Learn all about your furnace pilot light — where it is, what it does, and how to troubleshoot the most common issue.

“While holding the ‘Pilot’ knob down to release the gas, carefully light the pilot burner with a match or long fireplace lighter. The pilot flame should ignite right away.” ...

When the fireplace is turned on, gas flows to the main burner, which is ignited by the pilot light. This is what produces a larger flame in the fireplace. Even when the fireplace is off ...

when the wind blows a pilot light out, a cloud of unignited gas can accumulate. The sensor allows the pilot light to be automatically re-ignited if the flame is no longer present. The circuit is a ...