat you’d think an electrician had OCD. Either way, I always brace myself for surprises. Sometimes you fix one thing and three more pop up... classic old house problems.
I’ll admit, I didn’t kill the power at first. Learned my lesson quick when I got a little buzz—nothing major, but enough to remind me those warning stickers are serious business.
That “little buzz” is always a wake-up call, right? I usually start by checking for loose or corroded wire connections at the furnace control board—seen a lot of heaters just ignore the thermostat because of a bad terminal. Did you notice any burnt smell or discoloration around the wiring? Sometimes that’s a dead giveaway.