Lennox furnace Alert code 295: Indoor blower motor overheating
Alert 295 means the indoor blower motor has tripped on its own internal thermal protector. The motor is overheating, and the usual reason is that it is working against more resistance than it was designed for.
Applies to: Lennox communicating systems with an indoor blower motor, in a gas furnace or an air handler, on an S30, S40 or comparable communicating thermostat.
What it means
An electric motor that overheats is either failing mechanically or being asked to do too much. Lennox's troubleshooting covers both: check the motor bearings and current draw, and check for high duct static. That last item is the one most often overlooked. Static pressure is the resistance the blower pushes against, and it rises with filter restriction, closed dampers, undersized returns and duct that was never right for the equipment. A motor running against high static draws more current, runs hotter, and eventually trips its protector — so the motor reports the fault while the duct system caused it. The alert clears once the blower demand is satisfied, which means an intermittent 295 in the history is worth more attention than one that has cleared.
Most common causes
- High duct static — restrictive filters, closed or blocked registers, undersized return, or collapsed duct.
- Worn or failing motor bearings raising the load.
- A blower wheel packed with dirt, which both restricts airflow and unbalances the wheel.
- A motor at the end of its service life.
- Ambient temperature in the equipment space higher than the motor is rated for.
How to diagnose it
- Check the air filter and confirm registers and returns are open. High static is the most common underlying cause and starts here.
- Note whether a much higher MERV filter was fitted recently — a filter the system was not designed for raises static immediately.
- Note whether the blower has become noisy, which points at bearings rather than at static.
- Do not open the blower compartment. The door switch cuts power for a reason.
How to fix it
- Replace a restrictive filter and clear blocked registers first.
- If it recurs, static pressure should be measured rather than guessed — that is the number that decides whether the duct or the motor is at fault.
- Lennox's instruction is to replace the indoor blower motor if necessary, but replacing it without addressing high static gives the new motor the same job that killed the old one.
Notes
Alert 292 reports a related but distinct condition — a blower motor that will not start at all. Overheating and failing to start are different stages of the same decline.
Related
- Alert code 292 — Indoor blower motor will not start — Watchguard
- Alert code 291 — Heating airflow below minimum — Watchguard
All codes for this manufacturer
Lennox furnace alert codes — every code, with what differs between models.