I think the best thing that I did that literally saved the day was when my family and I had returned home from visiting family to finish our Christmas break and found our house very cold.  It was late in the evening on Christmas day, everyone was tired and now exceptionally cold.  Of course with it being the Holiday no one was available to assist and we were looking at having to try and find a hotel room and hope that we wouldn't reach the point of pipes bursting before we could get a resolution for the furnace.  Having done nothing with furnaces before this was all a scary Dragon looking thing with gas and multiple burners/flames when it is working.  Now it was just a cold shell with a small blinking light trying to desperately communicate it's problems to me.  Counting the flashes and finally finding a source online that covered my ancient furnace took awhile, but showed that the flame sensor was not finding flame and kept shutting the gas off.  Even though I could see that there was flame and gas the sensor said I was wrong.  Luckily the source also mentioned these furnaces would build up carbon on the sensor quite often and prior to replacing items and being charged extensive fees for a repairman (I shudder to imagine the Holiday/Emergency add on if anyone would even come out), you should take a brillo pad and after being sure everything was powered down and safe, remove the sensor and clean it.

Sure enough that was the fix and after powering everything back up the furnace lit and stayed lit as the clean sensor finally allowed the furnace to start heating the home again!

I think the best thing that I did that literally saved the day was when my family and I had returned home from visiting family to finish our Christmas break and found our house very cold.  It was late in the evening on Christmas day, everyone was tired and now exceptionally cold.  Of course with it being the Holiday no one was available to assist and we were looking at having to try and find a hotel room and hope that we wouldn't reach the point of pipes bursting before we could get a resolution for the furnace.  Having done nothing with furnaces before this was all a scary Dragon looking thing with gas and multiple burners/flames when it is working.  Now it was just a cold shell with a small blinking light trying to desperately communicate it's problems to me.  Counting the flashes and finally finding a source online that covered my ancient furnace took awhile, but showed that the flame sensor was not finding flame and kept shutting the gas off.  Even though I could see that there was flame and gas the sensor said I was wrong.  Luckily the source also mentioned these furnaces would build up carbon on the sensor quite often and prior to replacing items and being charged extensive fees for a repairman (I shudder to imagine the Holiday/Emergency add on if anyone would even come out), you should take a brillo pad and after being sure everything was powered down and safe, remove the sensor and clean it.

Sure enough that was the fix and after powering everything back up the furnace lit and stayed lit as the clean sensor finally allowed the furnace to start heating the home again!