Air Conditioning - Got fan spinning but no cooling
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killerdc
06-30-09, 07:35 PM
First let me preface this by saying I know absolutely nothing, outside what I have read on this forum, about HVAC.
Two nights ago, went to bed, AC worked like a champ. Middle of the night, AC stopped working. I live in Dallas so its pretty darn hot.
Yesterday, I checked the outside unit, and fan was NOT spinning but I heard a low humming. This is when the research began, because the AC guy could not make it today, so I wanted to see if I could this on my own. I pulled the cover off the side and checked the capacitor and to be honest, have no idea if its bulging or not. It does not appear to be but the top is very slightly concave, not sure if that is bulging or the way it is supposed to be. There is no leaking and all the wires connecting everything inside the casing appeared fine.
Also today, I turned on the fan from thermostat, and went out and manually moved the fan with stick, and the fan motor kicked in and was running fine, but was getting no cold air inside, so I am assuming the compressor is not kicking in.
I have read the do-it-yourself ideas on here and am wondering if replacing the capacitor could help. It is easy, relatively cheap, and more importantly, something I can do on my own.
I do not have a way to check the power as I dont have all the necessary gadgets for that. :) Obviously if that does not work, I could replace the fan motor as well, but once the fan kicked back in, it did not shut off and didnt have any resistance when spun with fan in the off position on thermostat.
Two nights ago, went to bed, AC worked like a champ. Middle of the night, AC stopped working. I live in Dallas so its pretty darn hot.
Yesterday, I checked the outside unit, and fan was NOT spinning but I heard a low humming. This is when the research began, because the AC guy could not make it today, so I wanted to see if I could this on my own. I pulled the cover off the side and checked the capacitor and to be honest, have no idea if its bulging or not. It does not appear to be but the top is very slightly concave, not sure if that is bulging or the way it is supposed to be. There is no leaking and all the wires connecting everything inside the casing appeared fine.
Also today, I turned on the fan from thermostat, and went out and manually moved the fan with stick, and the fan motor kicked in and was running fine, but was getting no cold air inside, so I am assuming the compressor is not kicking in.
I have read the do-it-yourself ideas on here and am wondering if replacing the capacitor could help. It is easy, relatively cheap, and more importantly, something I can do on my own.
I do not have a way to check the power as I dont have all the necessary gadgets for that. :) Obviously if that does not work, I could replace the fan motor as well, but once the fan kicked back in, it did not shut off and didnt have any resistance when spun with fan in the off position on thermostat.
daddyjohn
06-30-09, 07:49 PM
certainly worth a try, it would be an inexpensive attempt. Scroll down thru some recent posts- there are many about capacitors, how to select a replacement, etc.