A/c just went out.

[Shaithis]

The inside is blowing just fine, but not cool. Went outside and found the unit turning on, but the fan doesn't turn and shuts off after 20 seconds of trying. Any ideas? :(

[jyro]

put a sprinkler on it after you disconnect the fan leads. If the fan turns ok with the power off but locks with power on, the bearings are shot

[ToRqUeTwIsTeR]

Mine was just out as well. I had a bad condensing fan motor. Fan would turn but not under power. Tripped a breaker and all.

[mikeb]

put a sprinkler on it after you disconnect the fan leads. If the fan turns ok with the power off but locks with power on, the bearings are shot

Bad capacitor on outside unit?

[Shaithis]

Mine was just out as well. I had a bad condensing fan motor. Fan would turn but not under power. Tripped a breaker and all.

Sounds like mine. :( Did you fix it yourself or call an a/c guy?

[Mustangman_2000]

Bad timing. It's supposed to be 104 tomorrow.

Last time that happened to me it was a bad fan motor. If you have a home owners warranty it is only a $55 copay for most programs like AHS regardless of the extent of the repair to the HVAC.

[jyro]

Bad capacitor on outside unit?
the condenser fan motor uses a capacitor, it's sometimes part of the compressor capacitor. if the capacitor has 3 terminals, one is the fan motor, one is the compressor and one is common to both.

[svt_god]

Bad capacitor on outside unit?


Mine went out Last Sunday night, monday am I opened the outside panel and the Capacitor was bloated and had a thin coat of oil on it... Went to the local wholesale electric parts and bought a new one for $12. Now the thing works like a champ... This is the 2nd time its happened in 2 years.

I would check there first its cheap and easy to fix

Good Luck

[Sgt Beavis]

ouch. Today is gonna really really suck for some people.

IMO you should run to Costco and buy a wall unit AC. You can return it after your regular AC is fixed.

[PUSHROD]

capacitor or fan motor. Hope for bad capacitor cheaper to fix.

[Shaithis]

Thanks to you all for the advice and tips. After i got back in from the lake today, i turned the a/c back on and went outside and gave the fan a little help to start up. It seems to be working ok. The fan does smell burnt so i'm thinking the cap is going out and got the winding hot in the fan. Guess i replace both tomorrow and see what happens from there.

[mean90]

mine went out earlier this week with the same problem everything was blowing inside and the outside unit was on but the fan wasn't turning. Called my home warrenty and they came out and found a bad DUAL CAP in the outside unit and cleaned out the coils and now it works better than i expected it to ever work.

[TexasDevilDog]

Dang, mine just did the same thing. I notice today that it was warm inside. I went outside to look at the compressor. It is running but the fan isn't turning. Murphy is just visiting everyone. :rolleyes: I set the water sprinkler on the unit for tonight and plan to call first thing in the morning.

[ToRqUeTwIsTeR]

<~~~I used Home Warranty. I am glad I extended that warranty and will continue for as long as they have me.

[mean90]

<~~~I used Home Warranty. I am glad I extended that warranty and will continue for as long as they have me.

That was the smartiest thing that i did when i just recently bought my house getting that warrenty.

[Shaithis]

It was a capacitor. A/c guy came out earlier this morning. $163 later and i don't have to jumpstart the fan. Woot!

[mean90]

Glad you got out halfway cheap.

[svt_god]

160 for a 12 dollar part. Crap I need to get in the ac biz

[mean90]

take in effect the service call price the slight mark up which i am serious about only like 1.0 mark up and the labor to install or 160 isn't bad.

[mwil]

IMO you should run to Costco and buy a wall unit AC. You can return it after your regular AC is fixed.


Now that's what I'm talkin' about!.... :D

[Progres1]

take in effect the service call price the slight mark up which i am serious about only like 1.0 mark up and the labor to install or 160 isn't bad..

160 is dirt cheap They treated you right.

John

[Shaithis]

.

160 is dirt cheap They treated you right.

John


Thats good to know. The service guy was pretty laid back and showed me how to check the cap and how to take the top off to clean the condensor. I thought the price was worth the schooling in itself.

[onegonad]

Dude,

Hope he showed you how to ground a cap first..... Grab a hold of one of them suckers wrong and you'll get a REAL education....for FREE!

For those out in the N Dallas, Garland, Mesquite area.. I found a place a few years ago called " Adam, the Answer Man" (Plano Rd / 635 roughly). Greatest folks on the planet. 95% of all parts are generic and if they don't have something for any appliance, then it can't be found. The instructions are free too!

I had to replace a condensor motor a year ago. The A/C guy quoted over $400 to put in new one for a Carrier/Bryant unit. Got it for around < $100 (Generic) and did it myself! Still humming itself away.

[busted90]

Bad capacitor on outside unit?

Yea replaced mine 2 weeks ago and works fine now, just replace the
part your self and save $$$.

[Chritaka]

I actually just had the same situation happen. I have a buddy that works in the AC biz and he walked me through checking the dual caps and motor. Caps were good, but the bearings in motor were shot.

He said they'd charge 325 to replace it or I could do it myself. He told me to call A-1 Electic Motor Service off Rosedale. I went in and they set me up with a new motor, wired it up to match my old one, swapped the fan on and gave me a new motor cap for it...all for $87. It was normally $106 for motor, but the guy doing the swap said if I just told them a company name I'd get a discount. :cool: Their # is 817-536-6145.

[Boosted20v]

I do alot of hvac work on the side and for going through a company you got off fairly cheap. I've seen alot less work go for two to three times that much so good job.