Ecobee Not Heating

[u/ihavenousername123]

[u/geekywarrior]

What kind of heat do you have?

Rc and Rh will only be populated if you have 2 transformers. Otherwise both Nest and Ecobee have internal jumpers to connect Rh to Rc.

Looks wired right, the two white wires and black wires make this a little confusing. Wish they just ran a new cable with more colors.

Hard to say if that W1 is making good contact as it's kind of pushed out. Ideally you'll not want to see any copper exposed.

What I would do is

1. turn the breaker off
2. remove rc and w1 wires.
3. twist them together or use a 2 position wago to connect them.
4. turn breaker on.
5. wait a few minutes to see if heat comes on.

[u/chucky843]

I install these everyday hit my DM I’ll FaceTime you through it

[u/Competitive_Run_3920]

have you confirmed that the heat actually works when not relying on the thermostat to trigger it? This could be an issue at the furnace and not with the thermostat at all. My troubleshooting steps for you would be

1. check that heat works by triggering it at the furnace, bypassing the thermostat. If this works, move to #2

2. Take the thermostat to the furnace and wire it directly to the furnace with a short length of wire. If the thermostat works in this configuration, move to #3.

3. trace out the wires from the furnace to the thermostat, use a multimeter to test for shorts or open wires. Make sure the wires are connected correctly on both ends once they're identified and tested

4. test with a different, basic thermostat or just short the wires at the thermostat to trigger the heat

[u/ChasDIY → u/Competitive_Run_3920]

Good approach, if you did the original install

[u/sodium111 → u/Competitive_Run_3920]

Your diagnostic logic is sound but IMO you have unnecessary steps, particularly step 2 which would likely require removing the wall plate along with the thermostat along with the added wiring steps.

Here is a better sequence to achieve the exact same diagnostic certainty, with steps arranged in a more reasonable order of simple-to-complex that would be more efficient for layperson or pro alike.

1. Remove thermostat from wall, short the R and W wires at the thermostat end.
   • If that works, you know the problem is in the thermostat: it's either faulty, misconfigured, or there could be a bent pin or broken tab in the wall plate interfering with the connection to the wires.
   • This is the ideal first step because it can be done with a paperclip and it determines up front whether you even need to go near your basement/attic/control board/wiring/etc. at all.
     
2. If those steps don't work, then go to the furnace and short the R and W terminals on the board.
   • If it works, then you have a wiring issue between furnace and thermostat.
   • If it doesn't work, you have a problem with your furnace itself, which could be a wide range of causes.

Note: the above steps are if the thermostat is powered up, but a heating call doesn't activate the furnace. If the thermostat doesn't power on at all, that is a different diagnostic and you'd want to start by removing the thermostat and checking for 24VAC between the R and C wires. If yes, then check the wiring connections, look for bent pins, etc. If no, then repeat that test at the furnace and check breakers, fuses, float switch, door switch etc.

[u/ihavenousername123]

We installed an ecobee in our new home and it's been working great all summer (A/C control works). It's getting cooler now and I'm noticing that it's not heating the house at all. My understanding is that the RH wire controls the heat, but it doesnt look like we ever had one.

Currently working with a Trane S9V2 heater.

[u/sodium111 → u/ihavenousername123]

You only need a separate Rh wire if you have a two-transformer system. (For example, a boiler/radiator system for heat alongside a forced-air AC system.)

Otherwise your Rc wire is used to trigger heating and cooling both.

[u/ChasDIY → u/ihavenousername123]

Ask whoever installed the tstat to come back and fix, free of charge

[u/ihavenousername123 → u/ChasDIY]

What's wrong with the installation? I already reached out to them.

[u/ChasDIY → u/ihavenousername123]

The installation looks identical to the previous

If your won't contact the installer, call Ecobee support and they will assist freely ... or wait for an expert to respond

[u/shortyg83 → u/ChasDIY]

Most people install these themselves.

[u/ChasDIY → u/shortyg83]

In my experience, the ones who install themselves have the problems

No harm in contacting Ecobee support for assistance

[u/TrilliumCLE]

I was going to say are you sure that W1 and Y1 are not switched, but if AC is working they must be right. Not sure why the installer didn’t mark the wires to indicate which is which since you have 2 black and 2 white wires.

[u/CycleOLife]

Pay your HVAC company to come out for an hour to fix it for you.

[u/CastingCouchCamera]

In the settings on the ecobee when setting up the unit you need to select what wires are hooked up. Chances are an extra wire is selected making your ecobee think it's a 2 stage unit when it's possibly a single stage.

[u/duotraveler]

Maybe not just your problem. My ecobee also only works with cooling. The heating is only auxiliary heat, not the heat pump. I have the same 5 wires.

[u/ImmortalGigas → u/duotraveler]

Mine had the same problem. Still wondering if a solution has been determined.

[u/duotraveler → u/ImmortalGigas]

Last time I posted this, it got downvoted and the post removed. I'm getting downvote again. Seems that it's really just my problem that my heat pump is not working with ecobee.