See subject.
Engine turns on, fan not spinning. Hums loud, and I don’t want it start smoking so I turn it off.
Only thing was I left it on during torrential rains through the night. That may be merely a possible post-mortem (I’m really not all that interested); Id just like to know if I should start price comparing. I’ll give it a couple of more days, I guess.
Thanks.
No. They wouldn’t install them outside if that were a concern.
If it was directly hit by lightning or it was somehow submerged, that could result in failure, but heavy rain on its own should not have any effect on your A/C.
I wouldn’t think that would kill it unless it were already dying. I’ve run my 20+ year old A/C in all sorts storms and not killed it. The units are outdoors and are presumably designed to deal with most weather conditions (and rain should certainly be covered).
Yeah, that’ sweat I figured.
Alright, I’ll settle in for a death watch.
Any good ways to declare it as declared dead, so I don’t think “I should have given it time to check later?”
Which is a weird way to relate to technology, it just occurred to me.
First of all, you can run them in rain with no problem at all. In fact, the additional cooling that the water provides actually makes it’s job easier. On very, very hot days (95+ degrees), we’ll spray water on our HVAC units help them, it makes a very noticeable difference.
However, you said “Engine turns on, fan not spinning. Hums loud”. That, to me, indicates that the condenser (outside) fan isn’t working. Running it without that isn’t good, but there’s sensors built in that will notice the problem and shut it down. OTOH, the downpour may have provided enough cooling to compensate for the fan not working.
If the fan outside isn’t working, have it looked at. If I misread it, don’t worry, as long as it’s warm enough outside to warrant running the AC, it’s (generally) safe to run it. Rain isn’t an issue.
There are a bunch of reasons your fan isn’t spinning, almost none of which are simple to repair yourself.
If the engine is coming on but the fan isn’t spinning (it spins freely?), it’s probably the run capacitor. It’ll cost you about $100 to get it fixed.
No, nothing happens except this ominous hum.
Damn thing was too loud. It’ll be good to consign it to its reward, except for the fact that house funds are tight now. But so what else is new,
Which reminds me the only time something similar occurred was when I turned it on during the dead of winter–why I have no idea now-- and said to myself “obviously frozen solid”–and I have no idea what I meant/mean by that either.
I don’t even attempt cars. PG Wodehouse has Bertie Wooster, I think, employ a stock knowing answer to a breakdown, like the minrets aren’t running true to the sprockets, or something.
I don’t even get that close.
Yep - start/run capacitor is the first thing to check and it’s extremely easy to diagnose and fix yourself if that’s what it is. When it’s humming but not spinning the fan, use a stick to poke the blades and see if that causes the fan to start spinning. If it starts up, your fan motor is probably okay.
Even if that doesn’t work, it might still be the capacitor. After cutting off power to the unit and looking inside, a bad cap is usually pretty easy to spot. It will likely have a bulging top and/or be leaking its fluid. Google to find images of what a good vs. bad cap looks like.
New caps from Home Depot or Grainger, etc., can be very cheap as in $10-50. Swapping it out takes about 5 to 10 minutes, maybe a few more minutes if you’ve never done it.
Google A/C start/run capacitor repair and watch a few of the many videos out there that will walk you through this. It’s really not that hard to do and I’d be shocked if getting someone to do it for you would be as cheap as $100 - probably more like twice that at least.
If it’s something else you’re probably best off getting a service company out. Hopefully it’s not the fan motor as that will be quite a bit more than replacing a bad cap yourself.
Waitasec. We’re talking about a Friedrich poking out of a 7th floor apartment. Right?
Window unit or central air? If it is a window unit, it may not be cost effective to try to get repaired.
If it is the outside unit of a central air system…
Like DCnDC said, it probably is a capacitor. If the fan spins freely, I have had some success with taking a thin stick and spinning the fan and, while the fan is freewheeling, turn on the disconnect which should be on the side of the house near the compressor. Of course, you have to have the thermostat on and set low enough to run the AC. That is, start the AC with the thermostat and while it is making that loud noise, run outside and shut it down with the disconnect. Wait 5 - 10 minutes for everything to cool off. Then, spin the fan and throw the disconnect to the ON position. If the fan speeds up, everything comes on and the house gets cooler, then it is most likely the capacitor. It will run a while like this, but the fan motor is going to run hot (because the capacitor is bad), but at least you know what the problem is. Even if you call a repairman, it is good to know that it should be less than $100 to fix it and you probably do not need a new unit.
If you are handy with tools, it is an easy fix, just a lot of screws that have to come out (be sure you shut down the disconnect–I’d do the circuit breakers, too, just for good luck–before you start). You will have to know what the capacitor looks like (google images for AC fan capacitor will give you a good idea). Once you find your capacitor (you may have two, in that case, start with the smaller one), take some pictures of how everything looks before you start taking any wires loose. Remove the connectors (they usually just slip on, it may take needle-nosed pliers to get them to slide off), and remove the capacitor. Take it to an electrical supply store (not a big-box store, but electrical supply) and the guy behind the counter should be able to get you a new one. The new one goes in just like the old one came out. While you have the unit open, clean it of any leaves, grass, cobwebs, etc that may be in there and inspect the wires for any burned or darkened areas. Once you have finished putting it back together (make sure you use all the screws and that you don’t lose any of the screws), try it out.
I have fixed three outside units like this over the past 20 years, although on one of them, I ended up having to replace the fan motor as well. I would have had the repairman replace the fan motor except I had him look at it a week earlier and told me the fan motor was fine, but I needed to replace the whole unit. It ran for a day or two after he left then stopped again. I got a new fan motor from the electrical supply store and it is still working fine (that was over 5 years ago). Needless to say, I don’t call them anymore. I mean, when they can’t fix it when you tell them what is wrong, they just aren’t worth having around.
[Ninjaed! Oh, if it on the 7th floor of an apartment building, I wouldn’t try to fix it, just call someone.]
Thanks. I like your Ed note.
That really should have been mentioned in the OP.
I decline the blindfold and I do not smoke.
THAT WAS A JOKeE
[note to Mods: this post will contain Witnessing, because I feel I must, which ordinarily is explicitly directed to MPSIMS. I feel an exception can be made.]
Well Praise the Lord! The Dead Hath Risen!
Works fine now.
FTR, a day or two ago I turned it on with the switch at “Fan Only,” and nothing happened whatsoever. Then when I put it A/C the power humming started.
Anyway, it’s over now. Thanks again for help offered.
Yes, if your AC died, you will sweat.