What do you think is wrong with my Trane Xli-14 unit?
#1
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What do you think is wrong with my Trane Xli-14 unit?
In February of 2008, I had a Trane 14 SEER 3 Ton System with Electric Heating installed along with the duct work required. The heat pump seemed to be working although it was still somewhat cold in my house, however, I attributed this to the high ceilings and lack of insulation in my small (1200 sq ft) 100 year old house. In June, the contractor did some type adjustment to the duct system (or something like) because the back two rooms were not cooling properly. In August, I had to call a technician to come back out because the house was still not cooling like it should and was constantly running (my electricity bills nearly doubled). This technician said something to the effect that there was little or possibly no refrigerant in the unit and that whoever installed it did not start it up correctly. According to the invoice, the technician put at least 2 pounds of the refrigerant in the unit. I don't recall the house cooling any better after that, maybe a little. I called the company again to report that the problem still existed and was advised that insulating my attic would help the situation greatly. I got the attic insulated but the house still would not cool properly. I gave up on the situation out of pure frustration. The following winter, I bought one of those electric fireplaces to generate heat in the living room and that summer I bought a window unit (which cooled the two main rooms of the house much better than the AC unit) to cool the main parts the house. When I decided to buy another window unit the following summer, it dawned on me how ridiculous that idea was since I paid thousands of dollars on a central AC system that I never got to enjoy. So, I called the company out and this is what they wrote on the invoice after they made the service call:
“Checked operation. A/C running at 170/325, checked charts. Adjusted freon to chart. 10 degree temp. split, compressor amps 12 degrees, RLA-15 checked R/A. OK. Tried to pump system down. Unit would not pump down. Recommended replacing compressor”. If anyone can explain to me what the above means, I would appreciate it. And to top it off, as of a couple of weeks ago, the unit will not come on at all.
Anyway, although the Unit warranty is still good, the labor warranty is expired I was told it would cost $$$ in labor charges to replace the compressor. What I would like you experts out there to help me with is to tell me whether or not you think that replacing the compressor will fix the problem. I was not home when the technicians (there were 3 of them) came by to diagnose the situation but, my boyfriend was and he said they did not at all appear confident that the compressor was the problem. I can’t afford this right now and I certainly don’t want to put out $$$ if the compressor is not the problem. I would also like to know if you professionals out there think that the compressor failed because the unit was not started up correctly. I saw a post on a forum similar to this that seemed to indicate this may have been what caused my compressor fail. I would also like to know if anyone thinks that I am getting the run around from my contractor and if so, should I get another one? This situation has been going on so long that it is really stressing me out. I have a chronic illness and the medical bills to go with it and if I had known I was going to waste thousands of dollars, I would have just bought a couple of window ac/heater units and saved a lot of money to pay my medical bills. I would appreciate any and all suggestions that you guys can give Thanks so much!
“Checked operation. A/C running at 170/325, checked charts. Adjusted freon to chart. 10 degree temp. split, compressor amps 12 degrees, RLA-15 checked R/A. OK. Tried to pump system down. Unit would not pump down. Recommended replacing compressor”. If anyone can explain to me what the above means, I would appreciate it. And to top it off, as of a couple of weeks ago, the unit will not come on at all.
Anyway, although the Unit warranty is still good, the labor warranty is expired I was told it would cost $$$ in labor charges to replace the compressor. What I would like you experts out there to help me with is to tell me whether or not you think that replacing the compressor will fix the problem. I was not home when the technicians (there were 3 of them) came by to diagnose the situation but, my boyfriend was and he said they did not at all appear confident that the compressor was the problem. I can’t afford this right now and I certainly don’t want to put out $$$ if the compressor is not the problem. I would also like to know if you professionals out there think that the compressor failed because the unit was not started up correctly. I saw a post on a forum similar to this that seemed to indicate this may have been what caused my compressor fail. I would also like to know if anyone thinks that I am getting the run around from my contractor and if so, should I get another one? This situation has been going on so long that it is really stressing me out. I have a chronic illness and the medical bills to go with it and if I had known I was going to waste thousands of dollars, I would have just bought a couple of window ac/heater units and saved a lot of money to pay my medical bills. I would appreciate any and all suggestions that you guys can give Thanks so much!
#2
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Being you have the complaint documented from the start, I see no reason why you shouldn't argue that fact with them and get 100% warranty service. Perhaps a call to your lawyer might help...
#3
Get a different contractor. The compressor pumps from what you have given. Depending on exactly what the tech was trying to do (I don't know, I wasn't there) I'm not sure how he came up with needing a compressor. We really can't tell you if you need a compressor without being there. I would get a few second opinions from other contractors.