The short answer
A Goodman or Amana gas furnace in Northern Virginia that runs a few minutes, shuts off and starts again is usually overheating and tripping its limit switch, losing its flame, or losing the draft its pressure switch has to feel. The light on the board tells you which. A clogged filter behind a tripped limit is the most common, and the fix is a new filter. A coated flame sensor is next, and a cleaning is $95 to $180. A visit starts with a $99 diagnostic.
What’s normal and what isn’t
Short cycling means the burners shut off before the house reaches the setting, then start over, again and again. Some of what you see on every cycle is normal.
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| What you see | Normal or not |
|---|---|
| The blower starts about 30 seconds after the burners light | Normal. That’s the board’s on delay. |
| The blower runs a minute or two after the burners shut off | Normal. The default off delay is 90 seconds, adjustable from 30 to 180. |
| On a two-stage furnace, the sound changes a few minutes in | Normal. With a single-stage thermostat, Goodman’s board moves to high fire 1 to 12 minutes into the call. |
| The burners quit early, the blower runs on, and the room never warmed up | Not normal. That’s usually the limit switch. |
| The burners light, go out within seconds, and it tries again | Not normal. That’s usually the flame sensor. |
The delays and staging are from Goodman’s current single-stage and two-stage service manuals.
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The codes that go with it
Find your board by the model number on the sticker inside the furnace door.
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| Your furnace shows | Which Goodman board | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 4 flashes | Older single-stage (GMSS9, GMS8 and the Amana twins) | A limit is open: the furnace got too hot and shut off the burners |
| EE3 | Current display (GR9S, GD9S, GR9T, AR9S and similar) | Primary limit open |
| Red 4 | Two-stage GMEC96 (green, amber and red lights) | A limit or rollout switch is open |
| 7 flashes | Older single-stage (GMSS9, GMS8 and the Amana twins) | Weak flame signal, still running |
| EE6 | Current display (GR9S, GD9S, GR9T, AR9S and similar) | Flame sense signal is minimal |
| Red 8 | Two-stage GMEC96 (green, amber and red lights) | Lockout: the flame kept getting lost after it lit |
| Red 6 | Two-stage GMEC96 (green, amber and red lights) | Lockout: the pressure switch opened 5 times in one heating cycle |
From Goodman’s service manuals for the GMSS9 single-stage, GMEC96 two-stage, current single-stage furnaces. Every code for every Goodman board is in our Goodman furnace codes chart.
Goodman’s two-stage ComfortBridge heat pumps and ACs (the GSZC and GSXC lines) have a code for it too: 03 on the display, or 3 yellow flashes on older two-stage boards, means the last 4 cycles each ran under 3 minutes. It clears itself after 4 normal cycles, per Goodman’s service manual for those units.
What causes it
Goodman’s troubleshooting chart lists five causes of short cycling: a bad thermostat, the thermostat’s cycle setting, where the thermostat sits, the furnace cycling on its limit, and a furnace too big for the house. Behind a limit trip is almost always airflow. Here’s the whole list, most common first.
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| Cause | How you’d know | What fixing it costs |
|---|---|---|
| A clogged filter or closed registers | 4 flashes, EE3 or red 4; the burners quit and the blower keeps going | A new filter, which you can change yourself, or open the registers |
| A coated flame sensor | 7 flashes, EE6 or red 8; the burners light and go out within seconds | $95 to $180 to clean it |
| A backed-up drain or a blocked vent pipe | Red 6 on a GMEC96, gurgling, then 3 flashes or EE2 once it stops lighting | $175 to $420 to clear a drain; a pipe is priced in writing first |
| The wrong blower speed or a worn blower | Limit codes after an install or a part swap; weak airflow | $300 to $440 for a blower wheel, $670 to $2,400 for a motor |
| Restrictive ductwork | Limit codes that come back with a clean filter and open registers | Priced in writing before any work starts |
| The thermostat | No code; it sits by a supply register, a lamp or a sunny window, has loose wires, or its cycle rate is set too fast | $300 to $640 to replace and wire it |
| A furnace too big for the house | No code; it heats fast, shuts off, and the far rooms stay cool | Not a repair. A right-sized furnace is $4,285 to $14,040. From about $71 a month at 0% APR for 60 months, the whole price financed, on approved credit. |
| The control board | Every other check passes | $550 to $1,180 for a new board |
What you can check yourself
Goodman’s manuals are written for trained technicians and say not to bypass any safety circuit, so the line for a homeowner is the outside of the furnace. These take a few minutes.
- Video the light first. Taking off the lower door cuts the power on most Goodman furnaces, and on older boards the code goes with it. A 20 second phone video tells the tech where to start.
- The filter. Hold it up to a light. If you can’t see through it, replace it. Our filter guide covers which one to buy; a filter denser than the system was set up for can trip the limit too.
- The registers. Open every supply register and pull rugs and furniture off them.
- The pipes outside on a high efficiency furnace: two white PVC pipes, clear of snow, leaves and nests.
- The thermostat. Fresh batteries, and look at where it sits: next to a register, a lamp or a sunny window, it warms up early and shuts the furnace off.
Don’t jump or bypass the limit switch to keep it running. That switch stops an overheating furnace before it damages its heat exchanger. If you smell gas, get everyone out and call the gas company from outside. If a carbon monoxide alarm is going off, that comes first.
What a tech does on the visit
The tech reads the code and any stored faults, then watches a full cycle. A limit code means checking the filter, the duct static pressure, the temperature rise against the range on the rating plate, and the blower speed. A flame code means a microamp reading, a cleaning and a second reading. A pressure switch code means the vent pipes, the drain and the inducer. You get the price in writing first.
A heating check at the start of the season catches a clogged filter and a coated sensor before they turn into a cold night. Our heating check is $67 per system through December 31, for a furnace, heat pump or boiler.
We fix Goodman and Amana furnaces across Northern Virginia, in Ashburn, Leesburg, Sterling, Herndon, Chantilly, Fairfax, Arlington and Manassas. Every furnace repair price we charge is on our heating page.
Short cycling on any brand, gas or heat pump, is in our short cycling guide. The two usual Goodman culprits have their own posts: the limit switch, 4 flashes and EE3 and the flame sensor, 7 flashes and EE6.
More Goodman and Amana, one problem at a time: pressure switch: 3 flashes or EE2; limit switch: 4 flashes or EE3; lockout and weak flame: 1 flash, EE0, EE6; solid red light, no light or rapid flashing; rollout switch: 6 flashes or E11; Goodman heat pump and AC codes; flame sensor: 7 flashes or EE6; display codes: 1dL, 9H, F02; how to reset a Goodman furnace; inducer motor noises and codes; troubleshooting by symptom; Amana furnace codes; a Goodman heat pump that won’t heat; a Goodman furnace blowing cold air; how old is my Goodman: the serial number. Other brands are in our error codes and warning lights guide.
Get it fixed
Call (703) 997-9757 and we’ll get a tech out to find out why your Goodman furnace keeps shutting off. We answer day or night. Rather book online? Pick a time here and a box of warm cookies comes with the visit. A repair visit starts with our $99 diagnostic, and you get the price in writing before any work starts. Already have a quote? We’ll give you a free second opinion. Rated 5.0 stars across 1,138 reviews on Google, Angi, Yelp, the BBB and Facebook, Virginia Class A license 2705192276.
Questions people ask
Why does my Goodman furnace turn on and off every few minutes?
Most often it’s overheating and tripping the limit switch, usually from a clogged filter or closed registers, and the board shows 4 flashes, EE3 or red 4. Next most common is a coated flame sensor: 7 flashes, EE6 or red 8.
Is it normal for the blower to keep running after the burners shut off?
Yes, for a minute or two. Goodman’s current boards keep the blower on for 90 seconds by default after the heat stops. If the burners quit early and the blower runs on while the house is cool, the limit may have tripped.
What does code 03 mean on a Goodman heat pump or AC?
On Goodman’s two-stage ComfortBridge outdoor units, 03 means short cycling: the last 4 cycles each ran under 3 minutes. Older two-stage boards show it as 3 yellow flashes. It clears itself after 4 normal cycles. If it keeps coming back, have it looked at.
How much does it cost to fix a short cycling Goodman furnace?
Sometimes nothing: a new filter or open registers. A flame sensor cleaning is $95 to $180, a new thermostat is $300 to $640, and a control board is $550 to $1,180. The diagnostic is $99, and the price is in writing before any work starts.
