# [SOLVED] Unresponsive Thermostat



## shichao (Feb 10, 2010)

I have an Enerstat thermostat in my house, and it has been working fine for years. Suddenly, a few days ago, it stopped responding to the units digit. So, if the temperature was 51 degrees, it would only turn on the heating if it was set to the sixties. Please help! Thanks in advance.


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## pat mcgroin (May 1, 2009)

*Re: Unresponsive Thermostat*

Considering the cost of a new one it would seem a good idea to get one.
I am not familiar with that particular one but new ones offer many great programable features.


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## shichao (Feb 10, 2010)

*Re: Unresponsive Thermostat*

I don't think my first post was clear. My thermostat seems to be responding only to the tens digit. Also, it started happening after I changed the battery. Could the problem be related?


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## SABL (Jul 4, 2008)

*Re: Unresponsive Thermostat*

The battery is only used to keep the settings in case of power failure. You may have lost all your settings when you removed the battery. Do you have the exact model number??


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## Stedman (Jun 4, 2006)

*Re: Unresponsive Thermostat*



SABL said:


> The battery is only used to keep the settings in case of power failure.


very false


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## SABL (Jul 4, 2008)

*Re: Unresponsive Thermostat*



Stedman said:


> very false


Elaborate please...I'm all ears.


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## Stedman (Jun 4, 2006)

*Re: Unresponsive Thermostat*

The battery power is used for a couple of things on thermostats. With some of them its used to power the LCD display and more rarely its used to operate the replays inside the thermostat. Bottom line is if you're using a thermostat that requires battery power its not going to operate without batteries because its used for more than doing what a tiny watch battery would be able to do for 10+ years without needing to be changed.


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## SABL (Jul 4, 2008)

*Re: Unresponsive Thermostat*

Hi Stedman,

Any idea why the thermostat does not recognise the single digit increments?? These thermostats aren't cheap!! Could it be a circuit board in the thermostat itself??


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## Stedman (Jun 4, 2006)

*Re: Unresponsive Thermostat*

The only thing i can think of is if the user accidentally adjusted a differential setting in the thermostat at some point. This setting is typically accessed as soon as the thermostat receives power for the first time and can be set in either half or whole degree increments ranging from .5 degrees typically up to 9 degrees. If the differential is set at 9 then that means the thermostat is going to allow for 9 degrees between cycles. Therefore, if the temp is 51 in the room then the thermostat wont be triggered to turn heat on until the temp is set to at least 60. The only way i can know for sure if this is the case is to get the model number of the thermostat so i can find out how to adjust the differential so the user can confirm that the differential is set reasonably.


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## SABL (Jul 4, 2008)

*Re: Unresponsive Thermostat*

Thanks Stedman!!

Now, if the OP will return with the model number. 

Will the thermostat return to a default status if the battery is removed??


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## Stedman (Jun 4, 2006)

*Re: Unresponsive Thermostat*

Sometimes. As i mentioned before a tiny watch battery is often used on the circuit board that serves as a backup memory power supply so it may have one of those that will hold on to the adjusted setting once the batteries are removed.
What i've run into is usually the reason a homeowner notices that the batteries in the thermostat are dead is because the home is either too hot or too cold. As a reaction they'll replace the batteries and then immediately try to adjust the temp so the unit will come on. If this user put batteries in the thermostat and started trying to adjust the temp then its possible that they set the differential to the maximum setting inadvertently.

Other than the option to change the diff setting showing up as soon as the battery is replaced the other common way to access this setting is to simultaneously press the "UP" and "DOWN" temperature adjustment arrows and hold them for up to 2 seconds. Typically to keep your home comfortable you'd use the lowest setting available, the only time i can think of that you'd want a higher setting is if the thermostat is placed in an area where a vent is blowing directly on it and a 1 degree adjustment would be almost instantly met.


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## shichao (Feb 10, 2010)

*Re: Unresponsive Thermostat*

I accessed the diff setting, and it was set to zero. After I brought it up to two, it was working like normal again. Thanks for the help guys!


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## pat mcgroin (May 1, 2009)

*Re: Unresponsive Thermostat*

The Honeywell that I have has settings that can control the variability
of how often it will cycle.
If I set it too low the furnace comes on every 5 or 10 minutes.
Changing the setting will lengthen the cycle time probably due to the 
temp. rise.
A 2-3 degree temp rise before shut off will cause it to cycle more often.
The opposite would seem to be the case for the OP above. 

I am sure that a dead battery would effect that.

I am glad to see that the OP got it sorted out.


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## Stedman (Jun 4, 2006)

*Re: Unresponsive Thermostat*

Congrats shichao,
Any more issues you know where to find us.


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## SABL (Jul 4, 2008)

*Re: Unresponsive Thermostat*

I think we have a good outcome on this issue and will mark it as "solved". Thanks for the input, guys!!


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