The short answer
To reset a Rheem furnace in Northern Virginia, count the code first. Then set the thermostat to off, turn the furnace switch off for 30 seconds, turn it back on and set the thermostat to heat. That clears a lockout on every Rheem and Ruud board. If it locks out again, stop there: a second lockout means the fault is real, and resetting only sends more gas to a burner that isn’t lighting right.
Before you reset, read the code
A reset wipes the light. Look through the window in the lower door and count the blinks, or read the two digits, and take a phone video. Don’t pull the door first: it presses a switch that cuts power to the board. Our Rheem furnace codes post has the chart for every board.
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How to reset it
- Set the thermostat to off.
- Find the furnace switch. It looks like a light switch on or near the furnace. Turn it off.
- Wait 30 seconds.
- Turn the switch back on.
- Set the thermostat to heat, a few degrees warmer than the room.
- Watch through the window: the inducer starts, the igniter glows, the burners light, and the blower comes on a little later.
Rheem builds in a shorter reset too. On a two-digit board, turning the call for heat off for more than 2 and less than 20 seconds clears a soft lockout. On a board with one green light, cutting power or turning the thermostat off for 5 to 10 seconds clears the 1-blink lockout.
How long each lockout lasts
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| Lockout | How you know | How it clears |
|---|---|---|
| Five minutes | The pressure switch didn’t close within a minute of the inducer starting | On its own |
| One hour | 10 alternating with the cause: 11, 13, 14 or 61 | On its own after an hour, or a reset |
| Hard | 93: an internal control fault | A technician and a new control |
| Soft (green board) | 1 green blink after four failed tries | Power or thermostat off for 5 to 10 seconds |
Resets to leave alone
- The rollout switch (code 33). It’s a small button on the burner box and it trips when flame rolls out of the burners, usually from a blocked vent or a heat exchanger problem. Pushing it in and running the furnace is how exhaust ends up in the house.
- Code 59. Water is backing up into the furnace. Clear the condensate drain first; our drain guide shows how. Resetting before that just floods the collector box again.
- Code 14. The board sees flame with the gas valve off. Turn the furnace off and call.
- The door switch. Never tape it down to run the furnace with the door off.
If it locks out again
- Change the filter if it’s gray. Our filter guide covers sizes.
- Open supply vents and clear the return grilles.
- Clear the white PVC pipe ends outside of leaves, snow or a nest.
- Check that the condensate pump isn’t full.
- Make sure the gas valve handle is in line with the pipe.
- Then call, and tell us the code.
Clearing the code history
On an R96V, hold the button on the board 5 seconds or more in the FL menu. On an R801T or R92T, flip dip switch SW4 on and off three times within 30 seconds. Write the codes down first: that history is what tells a technician what started it.
What not to do
Never jump or bypass a safety switch to get heat back. Each one is there to stop the furnace from burning gas when something is wrong, and the wrong thing is often exhaust, which carries carbon monoxide. Don’t reset more than once or twice in a row. If your carbon monoxide alarm goes off, get everyone outside first and read our CO alarm guide from there. If you smell gas, don’t flip any switches: leave the house and call your gas company or 911 from outside.
What a technician does
We read the fault history, then test what it points at instead of resetting again: the flame sensor and igniter for 11 and 13, the vent and pressure switch for 45, airflow and the blower for 22 and 61, the drain for 59. You get the price before we fix anything.
Our heating check is $67 per system, through December 31: furnace, heat pump or boiler.
Related: Rheem furnace not igniting, Ruud furnace codes, furnace short cycling, furnace running constantly and every brand in our error codes guide.
Every code meaning here comes from Rheem’s own documents: R801T manual, R96V manual and furnace FAQ.
Call or book
A repair visit starts with a flat $99 diagnostic, or $250 after hours, and you get the price of the fix before we touch anything. Call (703) 997-9757, day or night, and tell us the code you counted, or book online from goswiftpro.com/cookiesoffer by November 30 and a box of warm MOLTN cookies comes with the heating check. Every current deal is on our offers page. Rated 5.0 stars across 1,138 reviews on Google, Angi, Yelp, the BBB and Facebook, Virginia Class A license 2705192276.
Questions people ask
There isn’t a reset button for everyday use. The reset is the furnace switch or the thermostat. The small button on the burner box is the rollout switch, and it only trips when flame rolls out of the burners, so it’s a call, not a reset.
How long does a Rheem furnace stay locked out?
Five minutes for a pressure switch that didn’t close, one hour after four failed ignitions or five lost flames, and until a technician replaces the control for code 93.
Why does my Rheem furnace keep locking out?
Because the fault is still there. The usual ones are a dirty flame sensor, a clogged filter, a blocked vent or a plugged condensate drain. Read the code before you reset.
Does resetting a Rheem furnace clear the code?
It clears the light, not the cause. On the two-digit boards the fault history stays in the board’s memory, so a technician can still see what happened.
