Goodman furnace P: Compressor heating with a single stage compressor

A plain P means a heat pump is running in heating mode with a single stage compressor. The furnace burners are not lit — the heat pump is doing the work.

Applies to: Goodman GMVM97, GCVM97 and Amana AMVM97 modulating gas furnaces with a two-character display, paired with a single stage heat pump.

What it means

On a dual fuel system the heat pump provides heat down to a changeover temperature and the gas furnace takes over below it. P means the heat pump is currently heating and the furnace is running the blower for it. That distinction matters more than it looks, because a homeowner who expects to hear burners and finds the display showing P has a system working exactly as designed — the gas has not failed, it simply is not needed yet. P1 and P2 report the same thing on a two stage heat pump, low and high. A plain P means the control is set up for a single stage one.

Most common causes

A heat pump is running in heating mode, which is normal above the changeover temperature.
The system is configured for a single stage heat pump rather than a two stage one.
The furnace is supplying the indoor blower for that heat pump call.

How to diagnose it

Note whether the house is warming. If it is, the system is working.
Note the outdoor temperature. Above the changeover point the heat pump is meant to be doing the heating.
Air from a heat pump feels cooler than air from a gas burner even when it is heating correctly, which is a common and mistaken complaint.
If the furnace never takes over in very cold weather, that is worth investigating — but this code is not the fault.

How to fix it

Nothing. This is normal dual fuel operation.
If the complaint is that the air feels cool, that is characteristic of heat pump heating rather than a fault.
If the furnace genuinely never fires in cold weather, the changeover setting or the outdoor sensor is worth checking by a technician.

Notes

Dual fuel systems generate a lot of unnecessary service calls for exactly this reason: the equipment behaves differently from a gas-only furnace and the difference reads as a fault to anyone not expecting it.

All codes for this manufacturer

Goodman and Amana furnace fault codes — every code, with what differs between models.

Sources

Goodman Manufacturing — Diagnostic Code Identification System (model-specific fault code lookup)

This site is a reference, not a substitute for a licensed HVAC technician. Gas appliances can leak carbon monoxide and cause fire. Anything involving gas lines, the heat exchanger, or the flame sensing circuit should be handled by a licensed professional. Pages are written with AI assistance from the sources listed on each page and checked against them before publishing.