Air Conditioning - Older C/A Unit, has power but no movement

Ok, so we just bought our first house. The woman who owned it before us never used the a/c (four years). I'm assuming that the freon should be replaced regardless, but it's hard to tell as the unit doesn't seem to operate at all.

The blower on the furnace (split unit) works fine, and if I turn the therm. down it goes until I turn it back up. The electric is working fine, breakers are all on, and when when I pull the metal guard panel off the front of the outside unit, I can hear the electrical humming, but there's no temp change in the tubing, the casing, or any movement from the fan.

I should point out that the lack of temp change is not confirmed, as I haven't let it run any longer than a few minutes (read: 3 or 4) because I don't know much about central units and didn't want to screw anything up.

The unit looks very clean, and very new considering she says four years without being run, and it has no cover. I will take it apart tonight, hose it out and poke around, but for the most part I'm hesitant to just start taking pieces off of it willy-nilly until I at least have some direction.

Any and all comments would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!

Kim

It would be worth it to have the system checked by a pro.That said, from what you describe I'd say you have no high voltage to the outdoor unit or your run cap. is bad. You need to check the charge,oil all motors, check for voltage/amp draw etc.This unit may even need a hard start kit for not having run for so long. May be a good idea to change out the charge and put in a new filter/dryer. Leak check also. A lot to do for diy but try to bring the unit up to as close as a new install as best as you can.

Unless a leak is confirmed, I certainly would not change the refrigerant & then only if the system is found to be empty or nearly so. There should be a box near the unit where the wires connect. Open the cover & look for breakers. Inside the box may be just a pull out disconnect. If that is what you find, pull it out. If it comes out very easily, rotate it 180º & plug it back in. It should take some pressure to put it back in.

You really should not have any problems with the unit unless it has a refrigerant leak 4 years without being run is not a problem. I would be a bit suspicious of the reason that it was not used for four years most likely it had some preexisting conditions. I would not waste to much time poking around, unless you have some electrical knowledge and can check the contactor/capacitor and secondary voltages.