Home Air Conditioning Guru's

[TylerDurden]

In the past few yours I have noticed that the temp in the house is not as cool as it should be, AC has probably been running for hours now...the air comming out of the vents does not feel "conditioned" and the air blowing up from the condenser outside is not warm at all.....its ambient....i did just change the filter, it was pretty bad, but i highly doubt it would cause the air to go warm....in a matter of hours...

please help!!!!! its damn hot in our house...

 

[Jay Wicks]

Not a Guru, but a couple of things you might check, go outside and check to see if the compressor is running, if not there should be a red reset button on it somewhere, most are towards the bottom of the unit. If that looks good go inside and check to see if the evaporator is iced up, this can happen if your drain is backed up or your filter has been very restricted. You can access this usually through an inspection panel on the front of the air handler. If it's frozen up, turn everything off for a couple of hours, let it thaw, be sure to re-install the inspection cover before turning everything back on. Good luck.

 

[TylerDurden]

I went outside to look for a reset switch didnt find anything...there is a breaker box on the wall that controls the outside fan...its fine...there is a panel with hex bolts i could undo and maybe see if there is a reset switch


should i hear the compressor separate from the fan outside?
also, the ground around the condenser isnt wet like it usually is, telling me the drain isnt draining any water....

 

[Blown&Injected]

Turn off AC. A few minute later, turn the AC on - crank the temp to be sure it ishould be on. You should hear the fan running inside, outside the compressor should be running. If it is not, check the breakers.

If all the stuff is running the tubes comming out of the compressor should be sweating - this is probably the water you usually see on the ground.

If the lines are not sweating try to release some gas by pressing the schrader valve in the lines near the compressor. May have a leak, anything look rusty in there?

 

[TylerDurden]

just so we are on the same page, should i hear the compressor AND fan running....2 separate sounds OUTSIDE?

i am about to take a panel off of the outside unit to begin looking for a compressor reset switch and a schrader...

no rust that i can tell...its dark outside

 

[turbo]

Every couple of years my capacitor blows. It's about the size of our fuel pumps and is usually aluminum or a silver color. About $35.00. It's near all of the wires that go to the compressor. Once it's replaced the compressor will kick on and off and run properly. It could be the problem. HTH

 

[TylerDurden]

i did find the capacitor, it wasnt alum anymore...or whatever, it was a nice shade of surface rust colored

looks like i am going to have to call the repair people...hoping its still under warantee but doubt it, if it is 35 bucks, ill do the damn thing myself...if thats the prob....

 

[David65]

maybe you need some of these new no blow fuses: http://hvac-talk.com/vbb/showthread.php?threadid=64424 (4th entry)

David

 

[turbosam6]

First off, DO NOT listen to what any of these guys just said, except what the guy said about the capacitor. The reason you have no water is because the unit is not cooling, so therefor its not condensing. My bet is the compressor outside is not running. The fan and the compressor outside should be running, the fan is usually quieter. Either you lost a capacitor, or the compressor overheated and shut off on the thermal cutout. I would shut the unit off for about 2 hours, then turn it on. Go right outside and listen to it. If the cap. is bad, the compressor may try to start every few seconds, but will just hum and stop. Either way you should probably call a pro.

BTW, I own a heating and air company, have about 13 years exp.

 

[CHARGED]

When running you should hear the compressor running over the fan noise. If it is running the bigger copper tube should be cold, if not you could have a leak, no freon.
If its not running it could also be from a leak and the low pressure switch is keeping the compressor from running or it could be the capacitor like Turbo said or your compressor died

There should be schrader valves on the lines, push one in to see if you have freon(pressure) in the lines. You could also take the capacitor to a local AC place and get a new one and try that.

 

[TylerDurden]

thanks guys for the info, i did call the orig installer but of course they do not have me on file (builder's contractor) and because of IVAN they are not accepting new customers at this time...

I think I may try the capasitor thing first...as i think it has been established that the compressor IS NOT running....i still was not able to find a shrader, unless its one of the two devices that have what looks like a cap over a schrader (cant seem to get the cap off) along with a knob that can be turned (it says "turn 1/12th" on it. (though i cant seem to turn that either) there are two lines in and out of the compressor with these markings.

but since i am probably over my head on this, i should probably just call a pro...good thing a cold front moved thru today...hopefully the humidity will go down as well.

thanks guys

 

[Quick6'n'-K.C.]

Here in KC we have Graingers that most likely would have it in stock.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/start.shtml

they also sell a audible capacitor tester, they might be able to tell you if your cap is good or bad-


HTH
BW

 

[Blown&Injected]

<SNIP>

Originally posted by turbosam6
First off, DO NOT listen to what any of these guys just said, except what the guy said about the capacitor..

BTW, I own a heating and air company, have about 13 years exp.

Well then you should know what the very first look should be.

Yes there is a good chance that it is a blown cap, but why replace the cap if the system lost its charge - don't need a set a gauges to tell if it is empty or very low.

You should hear the fan and another machine like sound - the compressor.

 

[turbosam6]

I personally do know where to look first, but I'm not there, so I'm helping as best I can. Its also very rare for a unit to just "lose charge". It can happen, but if it was working fine and then just stopped, its rarely charge related. Pushing the schrader valve in would just tell you theres refrigerant in it, but not how much.

If I was called out on this call, first thing I would do after speaking with the homeowner would be to go out and listen to the unit, and I would be able to tell if the comp. was running or not. Its hard to describe over the computer though. If the filter clogged, or the unit froze up, he would have a severe reduction in airflow he would notice, not to mention water in various places, which he does not have.

I hope your compressor didn't take a crap, thats expensive.

 

[TylerDurden]

i keep hearing the term "compressor froze up" does that mean it got cold, or locked up? or either? and what can cause each?
also, from the advise of a friend of a friend in the biz locally, he told me to push the contact and see what happens....when i did that, the outside fan stopped and i could hear electricity trying to go somewhere, but i never heard the comp try to turn on....

as far as freon, or water lines, freezing up.....i have no idea if that happened.....inside the house there isnt anything wet......outside the house there was NOT the normal puddle around the unit like thier usually is, but the entire area was wet due to condensation in the air (fog)

 

[Blown&Injected]

Just saying that one should check the fuse before buying a new radio - there are a few basic things to look for before getting a new cap.

Just like an ignition coil for our car, a quick, easy, and free Ohm check across the poles can tell if it maybe bad. Some Ohm out OK but are still bad --- but if there is weak pressure or no pressure in the system then there ya go. It may be low but still have some pressure but I have seen to many units that have had a meter reader or landscaper or... step on a line or move something and the system looses its charge. I asked about rust because sometimes an older unit has rust enough that the system will loose enough charge to stop - sounds like this unit is fairly new but there are many reasons for a unit to loose its charge.



The unit outside can freeze if the filter and or the coil on the inside unit is blocked. I mean freeze like it will start as frost, then if left unchecked, go to a solid block of ice.

 

[The Blob]

Originally posted by TylerDurden
i keep hearing the term "compressor froze up" does that mean it got cold, or locked up? or either? and what can cause each?

You are low on freon. I don't know exactly why it causes it to freeze up, but it does.

I'm not an A/C guy... just someone who has been there myself... waking up in the middle of the night to a warm house and thinking m****r f****r!

It's always been a low freon problem.

 

[turbosam6]

The outside unit won't freeze, the low side refrigerant line might, but the indoor coil is the one that will freeze. Anyone wanna bet its NOT the charge? You don't "ohm" a capacitor, you measure its microfarads. Just call a professional, unless its the compressor, its not going to be bad. Better yet, if you have a buddy in the biz, have him check it out, and fix it on the side for you.

 

[TylerDurden]

well the problem with the buddy in the biz is he is 70 miles away...i am just going to have to live with it until monday i assume....at the soonest....like i said before lucky for us the temp dropped 10 degrees today with a cold front...high of 60 something tomorrow, so i would have turned the AC off anyway

 

[Blown&Injected]

Originally posted by turbosam6
The outside unit won't freeze, the low side refrigerant line might, but the indoor coil is the one that will freeze. Anyone wanna bet its NOT the charge? You don't "ohm" a capacitor, you measure its microfarads. Just call a professional, unless its the compressor, its not going to be bad. Better yet, if you have a buddy in the biz, have him check it out, and fix it on the side for you.

I was making an analogy to testing a coil on our cars. It would make sense to Ohm a coil out before replacing it just like it would make sense to at least turn off the unit, check breakers, then look to see if the line is sweating, If it is, then we know the compressor is running and as mentioned, it is hard to describe the sounds the unit outside makes.

BTW, although it has not been confirmed that the unit is icing over - low freon can most definitely cause the unit to freeze up!