Bryant and Carrier are both brands of Carrier Global, and the tiers map one to one: Bryant Evolution is Carrier Infinity, Preferred is Performance and Legacy is Comfort. The cabinets, boards and part numbers are identical. Our Carrier furnace and AC page covers the same platform from the other badge.
A Bryant furnace reports faults as a two-digit status code blinked by an LED on the control board: count the short flashes for the first digit and the long flashes for the second. Read it through the sight glass before you take the door off, because on some boards cutting power clears the code. The legend on the inside of the blower door is the authority for your model.
Bryant was a common builder's furnace in subdivisions from the 1980s onward, so a good number of the ones still running are past 20 years. Older condensing Bryant and Carrier furnaces are known for one expensive problem: the secondary heat exchanger blocks or fails. It can be confirmed with measurements, and it should be before anyone quotes you a furnace.
ZK Mechanical is an independent, owner-operated contractor. We are not part of Bryant's dealer network and nobody here earns a bonus for selling another Bryant. You get the code explained, the price in writing and a straight answer on whether the furnace is worth fixing.
Bryant lines we install and service
The communicating tier, equivalent to Carrier Infinity: the 987M modulating condensing furnace, variable-speed air conditioners and heat pumps, and the Evolution Connex control. The furnace, outdoor unit and control talk over a four-wire bus, so a corroded conductor can show up as a component fault. We check the wiring before condemning a board.
The two-stage middle tier, equivalent to Carrier Performance, including the 926T furnace. It runs on conventional thermostat wiring, which keeps both diagnosis and replacement thermostats simple. It is the sensible middle for a two-storey house that needs longer, quieter heating cycles.
Single-stage equipment equivalent to Carrier Comfort, including the 915S furnace. It is the plainest and cheapest Bryant to keep running. New furnaces sold in Canada must meet the 95% AFUE federal minimum, so the 80% Legacy models listed on US sites are not an option here.
The 1990s and 2000s condensing furnaces found in many subdivision basements. They are repairable and parts are still obtainable through Carrier's channel, but this is the group where a blocked secondary heat exchanger turns up. On these furnaces a combustion test is part of any diagnosis we do.
What goes wrong on Bryant equipment
Status code 31: pressure switch did not close or reopened
Code 31 means the inducer ran and the control did not get proof of draft. On a condensing Bryant the usual cause is water, not the switch: a blocked condensate trap, a drain hose that has sagged and holds a pocket of water, or a vent termination iced over outside. Clearing the trap and drain is $150–$350, a failed pressure switch is $250–$500 and an inducer motor is $400–$900. Our code 31 answer covers the checks you can do yourself.
Status code 33: limit circuit fault
Code 33 means a switch in the limit circuit is open: the main limit, the draft safeguard or a flame rollout switch. A clogged filter or a failing blower is the common cause, and the furnace recovers once it cools and can breathe. A replacement blower motor is $500–$1,500 depending on type. If a rollout switch has tripped, do not reset it and run the furnace: flame left the burner box, and that needs a technician.
Status code 34: ignition proving failure
Code 34 means the burner lit and the control could not prove flame, or it never lit. The control tries again before locking out. A flame sensor coated with oxide is the usual cause and cleaning or replacing it is $150–$300; a hot-surface igniter that has cracked is $200–$450. A weak ground or low gas pressure produces the same code, so we measure flame current instead of guessing.
Blocked secondary heat exchanger on an older condensing furnace
Symptoms are repeated code 31 or 33 with a clear drain and a clean filter, a burner flame that wavers when the blower starts, or soot. A technician confirms it three ways: pressure drop across the heat exchanger measured with a manometer against the manufacturer's figure, a combustion analysis showing high carbon monoxide or poor oxygen readings, and a look at the secondary heat exchanger inlet with the inducer removed. Replacing a heat exchanger runs $1,500–$3,000, so on a furnace past 15 years that money is better put toward a $4,500–$7,500 replacement.
Bryant warranty: what to know
- Bryant's standard parts limited warranty is ten years when the equipment is registered within 90 days of installation and five years when it is not.
- The registered term applies to the original homeowner. Bryant states that a subsequent owner receives the five-year term only, which matters if you bought the house with the furnace in it.
- Labour is not covered by the parts warranty. Bryant's own warranty page warns that dealers may charge labour, service-call and warranty-processing fees on a covered part.
- Heat exchanger coverage is longer than parts coverage and varies by model. If an older condensing furnace has a failed secondary heat exchanger, have the serial number checked against Bryant's coverage before paying for the part.
- Keep the installation invoice and service records. See whether you have to register a furnace warranty for what registration changes in practice.
Parts availability in the GTA
Bryant parts are Carrier parts, ordered by the same numbers from the same distributors, and that keeps a Bryant easy to repair in the GTA and Hamilton. Flame sensors, hot-surface igniters, pressure switches, inducer assemblies and blower capacitors are regular stock, and a Carrier-numbered box fits when the Bryant-numbered one is not on the shelf. Evolution control boards, modulating gas valves and variable-speed blower modules are ordered by model and serial number and take longer. Secondary heat exchangers for discontinued furnaces are the hard ones: availability varies by model, and we confirm it before quoting, because that answer often settles the repair-or-replace question by itself.
Bryant Furnace Error Codes Explained — what each one means and whether it is safe to keep running.
Common questions
Is Bryant the same as Carrier?
For service purposes, yes. Carrier Global owns both, and Evolution, Preferred and Legacy equipment is built on the Infinity, Performance and Comfort platforms with identical control boards, status codes and part numbers. Model numbers and badges differ. A technician using Carrier's service information and Carrier's parts counter is working correctly on your Bryant, and our Bryant furnace error codes guide lists the shared codes.
Is it safe to keep running a Bryant furnace that shows code 33?
Once, after a filter change. If a clean filter and open registers stop the code, the furnace was starved for air and is fine. If code 33 returns, switch the furnace off and call: repeated overheating stresses the heat exchanger, and the same code is set by a rollout switch, which means flame escaped the burner compartment. Never tape, bypass or repeatedly reset a rollout switch.
Can I use an ordinary thermostat on a Bryant Evolution system?
It will heat and cool, but you lose what you paid for. Evolution equipment needs the Evolution control to modulate, manage humidity and report its own faults over the four-wire bus. On a conventional thermostat it falls back to basic staging. If the Evolution control has failed, replace it with the matching control or accept the downgrade knowingly.
Should I repair an old Bryant Plus 90 or replace it?
Repair it when the fault is a flame sensor, igniter, pressure switch or inducer and the combustion test is clean. Replace it when the secondary heat exchanger is blocked or the repair is more than half the cost of a new furnace on a unit past 15 years. A furnace second opinion visit gives you the measurements in writing either way.
Do you install new Bryant furnaces?
We are an independent contractor and this page is about servicing the Bryant you already own. When a furnace is past repair we quote a replacement from the brands we install, sized to the house, at $4,500–$7,500 for a high-efficiency furnace. If you specifically want another Bryant, tell us when you call and we will say plainly whether we can supply it.