Soleil Heater Keeps Shutting Off (How to Troubleshoot)

ByNelson Morgan Last Updated on: Troubleshooting

This article explores common reasons your Soleil Heater keeps shutting off. You’ll also come away with knowledge of how to handle this problem yourself. Sounds like you? Then let’s head right into it!

Soleil Heater Keeps Shutting off

If your Soleil heater keeps shutting off, it may be because of the following reasons:

  • Bad heating element
  • Thermal overload
  • Malfunctioning power supply
  • Faulty fuse
  • Tripped circuit breaker
  • Clogged air filter

Read on to discover possible fixes for the “Soleil Heater keeps shutting off” problem.

Soleil Heater Keeps Shutting Off: Try the Following Troubleshooting Tips

1. Inspect the Fuse

It is common for Soleil heaters to overheat, especially if the cooling system malfunctions. This can fry the internal components and lead to system failure.

Fortunately, Soleil heaters have a thermal fuse that protects them against the dangerous effects of a thermal overload. The fuse will melt and disrupt the electrical supply to the heater, preventing the device from overheating.

Thermal fuses are single-use devices, so you have to replace them if they go out. Your heater won’t work unless the fuse is replaced and the electrical connections restored.

You’ll need to open the heater to confirm if the fuse is in good condition. This shouldn’t take time if you have some experience with disassembling electrical appliances.

Once the heater is open, inspect the fuse for signs of melting, fraying, breaking, or burning. If that doesn’t work, try this next fix.

2. Check the Power Supply

A good place to troubleshoot your Soleil heater is to check the power supply. You’d be surprised at how much a simple mistake — such as forgetting to plug in the heater properly — can cause problems.

If your heater is plugged into a power source, double-check to see if it’s plugged properly. Also, you should ensure that the switch on the power outlet is in ON. Fixing these slight mistakes may be what your heater needs to run.

Also, you want to confirm that the heater cord hasn’t worn out. A bad heater cord cannot transfer electricity efficiently or power the heater. Worse, worn electrical cords can increase the risk of an electrical shock for users.

Others have fingered malfunctioning sockets as another factor causing Soleil heaters to shut off. A bad socket will have stains and burn marks — disconnect your heater if your socket has these signs.

3. Fix the Circuit Breaker

There’s nothing bad about thermal fuses, but replacing them frequently can drain your wallet. This is why manufacturers introduced circuit breakers. If you don’t know, circuit breakers are cheaper options for protecting devices during a power surge.

While thermal fuses melt during an overload, circuit breakers flip to an OFF position and restrict power to the component. This is what pros describe as “tripping the breaker.”

Your heater may fail if it has tripped the breaker. The next step is to disassemble your heater and return the switch to its original position (ON).

Consider hiring a technician for this issue if the breaker trips even with no electrical surge. Your equipment is likely experiencing a major fault better diagnosed and solved by an expert. Otherwise, it may be experiencing thermal overload issues, as we explain in the next section.

4. Fix Thermal Overload Issues

Modern heaters have safety features designed to reduce the likelihood of overheating problems. For example, Soleil heaters have a tip-over safety switch and a thermal overload system.

Both components switch off the heater once it reaches a pre-defined temperature level. You may not know when this happens, since the process is automatic.

Switch off the heater and remove the cord from the wall socket. Wait at least 10 minutes before reconnecting the device so it can cool off properly. If the problem persists, then the heat sensors may be faulty.

The thermal protection system relies on these heat sensors to detect rising temperatures. And if they malfunction, your heater will switch off at random intervals for no visible reasons.

Contact a trained technician once you trace the problem to the sensors. You may need to repair the current sensors or buy new sensors depending on the severity of the problem.

5. Inspect the Thermostat

The thermostat controls the operation of your heater and keeps temperatures within normal levels. You can set the desired temperature using the thermostat. For instance, you can program the thermostat to turn off the heater at 100°F.

Once the heater approaches the preset level, the thermostat automatically shuts it off. If your Soleil heater stops working, you want to see the thermostat settings. Maybe your heater has reached the preferred heat levels.

Beyond inspecting the thermostat settings, it is advisable to check if the thermostat is in healthy condition. A faulty thermostat will cause your heater to stop working abruptly, even with no signs of overheating. This happens when the thermostat cannot reflect the actual ambient temperatures.

Sometimes, fixing the thermostat may not solve the problem. That’s why we have another fix that you could try:

6. Clean the Air Filter

Your heater produces a copious amount of heat and needs to cool off at intervals, or it may overheat. A dirty air filter restricts air movement in the heater and increases the chances of the heating overheating and shutting off.

The easiest way to know if you have a dirty air filter is to watch out for unpleasant smells from your heater. Abnormal temperature levels may also point to an air filter problem.

Take the heater apart and cleanse the filter. You could even build this activity into your heater maintenance routine. That keeps your filter in excellent condition and ensures you don’t have to buy new filters frequently.

7. Reset Your Heater

If none of the fixes above help, try to perform a reset on your heater. Resetting the heater may help fix incorrect settings/internal glitches.

Here is how to reset your Soleil heater:

  • Turn off the heater. You can do this by turning the control setting to the “O” position.
  • Unplug the power cord. Then wait for 10-20 minutes and plug it back in. This should reset the heater.

Now return the control setting to the desired temperature.

Final Thoughts

We have covered the best fixes to apply if your Soleil heater refuses to operate (keeps shutting off). Try these DIY solutions and see what works for you. Should these tips fail to solve your problem, reach out to a professional to diagnose and troubleshoot your heater properly.

You may also like to see how to troubleshoot Duraflame and LifeSmart Heaters.