Air Conditioning - Outside Portion of AC System Fails To Start

Hello All,

The part of my central AC unit that resides outside the house does not turn on. It keeps tripping the dedicated circuit breaker (220 volt) at the panel that includes all house breakers.
Six months ago, (same problem) an AC tech replaced a (I believe he said) capacitor. I watched him do the work and I know the part. By visual inspection, this part appears to be OK.
Question: Using a voltmeter, how can I tell if this capacitor has failed?

Also, another AC tech came by yesterday and said the compressor is shot as did the previous AC tech. I am mechanical inclined; however, is a compressor replacement beyond the scope of someone who is not HVAC certified? I am financial strapped and trying not to part with my money.

Thank you,
Jim

compressor replacement is way beyond most DIY folks technical ability and certainly well beyond the normal setup of tools. There are EPA regulations regarding refrigerant recovery etc. that require specialized equipment and training. If the compressor is indeed dead (according to the age of the unit) you may want to just have a new condensing unit installed. You may have to cut back on jumping out of perfectly good airplanes for a few months to pay for it. A buddy of mine recently had to really sacrifice for his new unit! He totally quit drinking beer and smoking cigs, that freed up about 550 bucks per month, he figures he can start back his bad habits in about four months hopefully the local bar will not go out of business during this period of time LOL.

It was my assumption that I should not try replacing a compressor, although it has some life left in it. If I can’t get an answer here on testing a capacitor, I’ll take a $50.00 chance and replace that, guessing that’s what they cost.
South FL today is low 90’s. Here in my computer room, it’s 105, brutal !!

P.S. No such thing as a “perfectly good airplane” LOL

Unless you have a meter which will read microfarads, you cannot test the capacitor. Take it with you when you go to get a new one. Someone there should be able to test it for you.

oops missed the real question there sorry, Question: Using a voltmeter, how can I tell if this capacitor has failed?there are several multimeters capable of reading microfarads I like the Fluke 16 meter, they run about 200 bones, a new capacitor should not cost over 20 bucks or so if I were you I would just replace it and see what happens. That multimeter is nice though if you do not already have a good one.

I had the capacitors tested....they are fine. The rep. at the AC Supply Store said if the circuit breaker pops immediately, this most likely indicates a failed compressor. I’m just passing this on to others who may have a similar problem.

On a high not however, the AC rep looked up my make/model, Janitrol, with the unit serial number, and to my pleasant surprise, it's still under warranty. I’ll have to pay shipping and labor.

Thanks to all for your input.