TL;DR: If your furnace stopped working in Bakersfield, first rule out a gas smell or sounding CO alarm (if either is present, leave the house and call 911 or the gas utility, not an HVAC company). If the air is clear, check the thermostat batteries, the breaker, the furnace filter and the pilot or ignitor before calling anyone. If those checks don’t fix it, or the gas company has red tagged the unit, call a licensed HVAC technician for same-day diagnosis, especially overnight when valley temperatures drop fast.
It’s 9pm, the thermostat reads 58 and climbing cold, and the tule fog outside means the overnight low is dropping into the 30s. Maybe there’s a baby in the house, or a parent who shouldn’t be sitting in a cold living room. Before you start calling around Bakersfield at 9pm wondering who’s actually open, here’s the fast version: rule out a safety issue first, run four quick checks, and know exactly who picks up the phone after that.
Is it ever unsafe to troubleshoot a furnace yourself?
Yes, specifically if you smell gas (often described as rotten eggs) or a carbon monoxide alarm is sounding. In either case, stop everything, leave the house immediately, and call 911 or PG&E’s 24-hour emergency line from outside, before calling any plumber or HVAC company.
Don’t flip light switches, don’t use your phone inside, and don’t try to relight a pilot light if you smell gas. Those small sparks are exactly what a leak doesn’t need near it. Once the utility has confirmed the scene is safe, a licensed HVAC technician can diagnose and repair the actual furnace or gas line issue. For the full walk-through on what the utility does and what happens next, see our gas leak safety guide.
A related situation: the gas company visits for an unrelated reason (a meter reading, a neighbor’s leak call) and places a red tag on your furnace, shutting off gas to the unit. A red tag means the utility inspector found something they consider unsafe to operate, usually a cracked heat exchanger, a flue venting problem, or improper combustion air. It is not optional and it is not a billing issue. A red tagged furnace needs a licensed HVAC technician to diagnose the cause, make the repair, and in some cases get the utility back out to restore gas service. Don’t attempt to remove a red tag or relight the pilot yourself.
What should you check before calling for repair?
Four checks take under five minutes and solve a surprising share of “furnace won’t turn on” calls: thermostat, breaker, filter, and pilot or ignitor. Run them in that order before you pick up the phone.
- Thermostat: confirm it’s set to Heat, not Cool or Off, and the set temperature is above room temperature. Replace the batteries if the screen is dim or blank.
- Breaker: furnaces run on a dedicated 15 or 20-amp circuit. Check your electrical panel for a tripped breaker and reset it once, firmly to off then on. If it trips again immediately, stop and call for service rather than resetting repeatedly.
- Filter: a clogged filter can cause the furnace to overheat and shut itself off as a safety measure. If yours hasn’t been changed in more than three months, swap it before anything else.
- Pilot or ignitor: older standing-pilot furnaces have a small reset procedure printed on a sticker near the gas valve; follow it exactly as written. Newer electronic-ignition furnaces either spark or glow to light, and a failed ignitor or flame sensor is a common cause of a furnace that tries to start but won’t stay lit.
If none of these resolve it, you’ve already saved the technician a diagnostic step, and you can describe exactly what you tried when you call.
Why does a furnace blow cold air, make noise, or quit overnight?
These are usually distinct problems with distinct causes, not one failure. Cold air blowing from the vents with the furnace running typically points to a failed ignitor, a flame sensor that needs cleaning, or in rare cases a cracked heat exchanger that tripped a safety limit switch.
A burning smell the first time you run the furnace each season is usually just dust burning off the heat exchanger and clears within a few minutes; a burning smell that persists or smells electrical (more like hot plastic than dust) means shut the unit down and call for service, since that can indicate a failing blower motor or wiring issue. A loud bang at startup often means delayed ignition, where gas builds up before lighting; a grinding or squealing noise usually points to the blower motor or bearings.
Furnaces also tend to fail at night specifically because the system runs its longest, hardest cycles trying to recover temperature during the coldest hours, between roughly 2am and sunrise. If yours quit overnight in neighborhoods like Oleander/Sunset or Westchester, where many homes still run original 1970s-era ductwork and furnaces, age is often the real cause underneath whatever symptom you’re seeing. Our furnace repair or replace guide walks through how to tell which one you’re dealing with, including the 50% rule for deciding when a repair stops making financial sense.
Who do you call when the furnace still won’t start?
Call a licensed HVAC technician who can diagnose gas furnaces specifically, not a general handyman, especially if the issue involves the gas valve, ignitor, or a utility red tag. Call All Pro Plumbing Heating and Air at (661) 863-9242 for 24/7 dispatch across Bakersfield, Oildale, and the surrounding Kern County service area, whether it’s 9pm on a work night or a Saturday red tag.
A short Bakersfield cold snap doesn’t usually justify emergency rates for a furnace that’s simply delaying heat by a few degrees, but it does justify a same-day call when the house is dropping fast overnight, especially with young kids or older adults at home. Bring up what you already checked (breaker, filter, thermostat) when you call; it speeds up the visit and often lets the technician bring the right part on the first trip.
One call covers the diagnosis, the repair quote in writing, and if the furnace turns out to be past the point of repair, a straight conversation about replacement options rather than a second company and a second appointment.
About All Pro Plumbing Heating and Air
All Pro Plumbing Heating and Air is a licensed contractor (license #960566) providing 24/7 plumbing, heating, and air service across Bakersfield, CA and surrounding Kern County communities including Oildale, Rosedale, Shafter, Delano, and Taft. Their technicians handle furnace repair and installation, gas line service, water heaters, drains, and air conditioning for homes across the valley, from pre-1970 slab homes downtown to newer tract construction in Rosedale and Gossamer Grove.