[mitch8]

My Magic Chef gas furnace (model number unknown at this time) stopped working this morning. I tried to turn the thermostat off and on; raised the temperature setting beyond 80 (it was 61 in the house); replaced the batteries in the thermostat; but to no avail. When I went in the basement to have a look, nothing was apparent, so I turned the circuit breaker feeding the furnace off and on. No change. There is a electrical box mounted on the side of the furnace with a switch - when I turned it off and on, the pilot ignited and when it was hot enough, the fan turned on. Success, or so I thought, but 10 minutes later the temp only got to 63 and the furnace wasn't on. I thought I'd look inside the metal box that had the switch to see if there was a loose wire. As soon as the screwdriver touched one of the two mounting screws the furnace kicked on - but a few minutes later stopped working. I removed the plate and found nothing amiss, no loose or frayed wires, no loose connections or parts, but noticed that if the plate was put in a particular alignment the furnace shut off.

There is a small metal box/can on the switch plate and a wire extends from the switch to the can on the inside side of the switch plate - does anyone know what this part is (relay maybe)? Is it repairable? If the model number is important I can provide it when I get home...not too prepared (my bad)

tia,
Mitch