Outside AC stopped working


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Old 06-30-14, 06:51 PM
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Outside AC stopped working

I'm no AC guy, but some quick googling makes me think is the contactor? The unit is acting like it's not getting any power. After checking the breaker and a few other things, I try push this spring loaded button and the condenser fan motor turns on and blades begin turning. Do I just replace this component or is there something else I should check?

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Old 06-30-14, 10:03 PM
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That contactor "looks" ok. Normally if it was bad it would pull in but not make high voltage contact. You need to check the blue and brown wires for 24vac when the system is calling for cooling. If you don't measure 24vac at the contactor..... look for the thermostat cable that feeds the compressor unit. You may have to remove an access panel to locate it. Usually the wires are wire nutted together. You need to see if there is 24vac coming from the house.

If you have the 24vac there then one of your safety switches is active inside the unit. If the unit was low on refrigerant it would interrupt the 24vac to the contactor.

All the above measurements should be made with the 240vac power to the compressor disconnected or shut off.

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Old 07-01-14, 07:07 AM
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Thanks for the response. Excuse the newbie questions but what exactly does it mean to check the 24vac? I assuming this is with a voltmeter? Am I looking for a certain amount or is this just a yes/no kind of test?

Also, when you say disconnect the 240vac to the compressor is that the two black and yellow wires on the top?

Thanks
 
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Old 07-01-14, 07:15 AM
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Disconnecting the 240VAC means turning off the circuit breaker or outside disconnect so that there is no "high voltage" (240VAC) present at the outside unit (it could be lethal if you accidentally touched it). The 24VAC that he asked you to check for comes from the thermostat and is should be present when the thermostat is calling for cooling regardless of whether the 240VAC is present or not. With the voltmeter set to AC volts, connect the voltmeter probes between the blue & brown wires as shown in the picture. You should either measure something close to 0 VAC if there's a problem with the thermostat, wiring, or transformer, or something in the range of 24VAC if everything is okay.
 
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Old 07-08-14, 06:36 AM
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Problem fixed

Thanks for the clarification, that makes sense and will help me a lot with future troubleshooting. It did have 24vac present so I just had some freon added that fixed the problem.

Thanks again.
 
 

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