Gas and Oil Home Heating Furnaces - A/C will cool then not cool????
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09-22-01, 06:38 AM
I have a rheem A/C, elec. heat unit in which the compressor is acting very weird. let me give you the best example of what is happeneing. the compressor out side will have the cooling fan for the freon always on even if the throstat is off inside, if I lower the temp the unit will not respond and circule the freon, so what I have to do is turn the main breaker off for about 30min to an hour. Once the time has past I turn the breaker on and the compressor begings to work. The A/C will work fine until the thromstat reaches the set temp, after that the whole process begins again. Please advide of what I should do?? somone said it could be the capacitor in the compressor ??? I'm not sure
Thanks for any suggestions
Thanks for any suggestions
lynn comstock
09-23-01, 08:54 AM
1) If the thermostat is not calling for cooling (turned off), nothing should run outside. Since the outside fan is running with the stat off this is ONE problem.
a) If the fan is running full speed, the compressor should also be running as the same switch turns them on together. So is the compressor running? Does the thermostat turn the cooling off and leave the outdoor fan running? (This is what you seem to be saying.)
b) If the outdoor fan is running at a slower speed and blowing less forcefully (you can check this), then the circuit is grounded and running on 1 power wire (115 volts) instead of 2 power wires (230 volts).
2) The SECOND problem is the compressor sometimes does not run (cool) when the stat is calling for cooling. Since it will resume running after a waiting period, I believe that it is going off on an internal safety device that protects the compressor from overheating. After a while it cools off and will resume operation until it overheats again. Thus this problem keeps repeating itself.
This overheating could be caused by a failed compressor capacitor (which is in the compressor circuit but external to the compressor), but it is 10 times more likely to be due to low refrigerant charge (caused by a leak). When the compressor IS running, the larger refrigerant line should be cooler than 80 degrees F and NEVER cold enough to be frosted. You can check this.
It seems likely that you need a trained technician to sort out your problems. Additional information is needed to go beyond these suggestions.
a) If the fan is running full speed, the compressor should also be running as the same switch turns them on together. So is the compressor running? Does the thermostat turn the cooling off and leave the outdoor fan running? (This is what you seem to be saying.)
b) If the outdoor fan is running at a slower speed and blowing less forcefully (you can check this), then the circuit is grounded and running on 1 power wire (115 volts) instead of 2 power wires (230 volts).
2) The SECOND problem is the compressor sometimes does not run (cool) when the stat is calling for cooling. Since it will resume running after a waiting period, I believe that it is going off on an internal safety device that protects the compressor from overheating. After a while it cools off and will resume operation until it overheats again. Thus this problem keeps repeating itself.
This overheating could be caused by a failed compressor capacitor (which is in the compressor circuit but external to the compressor), but it is 10 times more likely to be due to low refrigerant charge (caused by a leak). When the compressor IS running, the larger refrigerant line should be cooler than 80 degrees F and NEVER cold enough to be frosted. You can check this.
It seems likely that you need a trained technician to sort out your problems. Additional information is needed to go beyond these suggestions.