Posted: 7/17/2012 2:37:31 PM EDT
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Hi All,
Been without AC for a week now 
The unit is an older style (15-20 years) Carrier blower hooked into an older style central air system. The Blower (compressor unit) stopped working. Guy comes and finds a blown fuse. It has 2- 30amp fuses up stream from the unit (located on the outside of the house). He replaced it and it worked for about 20 minutes and then blew. He came back today and replaced the fuse and the capacitor. It started right up with the new capacitor and ran for another 20 minutes then blew. The fan stopped and the coolant line warmed up so I shut down the system. He will be back tomorrow. Any ideas why it keeps tripping? It's run fine for over a year until now (We moved in last year). Thanks, -Coop |
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Quoted:
Hi All, Been without AC for a week now
The unit is an older style (15-20 years) Carrier blower hooked into an older style central air system. The Blower (compressor unit) stopped working. Guy comes and finds a blown fuse. It has 2- 30amp fuses up stream from the unit (located on the outside of the house). He replaced it and it worked for about 20 minutes and then blew. He came back today and replaced the fuse and the capacitor. It started right up with the new capacitor and ran for another 20 minutes then blew. The fan stopped and the coolant line warmed up so I shut down the system. He will be back tomorrow. Any ideas why it keeps tripping? It's run fine for over a year until now (We moved in last year). Thanks, -Coop Short in compressor winding. |
| This should be easy for a tech to check if it is the comp. windings. It has a short somewhere pobably and I wouldnt let the guy go till he proves it is ok, I mean crap if he cant wait 30 minutes to see if his diagnoses is correct then I wouldnt want him back at my house. ymmv |
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So, it's Sunday. Two weeks without AC. Wednesday he came back, changed the fuse and found the capacitor wire had melted. Said it was too light of a gauge and replaced it with a heavier wire. Worked fine for 20 minutes then out again. Called him back and he said it's not the unit, that there is something wrong with the house wiring and we need to call an electrician. So, he tried for three days with no luck.
Called the home warranty company and they said they can't do anything until they receive his report. Friday night after harassing them I finally get an answer that they are sending an electrician out Monday (Tomorrow). However, he never contacted me to set up a time. This warranty company sucks to say the least. I wa sa bit of a bitch Friday night when I called and told the lady it was 100 degrees here for two weeks and my wife is 6 months pregnant and neither of us has slept since. Her ghetto ass replied "Well, it's 102 degrees here." Really. Anyway, I still think it's the unit since nothing else in the house is having any problems and the unit is near two decades old. I'll update tomorrow. Wish I was an electrician. -Coop |
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My advice to you as a long time HVAC tech...
Quit dealing with a home warranty company and hire a real HVAC company to solve your issues. A home warranty company pays sub contractors around 1/2 of what a legit contractor can charge, you get what you pay for. You want your shit fixed? You get what you pay for. PS- Ask any tradesmen what they think about home warranty companies... Everyone of them is a fucking joke built to take your money. |
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Quoted:
My advice to you as a long time HVAC tech... Quit dealing with a home warranty company and hire a real HVAC company to solve your issues. A home warranty company pays sub contractors around 1/2 of what a legit contractor can charge, you get what you pay for. You want your shit fixed? You get what you pay for. PS- Ask any tradesmen what they think about home warranty companies... Everyone of them is a fucking joke built to take your money. I agree they are not worth the crap they contract is printed on. Its just a way for some fancy company to get between you and your hard earned money. Its also not worth trying to fix a 20 year old unit. And they will do just about anything to not have to replace the unit. They will just nickle and dime you to death. Then add in the $50 or $100 per visit service "deductible" you pay for some guy who works for the same company who is trying to get between you and your money. One thing you could do is go out to Walmart or any other big box store and get a window unit for the bedroom at night. In my first home the central AC went out and I did not have the money at the time to get it fixed, its a temporary thing but it beats having your pregnant wife miserable. That summer basically lived in my bedroom but it beat living in the summer heat with no AC. |
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So, we bought a portable unit a couple of days ago. A little small but helps quite a bit. Between it and a small (25pint) Soleus dehumidifier, we are pulling about 7 gallons of water a day...
So, the electrician came out yesterday and said everything if fine. He said the HVAC guy didn't know what he was doing. He said the capacitor had a hole burned through it. So now we have an order in for another HVAC guy to come out (different company) but have yet to set up an appointment. We have already paid the year in full, so we are stuck with them til January. We will have to decide what to do then. -Coop |
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Quoted:
PS- Ask any tradesmen what they think about home warranty companies... Everyone of them is a fucking joke built to take your money. Definitely. I had AHS for ONE YEAR only b/c it came with the house. Had to use them twice, and buddy it was the worst customer experience I've EVER had. All of them are like that. I never renewed that contract and take the fee's I normally would send them and throw them into an emergency fund. You are MUCH better off getting rid of home warranty and just socking money away. If not for financial reasons just for your sanity. Home warranty companies will make you want to kill someone or yourself. |
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Quoted:
So, we bought a portable unit a couple of days ago. A little small but helps quite a bit. Between it and a small (25pint) Soleus dehumidifier, we are pulling about 7 gallons of water a day... So, the electrician came out yesterday and said everything if fine. He said the HVAC guy didn't know what he was doing. He said the capacitor had a hole burned through it. So now we have an order in for another HVAC guy to come out (different company) but have yet to set up an appointment. We have already paid the year in full, so we are stuck with them til January. We will have to decide what to do then. -Coop That capacitor, my company would have billed you $150 for total and you would have been up and running within an hour. Checking a capacitor is HVAC 101, the tech your home warranty company sent out is a complete idiot, again, you get what they pay for. |
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Quoted:
So, we bought a portable unit a couple of days ago. A little small but helps quite a bit. Between it and a small (25pint) Soleus dehumidifier, we are pulling about 7 gallons of water a day... So, the electrician came out yesterday and said everything if fine. He said the HVAC guy didn't know what he was doing. He said the capacitor had a hole burned through it. So now we have an order in for another HVAC guy to come out (different company) but have yet to set up an appointment. We have already paid the year in full, so we are stuck with them til January. We will have to decide what to do then. -Coop If the dehumidifier has the option to put a small hose into a drain do it, it sure beats dumping the small bucket every few hours. |
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What is the status with this? Sorry to hear about all your troubles. If it is starting up and running I tend to think it isn't a compressor. You could have something as simple as a wire slightly grounded. The stories about this fool who came out and kept replacing fuses then saying the house wiring was faulty made me chuckle. Good luck.
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It doesn't run. The last time it blew (last Wednesday) I tried to spin the fan blades with a dowel, but it wouldn't spin. I first thought that the fan seized, thereby blowing a fuse. Looking down into the unit it looks like an oily film over everything and a slightly sweet smell. Anyway, it's DOA.
Another HVAC guy is coming in the morning.. Hopefully we'll get moving again. |