Home AC troubleshooting

[red-beard]

BK,

The advantage of the mini-split systems is that they can be retrofitted into homes not setup for AC. You don't run air ducts, instead you run the copper lines only.

You CAN just replace the compressor. If you are getting 0 amps on one leg, it sound like something is disconnected or the motor is bad.

How big is the condensor? How many tons of cooling? It looks like a 3 or 4 ton unit by size. Again, you can buy a whole new Condensor for only $1500. If you find a person who does AC on the side, like an apartment complex super, install should be less than $500

[dhoward]

0A on one leg MAY be the connector on the compressor housing is burned through. This can be repaired by use of a Term-Lok kit.
Term-Lok Manufacturing Inc - Haines City, FL- Welcome

[john70t]

If it's tripping the breaker, something big is not turning.

For those Pelicans located in the hot/sunny areas of this country, prevention can prevent quite a bit of discomfort.
1). On a milder day, if the wind and comes from the south, put a shade overhang over the deck and a water mister/swamp-cooler for the air blowing through the house.

2). On those scorcher days, close everything up, and open the basement vent windows to bring in cooler air. It's a constant 50-60deg 4ft below the surface.....everywhere in the world.

[rick-l]

Originally Posted by BK911

Would the imbalance trip the breaker? I only got amp readings on one leg, the other read 0.

Wait..... One side of the 220 goes to the run terminal and also to the capacitor and then the start winding on the compressor right? The common terminal goes to the other side of the 220. You should have current on all of them. which one read zero?


From the description it sounds like the start winding. The capacitor and the inductor cause a phase shift to the start winding which induces a rotating field that induces current in the rotor. No rotating field it sits there and buzzes until the thermal protector kicks off.

[desertt5]

Originally Posted by rick-l

S-C should probably be about 5 ohms, R-C should be 2 or 3 and S-R should be the sum of those two. Anything to case should be open.

Mine just quit yesterday. I found the yellow and black wires running to the compressor had rubbed and shorted to the coolant line. While checking connections wires got moved and a huge arc is how this was found. Fixed that but still no compressor action. The relay is coming on. Here is what I ohmed
s-c= 2.4
r-c= .9
s-r= 2.9

Compressor toast?
Thanks

[rick-l]

What does it do when you try to start it? Is the capacitor its normal shape?

[desertt5]

Yes the cap was normal shape. Went ahead a picked up a new one hoping, no change. The compressor makes noises likes it is trying to work but only gets hot. It was 135* on the case yesterday after I tried it again for only a couple minutes.

[Brian 162]

Try a hard start kit. It's wired in parallel with the compressor start capacitor. It's a $25 gamble.

[dhoward]

Do you still have 0A on one leg?