Home AC out..what can I do

RenegadeT

RenegadeT

no shirt,no shoes,no dice
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Mar 24, 2005
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Stokesdale-Greensboro
I have 2 ac units in the house, one for upstairs, one for downstairs. The upstairs is super hot, obviously something is wrong. The blower fan is running, hot air coming out. I checked the units outside, fan is blowing, but ambient air temp air is coming off. The unit for the properly functioning downstairs is blowing hot air. The refrigerant lines are hot on the malfunctioning unit. I cut the power, then popped the electrical panel off...everything looks good, but all I really know to look for is to make sire the caps aren't ballooned out. I decided to stop digging, the only thing I know to do is remove the fan motor and check the compressor...I'm guessing either compressor or freon leak, and either way, the ac man's gonna have to come. Any more advice?
 
....stay downstairs till it's fixed? ;) sorry man I'm ac illiterate, why does this kinda stuff always seem to happen on a weekend when you have to pay more for a repairman? I'd open all the windows upstairs and let the heat out in the evening if bedrooms are upstairs, then close them and lower the downstairs thermostat in the daytime until you can get it fixed.
 
Thanks captian obvious :flipoff2:
Luckily the master bedroom is downstairs, kids rooms are upstairs. Kids sleep in the basement tonight and tomorrow. Not gonna call ac til tomorrow, try and get a Monday appt.
 
Sounds like the problem I had. Mine was a bad compressor and was over $500 just for parts. I got lucky and didn't have to pay for labor or r22 BC my stepdad did the work. But it may just be the capacitor. Try and use the capacitor from the good unit on the one not working and see if the compressor kicks on. If it does its a lot cheaper to fix and a lot easier. That will save you some money for sure. Good luck




Just be sure the capacitor is grounded before touching it. They hold a lot of power.
 
Call my buddy daniel. He has fixed mine, my moms and my father in laws before. Super cheap and cool guy. Will probably Come fix it Sunday if he has time. 336-655-8641 tell him matt mitchell gave you his number.
 
LOL, suck it up, mine is dead, has been since early May, I will not repair a 17yo unit after having spent $400 each year for the the last three years

Wife start new job Monday, we'll see what happens from there, box fans in 4 windows, 2 in, 2 out, ceiling fans on. yep, it's warm but not unbearable, if it gets that bad, we'll move out to the camper to sleep.
 
The loss of cooling was sudden, not gradual, I guess I'm leaning more towards compressor over a leak. We've had leaks before, it just sort of hits you that it's been getting hotter and hotter over the past few days.

Good idea on switching caps. I saw a big one and small one, dunno why there's 2 caps. With my luck, they're good...until I go swapping them around and blow one or zap myself.

Thanks for the referral, but I think I'll go with the same co. That's been working on it for years. The house is 8 years old, we went around and around with the original hvac installer, it was never right until we got a local company to look it over. Now they've been here about every year...maybe it is time for someone new :handed:
 
there should be a contactor in there as well make sure thats working too. you should be able to push the contacts together. I cant recall if it starts the fan or the compressor or both.
 
Sometimes you have a "start cap" and a "run cap"
Frequently a repair,an will replace them both with a single larger one though.

I wouldn't switch the caps and here is why. A bad component can take out a cap (and vice versa) so swapping a cap may only serve to blow a good one.

Btw those are $20 on the top end don't pay an head contractor 100+ for a cap.

The fact that the blower fan is running and not pushing hot air out tells you that the supercooling process isn't happening. So yeah I'd guess it's either low refrigerant or a compressor issue. Btw low refrigerant can be sudden onset also. A copper tube can rub , create a hole and spew suddenly.
 
Call Donnie Robertson JR.......336-573-3747 Robertson Air Services Inc.
He just helped me out with a fridge problem. Great guy, and fairly local....
 
Ron said:
Sometimes you have a "start cap" and a "run cap"
Frequently a repair,an will replace them both with a single larger one though.

I wouldn't switch the caps and here is why. A bad component can take out a cap (and vice versa) so swapping a cap may only serve to blow a good one.

Btw those are $20 on the top end don't pay an head contractor 100+ for a cap.

The fact that the blower fan is running and not pushing hot air out tells you that the supercooling process isn't happening. So yeah I'd guess it's either low refrigerant or a compressor issue. Btw low refrigerant can be sudden onset also. A copper tube can rub , create a hole and spew suddenly.
Click to expand...

OK, text from wife says its a bad cap., no more info. If I feel ambitious to get my own cap and replace it myself, where would I get one? In all likelihood, considering we are already paying a service call fee, we'll probably end up letting them replace the cap. while they're there. I did text her not to pay $100 for a $20 capacitor, FWIW.
 
In Charlotte I walk into Trane and BS the counter guys a bit.

Not sure up there but Im sure you have an A/C supply store.
All you need is the muf (micro farrah) rating and the plug configuration.

Make him lave the old bad cap.
Go buy a spare. Put it away for next time if you buy from him. I have 2 units with 2 caps each.
I have 4 spares (yes all 4 are fawking different) in my garage.
 
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Looks like Johnstone Supply and Raymond Supply may be your 2 closest.
 
Contact Curtis_H on the board. He's come to my place a couple of times to help me. He knows his stuff, trust worthy and rates are good. not to mention you're using/helping someone in the NC4x4 circle.
 
CC Dickson is the supply house around my area. They are pretty big. Usually wont sell to general public, but if you walk in with cash, they will run it on a contractor's account.
 
find an appliance parts store. there is one in my home town that has the parts the contractors use for less $ and usually have it in stock. I've found going to the main stream HVAC supply houses tends to be more frustrating than its really worth (ihrie supply, Johnston supply, ferguson, re Michel, etc.)
 
I'm guessing you've already foudn a solution, but I remember there is a place in downtown Winston... Reed's? Reedy's? Something like that... that sells to teh public. I bough ta control board there once for 1/4 what the HVAC company wanted.
 
Service call cost reasonable... $87 cap? Not.

but getting A/C fixed on a hot day - priceless!
 
OnlyOneDR said:
Looks like it is that time of year. The cap crapped out on mine yesterday...
Click to expand...

New cap for me was $26 with taxes. Found a place called D&L Parts Company, they have locations in NC and SC: http://www.dlpartsco.com/locations

I just put the new cap in a few minutes ago. Compressor kicked on right away. House was already so hot today that it is going to take a while to cool everything back down.
 
This reminds me, I've ben meaning to buy an extra cap and just keep it right there in the case so it's ready to go...
 
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