My Goodman GMNT060-3 furnace stopped turning on in October. The tech diagnosed a bad draft inducer motor, because the fan wouldn't spin freely and made a grinding noise when turned by hand. I replaced the motor myself with a new one from eBay – a FASCO Inducer Motor 77-161-000. It worked well for a couple of months, but recently it started making rattling noises while the fan was spinning.
Today, the furnace stopped turning on altogether. I pulled out the 3-month-old draft inducer motor and turned the fan by hand. It feels just like the old motor's fan did – not spinning freely at all. I replaced the motor and got the furnace started again by manually turning the fan, but obviously that's a short-term fix.
What could cause a draft motor to go from like-new operation to dead within a few months? Could the eBay motor have been a dud? Or is something else wrong?
Best Answer
Yes it could be a dud. These things are mass produced. Even good companies (FASCO) will turn out a dud occasionally. Keep in mind that fan is subject to horrible heat contamination.