The Honeywell Touchscreen Programmable Thermostat RTH7600, RET97C Series Owner’s Manual is the document that stays useful after the screwdriver is put away. It runs 20 printed pages in English, followed by a French version of the same text, and it carries the document number 33-00089EF-01. Installation occupies pages 3 to 9. Everything past page 9 is operation and setup rather than installation. That part covers four daily program periods, the preset schedule, temporary and permanent holds, auto changeover, seventeen installer functions, the filter reminder, battery replacement, and a nine-entry troubleshooting list. This page follows that document section by section and keeps the manual’s own wording wherever the wording decides how something works.

Download the Honeywell RTH7600, RET97C Series Owner’s Manual (PDF)

Download the official Honeywell RTH7600, RET97C Series Owner’s Manual (PDF)

Table of Contents

• What the Owner’s Manual Covers
• Controls and the Home Screen
• The Preset Schedule and How to Change It
• Setting the Clock
• Temporary and Permanent Overrides
• Auto Changeover
• Installer Setup Functions
• Filter Reminder and Smart Response
• Battery Replacement
• Troubleshooting
• Specifications
• Frequently Asked Questions

What the Owner’s Manual Covers

The document is a single booklet serving both model lines named on the cover, RTH7600 and RET97C. Its contents page lists thirteen headings. Page numbers below are the ones printed on the sheet. In the English section they match the PDF file exactly, so printed page 14 is file page 14. The French version begins at file page 21 and carries its own numbers.

Section	Pages
Installation	3
Advanced Installation	10
Controls and Home screen quick reference	13
Preset energy-saving schedules	14
Setting the clock	14
Adjusting program schedules	15
Overriding schedules temporarily	15
Overriding schedules permanently	16
Auto Changeover	16
Change filter	17
Replace batteries	18
Troubleshooting	19
Limited warranty	20

Installation, pages 3 to 9

The opening half is compressed into eleven numbered steps. The count matters, because the last two are where an installation either finishes or continues:

1. Turn off power to the heating and cooling system.
2. Remove the old thermostat but leave the wallplate with the wires attached.
3. Label the wires with the supplied tags, then remove the old wallplate. The manual adds that wire colour might not match the labels.
4. Separate the new wallplate from the thermostat and mount it on the wall.
5. Mount the wallplate with the included screws and anchors. Drill 3/16 in. holes for drywall and 3/32 in. holes for plaster.
6. Connect the wires, matching labels to terminals. This page and the two after it carry the conventional strip, the heat pump strip and the alternate wiring charts.
7. Install two AA alkaline batteries and remove the tab.
8. Install the thermostat onto the wallplate.
9. Turn the power back on to the heating and cooling system.
10. Set the time and date, using the arrows for the month and the day with NEXT between them, then the year and the time with DONE to save and exit.
11. Match the thermostat to the system type, or stop here if the system is single stage heat and cool.

The cover states the voltage limits in one sentence: the thermostat “works on 24 volt or 750 mV systems” and “will NOT work on 120/240 Volt systems.” The same exclusion is repeated in French, so there is no ambiguity between language sections.

Step 11 sets up the fork in the road. A single stage heat and cool system earns the reply “Congratulations, you’re done!” Five other system types continue into Advanced Installation. The manual lists them as multistage heat and cool, heat pump without backup heat, heat pump with backup heat, heat only, and cool only. The page also defines a heat pump for readers who are unsure, calling it “an air conditioner that provides cooling in the summer, and also runs in reverse in the winter to provide heating.”

One line at the foot of page 9 is worth reading before buying anything: the thermostat “will NOT work on multi-stage conventional systems.” Function 0170 nevertheless offers three multistage settings later in the same booklet. The document prints both statements without reconciling them, and page 9 offers the toll-free line at 1-800-468-1502 for anyone unsure which applies to their equipment.

Controls and the Home Screen

Four keys do everything. The manual’s own descriptions are short enough to quote:

Control	What the manual says it does
Arrow keys	Press to adjust temperature or to make selections from screen menus.
System & Fan	Press to select fan operation or system.
Schedule	Press to set program schedule (pages 14 to 16).
Clock & More	Press to set clock or furnace filter reminder.

The screen reports five things at once: the current inside temperature in large digits, the current time, the temperature you have set, the day of the week, and the Smart Response indicator when that feature is working. Status words also appear on the screen as the equipment runs, and the manual defines three of them. “Cool On” means the cooling system is on. “Heat On” means the heating system is on. “Aux Heat On” means auxiliary heating is active, which applies to heat pump systems only.

System and fan positions

Pressing System & Fan opens a screen with two columns. The left column sets the system:

• Heat for heating system control.
• Cool for cooling system control.
• Auto, where the thermostat selects heating or cooling according to the indoor temperature.
• Off, which turns all systems off.
• Em Heat for emergency and auxiliary heat control, with the compressor locked out. The manual marks this position as being on select models only.

The right column sets the fan. Auto runs the fan only while the heating or cooling system is on. On runs the fan continuously. DONE exits and saves.

One line on page 12 is a manufacturer claim rather than a procedure: “Precise comfort control keeps temperature within 1°F of the level you set.”

The Preset Schedule and How to Change It

The thermostat holds four time periods for each day, “with different settings for weekdays and weekends.” That split is the thing to understand before touching anything: Monday to Friday share one set of four periods, and Saturday and Sunday are programmed separately from that group.

The four periods

The manual names each period by the moment it starts, not by a temperature:

• Wake is set to the time you awaken and the temperature you want during the morning, until you leave for the day.
• Leave is set to the time you leave home and the temperature you want while you are away, which the manual notes is usually an energy-saving level.
• Return is set to the time you return home and the temperature you want during the evening, until bedtime.
• Sleep is set to the time you go to bed and the temperature you want overnight, again usually an energy-saving level.

The preset values

The preset program is printed as a table on page 14, and the manual recommends leaving it in place because those values “can reduce your heating/cooling expenses.”

Period	Time	Heat	Cool
Wake	6:00 am	70°	75°
Leave	8:00 am	62°	83°
Return	6:00 pm	70°	75°
Sleep	10:00 pm	62°	78°

The note under that table reads: “Leave and Return periods can be canceled on weekends.”

Editing the schedule

The manual gives eight steps, and the order of the first two decides which days the rest of them apply to:

1. Press SCHEDULE, then EDIT to see weekdays.
2. Press SELECT DAY to highlight Mon-Fri, so the five days share the same settings.
3. Press NEXT STEP twice, then press an arrow to set the Wake time for the selected days.
4. Press NEXT STEP, then an arrow to set the Heat temperature for this period.
5. Press NEXT STEP, then an arrow to set the Cool temperature for this period.
6. Repeat steps 3 to 5 for LEAVE, RETURN and SLEEP, then press DONE.
7. Repeat steps 1 to 6 for Saturday and Sunday. Press an arrow until the desired day is flashing, then press SELECT DAY.
8. Press DONE to save and exit.

Setting the Clock

Press CLOCK & MORE, then use the arrows to adjust the time. Holding an arrow advances the time more quickly. DONE saves and exits, while GO BACK exits without changing anything.

A note on the same page says the real-time clock “should never require adjustment since it automatically updates for daylight savings time, and stores all date/time information.”

Daylight saving behaviour is also a setting of its own at function 0330. It takes three values: Off for no adjustment, On for areas that do not use the 2007 daylight saving calendar, and On for 2007 and beyond in areas that do.

Temporary and Permanent Overrides

There are two ways to leave the schedule, and they end differently.

Temporary. Press an arrow to adjust the temperature and the thermostat holds that value until the next time period begins. When the timer expires, “the program schedule will resume and set the temperature to the level you’ve programmed for the current time period.” Pressing USE SCHEDULE cancels the override immediately.

Permanent. Press an arrow to adjust the temperature, then press HOLD. This turns the program schedule off, and the temperature you set is “maintained 24 hours a day, until you manually change it, or press USE SCHEDULE to cancel Hold.”

The screen shows the word Temporary beside the setpoint in both cases, so the difference sits in the soft keys. A temporary override offers USE SCHEDULE as its third key. Once HOLD has been pressed, the status line reads Permanent Hold and the keys become Hold and Cancel.

Auto Changeover

Auto is for climates where both air conditioning and heating run on the same day. With the system mode set to Auto, the thermostat picks heating or cooling from the indoor temperature without anyone touching the buttons.

Auto introduces one number to remember: three degrees. Heat and cool settings must stay at least 3 degrees apart, and the thermostat enforces the gap itself. If a schedule override pushes the heat setting to within 3 degrees of the cool setting, the display shows an up arrow beside Cool. The thermostat is raising the cool setting to keep the separation. The display shows Auto and either Heat or Cool depending on which setting you are adjusting, and the system button switches between them.

Two cautions attach to this mode, and both cite compressor damage. Page 16 prints a caution not to use Auto Changeover if the outside temperature drops below 50°F (10°C). Page 2 prints a broader notice not to run the air conditioner at all below that same outdoor temperature.

Installer Setup Functions

Seventeen functions sit behind the setup menu, and several of them declare what equipment the thermostat is attached to. Opening the menu takes two different presses.

How to open the setup menu

1. Press and release the left button.
2. Press and hold the center button until the screen changes, which the manual puts at approximately 5 seconds.

Inside the menu, three keys do the work. The arrows change the setting, NEXT advances to the next function, and DONE saves and exits. The function number sits in the left of the display and the current value in the right. A note warns that some functions may not appear at all, depending on selections already made.

The function table

Function	Description	Settings
0120	Year setting, first two digits	20 = year 20xx; 21 = year 21xx
0130	Year setting, second two digits	01 to 99, that is 2001 to 2099
0140	Month setting	01 to 12
0150	Date setting	01 to 31
0170	Select system type	1 heat/cool; 2 heat pump without backup; 3 heat only; 4 heat only with fan; 5 hot water heat only, no fan; 6 cool only; 7 heat pump with backup; 8 two heat and two cool stages; 9 two heat and one cool stage; 10 one heat and two cool stages
0180	Heating fan control	0 gas or oil heat, system controls fan operation; 1 electric heat, thermostat controls fan operation
0190	Heat pump changeover valve	0 cooling changeover valve, used when an O wire went to O/B; 1 heating changeover valve, used when a B wire went to O/B
0240	Heating cycle rate	5 gas or oil furnace below 90% efficiency; 9 electric furnace; 3 heat pump, hot water or high-efficiency furnace above 90%; 1 steam or gravity system
0270	Emergency heat cycle rate	9 electric furnace
0300	Manual or auto changeover	0 manual, with Heat, Cool and Off; 1 automatic, adding Auto, with a minimum 3°F between heat and cool settings
0320	Temperature format	0 Fahrenheit; 1 Celsius
0330	Daylight saving time	0 off; 1 on for areas not using the 2007 calendar; 2 on for 2007 and beyond
0500	Furnace filter change reminder	0 off; 1 about 1 month; 2 about 3 months; 3 about 6 months; 4 about 9 months; 5 about 1 year; 6 about 3 years
0530	Smart Response Technology	1 on; 0 off
0600	Maximum heat setting	90°F, with other options from 40 to 89°F (4 to 32°C)
0610	Minimum cool setting	50°F, with other options from 51 to 99°F (11 to 37°C)
0640	Clock format	12 for a 12-hour clock such as 3:30 pm; 24 for a 24-hour clock such as 15:30

Reading the function table

The first four functions are only the calendar. Function 0120 sets the century itself: 20 for years 20xx and 21 for years 21xx, with 0130 supplying the last two digits.

Function 0170 is the one to get right, since four of the nine troubleshooting entries send you back to it or to its neighbours. Ten options are listed. They separate equipment by what it does rather than by brand: heat and cool, heat pump with or without backup, heat only with or without a fan, hot water heat, cool only, and three multistage combinations. Function 0180 then tells the thermostat who runs the fan, and 0190 tells a heat pump which way the changeover valve travels.

Function 0240 uses a number instead of a name. The manual recommends 5, 9, 3 or 1 for the four common systems and allows 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 or 12 as alternatives. The number indicates how frequently the system cycles on and off: a higher number means shorter on and off times, a lower number means longer ones. The manual’s reason for matching the setting to the equipment is that the thermostat then “controls temperature more accurately.”

Functions 0600 and 0610 are limits, not schedules. They cap how high the heat setpoint can be raised and how low the cool setpoint can be dropped, and the defaults are 90°F and 50°F.

Filter Reminder and Smart Response

The filter reminder appears on screen as Change Filter with a countdown in days. It only works if it was activated during installation, which means function 0500 was set to something other than 0.

After changing the filter, press RESET to restart the timer. To reset the interval before it expires, the manual gives three steps: press MORE then NEXT, press RESET, and press DONE to save and exit.

The reminder interval is chosen once at function 0500 and offers six spans: about 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 1 year, or 3 years. Setting 0 turns the reminder off.

Smart Response Technology

This feature lets the thermostat “learn” how long the furnace and air conditioner take to reach programmed temperature settings, so the temperature is reached at the time you set. The manual’s example is a Wake time of 6 am with a temperature of 70°. The heat comes on before 6 am so that the temperature is 70° by the time you wake.

When this is happening, the screen shows the word Recovery. The manual describes that message as appearing “when the system is activated before a scheduled time period.” The feature is switched at function 0530, where 1 is on and 0 is off.

Compressor protection

A separate feature forces the compressor to wait before restarting, to prevent equipment damage, and the screen shows Wait while it does. Page 17 describes the pause as “a few minutes.” Page 19 puts a number on it and says to wait 5 minutes for the system to restart safely.

Battery Replacement

The thermostat runs on two AA alkaline batteries, fitted on the back of the unit. Batteries are optional “to provide backup power” if the thermostat was wired to run on AC power when it was installed.

The warning to act on is LO BATT. It flashes about 30 days before the batteries are depleted, and the manual’s instruction is to install fresh batteries immediately when it appears. Even with no warning at all, the recommendation is to replace the cells once a year, or before leaving home for more than a month.

The physical procedure is three moves. Grasp the thermostat and pull to remove it from the wallplate, turn it over and insert fresh AA alkaline batteries, then reinstall the thermostat on the wallplate. The manual prints the same pull-to-remove note on the inside front cover, next to the advice to note the model number and date code before calling for help. Both are printed on the back of the thermostat, which is the side you see once it is off the wall.

Troubleshooting

Page 19 is a two-column list of nine entries. The symptom wording and the action column below follow that list in its printed order. The cause column is added here, because the manual prints actions without stating a cause.

Symptom	Likely cause	What the manual says to do
Display is blank	The thermostat has no power reaching it	Check circuit breaker and reset if necessary. Make sure power switch at heating & cooling system is on. Make sure furnace door is closed securely. Make sure fresh AA alkaline batteries are correctly installed.
Temperature settings do not change	The setpoint has reached the limit for that mode	Make sure heating and cooling temperatures are set to acceptable ranges: Heat 40° to 90°F (4.5° to 32°C); Cool 50° to 99°F (10° to 37°C).
Heating or cooling system does not respond	The system position, the setpoint or power at the equipment	Press SYSTEM to set system to Heat, and make sure the temperature is set higher than the Inside temperature. Press SYSTEM to set system to Cool, and make sure the temperature is set lower than the Inside temperature. Check circuit breaker and reset if necessary. Make sure power switch at heating & cooling system is on. Make sure furnace door is closed securely. Wait 5 minutes for the system to respond.
Cannot change system setting to Cool	Function 0170 is set to a system type without cooling	Check Function 0170: System Type to make sure it is set to match your heating and cooling equipment.
Fan does not turn on when heat is required	Function 0180 does not match the heating equipment	Check Function 0180: Heating Fan Control to make sure it is set to match your heating equipment.
Heating system is running in cool mode	Function 0170 is set to the wrong system type	Check Function 0170: System Type to make sure it is set to match your heating and cooling equipment.
Red light is on	The thermostat is in Em Heat, or it is not and something else is wrong	If thermostat is in Emergency Heat mode the red light is normal. It shows that the thermostat is in emergency heat mode. If thermostat is not in Emergency Heat mode, contact a qualified service contractor for repair.
“Wait” appears on the screen	Compressor protection is holding the compressor back	Compressor protection feature is engaged. Wait 5 minutes for the system to restart safely, without damage to the compressor.
Heat pump issues cool air in heat mode, or warm air in cool mode	Function 0190 is configured for the wrong valve	Check Function 0190: Heat Pump Changeover Valve to make sure it is properly configured for your system.

Four of the nine entries end at a function number rather than at a part. Function 0170 appears twice, and 0180 and 0190 once each, which is where the manual sends you first.

The footer of page 19 carries the escalation route: visit http://yourhome.honeywell.com or call Honeywell Customer Care toll-free at 1-800-468-1502. The cover adds the same number for wiring assistance, with the instruction to call before returning the thermostat to the store.

Specifications

• Model line: RTH7600 and RET97C Series touchscreen programmable thermostat.
• Document: 33-00089EF-01, revision 07-15, printed in the U.S.A., © 2015 Honeywell International Inc.
• Length: 20 printed pages of English, followed by a French version of the same text.
• Power source: two AA alkaline batteries. Batteries are optional for backup power when the unit is wired to AC power.
• System voltage: 24 volt or 750 mV. Not for 120/240 volt systems.
• Conventional terminals: R, RC, W, Y, G, C, Y2, W2.
• Heat pump terminals: R, RC, O/B, Y, G, C, L, E, Aux.
• Program periods: four per day, with weekdays sharing one set and Saturday and Sunday programmed separately.
• Preset program: Heat 70 / 62 / 70 / 62, Cool 75 / 83 / 75 / 78 at 6:00 am, 8:00 am, 6:00 pm and 10:00 pm.
• Setpoint limits: maximum heat 90°F, minimum cool 50°F, both adjustable at functions 0600 and 0610.
• Changeover: manual or automatic at function 0300. Auto keeps a minimum 3°F between the heat and cool settings.
• Filter reminder: off, or about 1, 3, 6 or 9 months, 1 year, or 3 years, set at function 0500.
• Accuracy: the manual’s own statement is comfort control within 1°F of the level you set.
• Warranty: one year from the date of purchase, excluding the battery.
• Operating caution: to avoid possible compressor damage, do not run the air conditioner when the outside temperature drops below 50°F (10°C).

Frequently Asked Questions