Any hvac wizards here?

Yeti831
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Finally got warm enough to run the AC and the fan for the outside until isn’t spinning but the ac does kick on (just no air through the radiators to keep it cool).

Belt didn’t slip off, no noise coming from it, no popped breakers, the pair of fuses are still good.

Any ideas where to start looking?

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YLLIBLLIH
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4/30/2023 8:08pm

Was it heating ok or running the aux heat making you think it heated ok while ur bill went out roof. 
 

low gas pressure be a start.  Borrow a buddies car gauges. Start capacitor is another thing that takes a shit. 
 

how old is it . That old Freon is like 100 bucks pound and new shit won’t go thru the capillaries of the coil . 

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YLLIBLLIH
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4/30/2023 8:11pm

Oh , if ur lucky there is a fused power box near the outdoor unit. Least that’s way we do it here. A blow fuse would be lucky. Buy a lotto ticket lucky

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dkurtd
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4/30/2023 8:54pm

I'm guessing a start capacitor.

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Yeti831
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4/30/2023 9:48pm
dkurtd wrote:

I'm guessing a start capacitor.

Does that usually make noise? Unit was silent but the fuses aren’t blown.

 

I guess see if it’s getting power then go from there 

The Shop

Yeti831
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4/30/2023 10:39pm
YLLIBLLIH wrote:
Was it heating ok or running the aux heat making you think it heated ok while ur bill went out roof.    low gas pressure be...

Was it heating ok or running the aux heat making you think it heated ok while ur bill went out roof. 
 

low gas pressure be a start.  Borrow a buddies car gauges. Start capacitor is another thing that takes a shit. 
 

how old is it . That old Freon is like 100 bucks pound and new shit won’t go thru the capillaries of the coil . 

Nope heater was fine all winter 🤷‍♂️

YLLIBLLIH
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4/30/2023 10:44pm
YLLIBLLIH wrote:
Was it heating ok or running the aux heat making you think it heated ok while ur bill went out roof.    low gas pressure be...

Was it heating ok or running the aux heat making you think it heated ok while ur bill went out roof. 
 

low gas pressure be a start.  Borrow a buddies car gauges. Start capacitor is another thing that takes a shit. 
 

how old is it . That old Freon is like 100 bucks pound and new shit won’t go thru the capillaries of the coil . 

Yeti831 wrote:

Nope heater was fine all winter 🤷‍♂️

So if you put it on heat and set temp way up the outside unit still won’t run?

YLLIBLLIH
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4/30/2023 10:48pm

Reason is there is a reverse unit out there , I had one fail , wouldn’t go to heat and no outside unit. But if I put it on cool it would. The reverse unit was kicking it out as a fail safe or whatever. 
the gas had to be pulled out and new unit put in 

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DownSouth
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5/1/2023 11:40am
dkurtd wrote:

I'm guessing a start capacitor.

Yup. If the compressor is running but the fan does not start the capacitor is the first thing to check.

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DownSouth
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5/1/2023 11:48am
dkurtd wrote:

I'm guessing a start capacitor.

Yeti831 wrote:

Does that usually make noise? Unit was silent but the fuses aren’t blown.

 

I guess see if it’s getting power then go from there 

That capacitor does not make any noise. 

Sometimes you can visibly see that the capacitor cannister looks deformed from internal pressure indicating it has failed but that is not always the case. 

Plenty of YouTube vids to show how to check a capacitor with a multimeter just be careful as they store electrical charge and can give you quite a jolt.

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avidchimp
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5/1/2023 3:50pm
dkurtd wrote:

I'm guessing a start capacitor.

Yeti831 wrote:

Does that usually make noise? Unit was silent but the fuses aren’t blown.

 

I guess see if it’s getting power then go from there 

DownSouth wrote:
That capacitor does not make any noise.  Sometimes you can visibly see that the capacitor cannister looks deformed from internal pressure indicating it has failed but...

That capacitor does not make any noise. 

Sometimes you can visibly see that the capacitor cannister looks deformed from internal pressure indicating it has failed but that is not always the case. 

Plenty of YouTube vids to show how to check a capacitor with a multimeter just be careful as they store electrical charge and can give you quite a jolt.

Definitely the capacitor. Ours went out late last summer and unit would run but the fan wouldn't.

SEEMEFIRST
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5/1/2023 5:25pm
dkurtd wrote:

I'm guessing a start capacitor.

Yeti831 wrote:

Does that usually make noise? Unit was silent but the fuses aren’t blown.

 

I guess see if it’s getting power then go from there 

DownSouth wrote:
That capacitor does not make any noise.  Sometimes you can visibly see that the capacitor cannister looks deformed from internal pressure indicating it has failed but...

That capacitor does not make any noise. 

Sometimes you can visibly see that the capacitor cannister looks deformed from internal pressure indicating it has failed but that is not always the case. 

Plenty of YouTube vids to show how to check a capacitor with a multimeter just be careful as they store electrical charge and can give you quite a jolt.

Never catch anything that an electrician tosses you.

Just trust me.

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HD1200
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5/1/2023 5:27pm
It's probably the capacitor.
HD1200
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5/1/2023 5:55pm
Dirtydeeds wrote:
 

IMG 6793

 

That is true but they don't always expand when they are bad. Some you will have to take a meter to and see if it's alive
SEEMEFIRST
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5/1/2023 6:00pm

And they don't need to be an exact replica.

Just make sure the input and output are the same.

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plowboy
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5/2/2023 9:16am

This is the stuff I stick in my memory...for when it happens to meBlush

Trouble is...memory is pretty near full.

Yeti831
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5/2/2023 3:47pm
Dirtydeeds wrote:
 

IMG 6793

 

Just checked again and sure enough, she’s fat. Waiting on parts. Not sure if that’s all that’s bad but it’s definitely gone.

You guys fucking rock 🤘

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Yeti831
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5/2/2023 3:48pm
Dirtydeeds wrote:
 

IMG 6793

 

HD1200 wrote:
That is true but they don't always expand when they are bad. Some you will have to take a meter to and see if it's alive

Mine legit looks like a propane bottle right now 😂

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SEEMEFIRST
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5/2/2023 6:03pm

First Thang to check. 

Cheap fix, hope that's it.

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Timo
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5/11/2023 8:48pm

Your condenser fan has a belt? How old is your unit?

Yeti831
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5/12/2023 8:38pm
Timo wrote:

Your condenser fan has a belt? How old is your unit?

No, fan is electric. Just nothing was running outside so coolant wasn’t circulating. 
 

But long story short, I got tired of waiting for a repair service so took everything apart. Found a wasp nest, cleaned it out, cleaned the leads on the connections and it fired right up.

Replaced the capacitor just for the sake of doing so.

SEEMEFIRST
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5/13/2023 12:41am Edited Date/Time 5/13/2023 12:43am
Timo wrote:

Your condenser fan has a belt? How old is your unit?

Yeti831 wrote:
No, fan is electric. Just nothing was running outside so coolant wasn’t circulating.    But long story short, I got tired of waiting for a repair...

No, fan is electric. Just nothing was running outside so coolant wasn’t circulating. 
 

But long story short, I got tired of waiting for a repair service so took everything apart. Found a wasp nest, cleaned it out, cleaned the leads on the connections and it fired right up.

Replaced the capacitor just for the sake of doing so.

Well done, lad.

Just fix the broken shit, don't throw the baby out with the bath water. 

SEEMEFIRST
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5/13/2023 12:50am

Don't let garage door people fuck you either. 

Scam ass business I found myself in after a layoff.

If you are not mechanical you may need intervention,  but a lot of the problems are simple. 

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Yeti831
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5/13/2023 1:39pm
SEEMEFIRST wrote:
Don't let garage door people fuck you either.  Scam ass business I found myself in after a layoff. If you are not mechanical you may need...

Don't let garage door people fuck you either. 

Scam ass business I found myself in after a layoff.

If you are not mechanical you may need intervention,  but a lot of the problems are simple. 

No problems with mine, i clean and coat the chain in axle grease once a year 🤷‍♂️

I agree but same can be said for any repair service. It’s always cheaper to do it yourself.

Basically if it doesn’t require expensive one off tools or a second pair of hands, I just do shit myself. 

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