AC Working intermittently


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Old 06-04-13, 09:16 AM
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AC Working intermittently

Hi, I bought a house last August which was built in 2009. The heating/cooling system has an indoor unit, and an outdoor unit. Last fall, there were a few times when the AC stopped working, but after a while worked fine again, and the heater worked perfectly all winter. Fast forward to the last few days, it stopped working all together, coming back on a few times. Now, I tried various troubleshooting strategies that I found on the internet, such as checking breakers, fuses, etc. On the thermostat, the "cool on" indicator comes on, but the fan won't start. In my looking around the indoor unit, I noticed last night that by tapping a copper tube that goes into it, I got the AC to work again, and it is still currently working whereas before it would stop after a few minutes. Does anyone know what this tube is, and why the AC would work after it was tapped, or "jiggled" slightly? I am trying to figure out if I need to have a professional come out to look at it, or if maybe it's a simple problem I can take care of myself. One AC "professional" told me over the phone that it was "definately" a bad motor, which I think is rubbish.
 
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Old 06-04-13, 12:38 PM
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A copper tube would have nothing to do with the blower motor.
Which unit is not working, the air handler (indoors) or the condenser (outdoors)?
And could you post a picture of what you tapped?
 
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Old 06-04-13, 01:50 PM
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It's the inside air handler. It usually comes on about a minute or so before the outside unit does. Here are the pictures of the tube.

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Old 06-04-13, 02:23 PM
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Looks like you got a condensate float switch in the area.I would shut every thing down and clean,brush,blow or flush all that white pipe.Watch the power cord and outlets when water is near.That switch in the piping should pop out to clean,just be ginger.
 
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Old 06-04-13, 02:35 PM
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Oh, ok, just by a quick google search, that's the "box" with the tube (seen in the bottom of the first picture) running into it? And by the white pipe, do you mean the pvc pipe with the 3 elbows on it? Why do you think tapping the copper one caused the unit to function? Forgive my ignorance in these matters, but I guess that's why I'm here in the first place!
 
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Old 06-04-13, 02:44 PM
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The condensate pump might have a shut off too,if that's what your asking about,flush w/with hot water or dump out and flush. Yes the pvc and the black switch with the wires just below the tube you shake.
 
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Old 06-04-13, 04:15 PM
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yep, I bet your float is opening the a/c circuit. Make sure the primary drain is clear all the way.
 
 

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