york heat pump outside unit starts intermittently

[fatherdoug]

I have a York heat pump (23 years old) that has a problem starting the outside unit when the thermostat reaches setpoint. When the heating or cooling cycle reaches the upper or lower setpoint, the inside unit comes on, but there are times when the outside unit does not come on.

I can remove the cover and press the spring-loaded plunger on the contactor with a dry wooden stick, and the unit will come on and stay on. If I leave the thermostat setpoint at the same position, the outside unit will cycle as normal. If I change the setpoint or turn the unit off at night, then I must manually restart the outside unit again by pressing the plunger on the contactor. I did have an HVAC contractor look at the unit, but everything ran fine while he was here.

Is this just a contactor problem, or should I be looking elsewhere?

[lenny56769]

lucky lucky you over twenty year old unit . my self id let it rest and get a new unit a 12 seers or better and also get a break on taxs for puting it in and it will cut you electric bill in half for real . but if your going to be a die hard . i would have to say it can be many things from tee stat to boards to wires