Last night was below zero here in Frozen-Over-Hell, a.k.a. Michigan.
As I walked by the Nest thermostat in my hall last night at 3 AM, I noticed that it it up with a message instead of the temperature the furnace is set to - this was unusual. I read the message.
It said the Nest wasn't getting power from the furnace circuit and that the furnace would be shut off. At 3AM. Below zero out. There was some gobbledegook about wires and blah blah blah. This message went completely over my head. I had no idea what to actually do.
I walked over to one of the heat registers, and sure enough, no heat. I checked the circuit breaker box. It was still in the "on" position. I walked into the furnace room, and tried turning the furnace off and back on. Nothing.
Was it time to panic, ladies and gentlemen?
You bet your sweet ass it was time to panic! It was time to freak out in a moon age daydream!
So I tried to figure out what the thermostat was telling me, tiny letters, scroll through a little window; still too arcane. I went to the web, to the Google site. Everything seemed vague. But after doing some reading on the site, I recognized an error message I got. There seemed to be a bug or problem with Nest thermostats in extremely cold weather.
Bingo! I'll follow that link.
Funny, I've had this thing for several years and we've had cold weather, but whatever. I go to the appropriate troubleshooting page and start the process.
By now it's close to 4AM and it's getting cold. I'm now on the verge of jumping out the window but it's:
(a) too cold to open a window and jump out; and,
(b) I'm on the first floor. So there doesn't seem to be much point in standing on the window ledge and making the jump.
And may I remind you, ladies and germs, there's no one to call at 4 AM. You are on your f#cking own at 4 AM!!
I am terrible at fixing things. I always wind up calling a professional. But at 4AM, in below zero weather, knowing everyone with a furnace is probably having problems and no one's coming out for days (my wife's sister and husband lost their furnace and it's still unfixed), I'm desperate enough to try anything!
One of the pages said to remove the Nest's bezel and disconnect the "Y" wire or wires on the Nest's wiring panel. I remove the bezel and get to the panel. There it is. The Y wire. I can tell because it's attached to a little box-looking thingy labeled "Y".
Be careful, it says. You can screw the pooch and destroy the entire universe if you do this wrong! Gaaaaaa! More panic sets in. I now re-read everything a dozen times and memorize it.
It says shut off the electrical circuit to the furnace to prevent shocks. I run downstairs to the breaker box and do this. I run back upstairs to the offending thermostat. I tug at the wire. Damn.
You can't just pull the damn wire out or unscrew anything to loosen it. There's a gizmo that releases the wire. The instructions do not tell you what that gizmo is, or how to release the f#cking wire!
I've never used one of these gizmos, and am not sure where the trigger is located, but I figure maybe it's like replacing a wall switch and you press something with a screwdriver to get the wire out. I have a vague memory of that.
At this point, I have nothing to lose. It's now close to 4:30 AM. It's getting chilly! I press what looks like a little tab next to the thing that holds the wire, with a screwdriver. Nothing. I press harder. Nothing, absolutely nothing. This time I figure, WTF, if I break something, there are hotels.
I press really hard. Eureka! This time the wire comes out.
The instructions say to use electrical tape on the exposed wire to insulate it so there won't be short circuits. I run around looking for electrical tape. There isn't any.
There's shipping tape left over from my guitar downsizing. I figure I'll use it and replace it with electrical tape in the morning. Better than nothing! I do that. Then I replace the bezel, run downstairs, turn the circuit breaker back on, and...
Let there be Furnace! And there was Furnace.
And The Great Gods of Emergency Repairs saw the Furnace and that it was good; and The Great Gods of Emergency Repairs divided the heat from the cold.
By now it's 5 AM. I got down on my knees and said, "Hosanna!" Then I hit the sack. Today I got some electrical tape and did the thing to insulate the wire.
Oh, disconnecting the Y wire also disables the air conditioning. But at 0 degrees, that doesn't seem to matter TODAY.
At least I now have time to have someone who knows what they're doing come out, go through the system, and I'll decide whether to have them replace the thermostat with a newer model. Maybe it won't have the same problem.
Friends, Romans, countrymen:
I came not to hit my Nest or my head with a hammer; I came to brag about my unanticipated and unlikely ability to solve a simple problem that would have vexed no one else! Yep. I made a repair in an emergency. Felt. So. Good!
As I walked by the Nest thermostat in my hall last night at 3 AM, I noticed that it it up with a message instead of the temperature the furnace is set to - this was unusual. I read the message.
It said the Nest wasn't getting power from the furnace circuit and that the furnace would be shut off. At 3AM. Below zero out. There was some gobbledegook about wires and blah blah blah. This message went completely over my head. I had no idea what to actually do.
I walked over to one of the heat registers, and sure enough, no heat. I checked the circuit breaker box. It was still in the "on" position. I walked into the furnace room, and tried turning the furnace off and back on. Nothing.
Was it time to panic, ladies and gentlemen?
You bet your sweet ass it was time to panic! It was time to freak out in a moon age daydream!
So I tried to figure out what the thermostat was telling me, tiny letters, scroll through a little window; still too arcane. I went to the web, to the Google site. Everything seemed vague. But after doing some reading on the site, I recognized an error message I got. There seemed to be a bug or problem with Nest thermostats in extremely cold weather.
Bingo! I'll follow that link.
Funny, I've had this thing for several years and we've had cold weather, but whatever. I go to the appropriate troubleshooting page and start the process.
By now it's close to 4AM and it's getting cold. I'm now on the verge of jumping out the window but it's:
(a) too cold to open a window and jump out; and,
(b) I'm on the first floor. So there doesn't seem to be much point in standing on the window ledge and making the jump.
And may I remind you, ladies and germs, there's no one to call at 4 AM. You are on your f#cking own at 4 AM!!
I am terrible at fixing things. I always wind up calling a professional. But at 4AM, in below zero weather, knowing everyone with a furnace is probably having problems and no one's coming out for days (my wife's sister and husband lost their furnace and it's still unfixed), I'm desperate enough to try anything!
One of the pages said to remove the Nest's bezel and disconnect the "Y" wire or wires on the Nest's wiring panel. I remove the bezel and get to the panel. There it is. The Y wire. I can tell because it's attached to a little box-looking thingy labeled "Y".
Be careful, it says. You can screw the pooch and destroy the entire universe if you do this wrong! Gaaaaaa! More panic sets in. I now re-read everything a dozen times and memorize it.
It says shut off the electrical circuit to the furnace to prevent shocks. I run downstairs to the breaker box and do this. I run back upstairs to the offending thermostat. I tug at the wire. Damn.
You can't just pull the damn wire out or unscrew anything to loosen it. There's a gizmo that releases the wire. The instructions do not tell you what that gizmo is, or how to release the f#cking wire!
I've never used one of these gizmos, and am not sure where the trigger is located, but I figure maybe it's like replacing a wall switch and you press something with a screwdriver to get the wire out. I have a vague memory of that.
At this point, I have nothing to lose. It's now close to 4:30 AM. It's getting chilly! I press what looks like a little tab next to the thing that holds the wire, with a screwdriver. Nothing. I press harder. Nothing, absolutely nothing. This time I figure, WTF, if I break something, there are hotels.
I press really hard. Eureka! This time the wire comes out.
The instructions say to use electrical tape on the exposed wire to insulate it so there won't be short circuits. I run around looking for electrical tape. There isn't any.
There's shipping tape left over from my guitar downsizing. I figure I'll use it and replace it with electrical tape in the morning. Better than nothing! I do that. Then I replace the bezel, run downstairs, turn the circuit breaker back on, and...
Let there be Furnace! And there was Furnace.
And The Great Gods of Emergency Repairs saw the Furnace and that it was good; and The Great Gods of Emergency Repairs divided the heat from the cold.
By now it's 5 AM. I got down on my knees and said, "Hosanna!" Then I hit the sack. Today I got some electrical tape and did the thing to insulate the wire.
Oh, disconnecting the Y wire also disables the air conditioning. But at 0 degrees, that doesn't seem to matter TODAY.
At least I now have time to have someone who knows what they're doing come out, go through the system, and I'll decide whether to have them replace the thermostat with a newer model. Maybe it won't have the same problem.
Friends, Romans, countrymen:
I came not to hit my Nest or my head with a hammer; I came to brag about my unanticipated and unlikely ability to solve a simple problem that would have vexed no one else! Yep. I made a repair in an emergency. Felt. So. Good!
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