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HVACIntermediate 30-60 minutes

Goodman / Amana / Daikin furnace — 7 LED flashes: flame not proven / flame-sense fault

Reported Symptom

Burners light but shut off after a few seconds, then retry. LED flashes seven times. May end in lockout after repeated failures.

Safety Warnings

  • Combustion and carbon-monoxide hazard: shut off gas and ventilate if you smell gas. Inspect the heat exchanger and flue for cracks or leaks before returning the unit to service — a CO leak can be fatal.
  • Turn off power at the furnace disconnect/breaker before opening the control or blower compartment. Verify zero voltage before touching line-voltage terminals.
  • Never bypass or jumper the limit, rollout, or pressure switches — they are life-safety controls. Resetting a lockout only clears the latch; a unit that re-locks has a live fault that must be corrected.
  • Follow all manufacturer service procedures and applicable codes. If the fault is outside your training, escalate to a qualified technician.

Possible Causes

  • 1Dirty/oxidized flame sensor rod
  • 2Flame sensor cracked or grounded
  • 3Poor furnace ground (rectification needs a good ground)
  • 4Low flame-sense microamps
  • 5Reversed line polarity

Tools Required

  • Multimeter (microamp/DC µA capable)
  • Insulated screwdriver set
  • Fine abrasive pad
  • Flashlight

Parts Required

  • Flame sensor

Diagnostic Steps

1

Confirm burners light and a visible flame envelops the sensor rod before shutoff.

Expected: Flame contacts the rod.

If fails: If flame is weak/not reaching the rod, correct gas/burner issue first.

2

De-energize; clean the flame rod with a fine abrasive pad (not sandpaper grit that leaves residue).

Expected: Clean, bright rod.

If fails: —

3

Place the meter in series on the flame-sense lead and read microamps during flame.

Expected: Microamps above the board’s minimum (commonly ~1.5–4 µA, per label).

If fails: Below minimum → replace flame sensor; re-check ground and polarity.

4

Verify furnace ground and line polarity are correct.

Expected: Good ground; correct polarity.

If fails: Repair ground / correct polarity (see polarity guide).

Solution

Clean or replace the flame sensor and confirm flame-rectification microamps exceed the board minimum. Because rectification is ground-referenced, also verify a solid equipment ground and correct line polarity. The 7-flash fault clears once the board reliably proves flame.