I'm hoping someone here has someone they can recommend, or works in this field themselves and has any ideas. This afternoon we noticed that our house wasn't cooling, and the thermostat showed that it was 83 in the house while it was set on 74. That number continue to climb slowly. Air was blowing out of the vents, but was just barely cool if at all. I checked the attic and the unit up there was running without any issue. I then went outside and noticed that the blades on my outside unit were not running. That's pretty clearly the problem, but I'm at a loss as to what is going on. I saw some troubeshooting videos on youtube, and one suggested trying to manually move the blades if you can hear the compressor running. I did that, and while the first few times it didn't work, on one attempt it did start the unit up and it ran for about 10 minutes before dying again. When the blades are stopped like this, at times you'll hear a buzzing sound coming from the unit, like it's trying to run but can't. Other times it is silent. The other kicker to consider here is that today we had a swimming pool guy out to install a new pump. He mentioned that the wiring for our heater was all screwed up, and that he went ahead and fixed it for us. The pool heater is on the side of the house, just like the a/c unit in question. I don't know if the two are related, but it seems like quite a coincidence if not. So any ideas on things to try? People to call (I'm in the Clear Lake area) ? Does this likely sound like an electrical problem caused by the pool guy screwing around, or something else just happening to fail at around the same time? Thanks for any input. I'm not handy at all and welcome any input or assistance. We have a 3 year old and it's hot enough that we're going to go stay at my mom's place tonight. No A/C in Houston summer. Just when you think it can't get any worse, the ultimate kick in the nuts lands solidly. Thanks!
Usually I'd guess it could be a blown capacitor in the outside unit... Or ... the motor could be dead. But then you added the pool guy did something so, I'd call an AC guy. If it's a blown capacitor, it shouldn't cost a ton to replace, but I'd still call an AC guy to be sure. I had my AC die on me last year and my upstairs was over 100 (the thermostat couldn't read a 3rd digit). Downstairs over 90. It was more comfortable outside in August. lol. *EDIT* : If you can, find a reputable guy. Too many people are talked into spending $5000 to replace the entire unit when the fix could be as simple as replacing something like a $50-$150's worth of capacitor.
Bad capacitor? (not a joke, if I was kidding I'd tell you it was the confarculator) Any local AC company can fix it in 30 minutes in the morning.
Yeah, it might be the capacitor. Does your AC have a flux capacitor or the older variety, solid-state capacitor?
If the fan blades don't spin freely when you move them then it's likely the fan motor. Had that happen to me once and the a/c guy wired the new motor backwards, which made the blades spin the wrong way sucking air in instead of blowing it out. The compressor would run then auto shut off due to over heating, and I was back at square one. So def get someone who knows what they're doing.
Could be 1: Bad Capacitor 2: Bad Motor 3: Bad Contact Switch Use a long flat head screw driver and push the blades quickly (Be careful) and see if that will jump start the fan. I have replaced my Capacitors and Fan several time and easy to do. Just look online on how to do this but as always be careful around electricity.
Do you know how the wiring to the heater for the pool and the AC are wired? you could try simple reset on the breaker etc (even at the power disconnect box by the A/C) just to see if you get a few mins run time again on the fan (or even see if there's a way to disable pool heater and then try), I mean typically I would think separate but... I've seen some crazy stuff. Anyway unless you know what you're doing have to be careful with those caps or messing around with wiring beyond disconnect/main breaker for AC stuff. The good news is if the compressor sounds like it's running it should be a simple fix like a cap etc or even fan motor (as mentioned above by Buck and co). Don't Have the HVAC guy fool you on this ****, Even with a ****ed compressor/no freon/frozen etc the fan will still run. So... This sounds like a pretty easy fix... don't risk screwing around if you're really not handy (like you mentioned). Hah, if I was in Houston still could probably do it for you. I fix caps all the time (side hobby), but man.. caps/power on AC units are a bit bigger vs simple caps on a circuit board, especially if you don't know what you're doing , definitely not worth messing around unless you educate yourself.. Now If you're comfortable with a volt meter this could be a $15 fix vs... $150+ from HVAC dude ripping you off. And even if you're not comfortable with cutting power/fuse etc and discharging caps and Then using multimeter (and then ultimately replacing the cap(s)) ... It's still a good idea to get an idea of the process. Here's a really nice guide explaining this as well as troubleshooting the problem. https://dengarden.com/appliances/How-to-Change-an-Air-Conditioning-Capacitor I read over some of it, but always good to check other sources too (but this seemed pretty through on power cutting/discharging cap to prepare test etc). Anyway even if you don't do the ~$15 fix yourself, I highly recommend looking this over so you understand the process, the humming (as you mentioned above) is a pretty good indicator of cap/motor (even switch as mentioned) etc (unless pool dude really screwed something). This way you don't get robbed for 5k, those HVAC guys (not all) really love to take advantage of the people not in the know. I've always done my own fixes on just about everything or at least know the process (if it's worth my time/money etc), I mean some of these guys get a bad rep and then **** it over for the good guys who do reputable work. So just do the research Definitely let us know what it is, and in the meantime (if you haven't already), turn the A/C off.
Lol, this is exactly why I'll just do my own work... With all of the joke labor and misdiagnosis/****ty work done on cars/home repair/ac/computers/circuit boards/phones you name it... I'll just do it myself. I normally get new tools added to my collection (if I don't already have them), learn a new skill, and still come out way ahead on money. Obviously I know that's not for everyone but... If you're mechanical (even somewhat) and grew up with some of this stuff (doing the work isn't hard), even if you're new to it. My most recent project was redoing the cluster panel board on a truck ($30 fix for speedometer/odometer that failed), vs $850 from shops/dealership. I also just fixed subwoofer amp for 55 cents and less than an hour of work (shot cap)... Freaking home theater sub was $400 and I couldn't find my original receipt for warranty. The company wanted $300 for a new board, Lol, I was like... "I'll just buy a new sub then". Of course I couldn't resist and just fixed it myself, the damn thing was barely 2 years old... Sorry for tangent, I just know exactly what you mean on ****ty work (especially for guys in the field that should know better).
A bad capacitor is likely. Can you take a picture of the control box of the outside unit and post it. If you're lucky, it may be visually obvious that the capacitor had blown. Make sure to cut off the power before you touch anything. I would also avoid touching the leads of the capacitor. The capacitor should self-discharge in a few seconds after you cut power, but I would short out the capacitor with a metal screwdriver to test it just in case. Wear eye protection too. Regardless of what was wrong, I would take a note of the capacitor make and model as well as it's specs. Also get the info off of the contactor switch (usually a black rectangular box with 6ish wires coming off of it. Then go buy identical spec capacitor and a contactor from Grainger or Johnstone Supply in your local store. If you can get same make and model that'd be even better. With the same exact make and model, you won't have to modify any of the mounting brackets to make them fit. Buy them tomorrow because a lot of the stores won't be open on the weekends and you don't want to be without AC for a whole weekend. Even if those two things are not your problem, it's not a bad thing to have an extra capacitor on hand and change out the contactor as preventative maintenance.
As others said, its likely a bad capacitor. You are describing the most common symptoms. You can save yourself the time and money and go buy one yourself. Typically they are $5.00 at a local electric store.
If you can't figure it out yourself, my dad is an A/C guy, so I can put you in touch. But this should be easy to fix. Sounds like a fan capacitor to me.
Yep same thing happened to me last year...capacitor. Does the old capacitor look like it has slight bulge? You should see a little something, but sometimes they aren't very noticeable. Cost about $20 bucks for a new one...just watch a you tube video on replacing it and you should be good. Remember when you install it, it will take a few minutes to charge before it actually kicks on...just install, turn on the A/C and wait a bit, it'll kick on eventually. It happened at night for us and an A/C guy would come out for $300...no thanks, buddy.
Pretty much two things in my opinion. Either, your capcitor blew out or your fan motor is crapping out. Since it runs at times then I suspect the fan motor is ok.
not about the a/c...but I'd consider next time taking pictures before any wiring work is done...and then after...just so there's a record of what changed. You don't want to pay for someone doing nothing or doing a worse job.
AC guy here now. Thought it was capacitor as he replaced and the unit started, but he said the fan motor sounds bad and don't be surprised if it goes out soon. Within a minute, it shut off again. He now says it is the motor and is replacing it. He seems sure, but my only concern is people saying the blades wouldn't turn at all even manually if the motor was bad, and that's not the case. Anyways I hope that's it as it is hot as hell in here. Will update again when he's done.
It would have been nice if he'd owned a microfarad meter to test the cap first. But, oh well, they are cheap so might as well give it try. Also, just because the blades are not noticeably locked up the motor could still be failing. Hope you got fixed up and didn't have to break the bank.
