Heat Pump blowing hot air after transformer blew in my area.
#1
09-01-14, 10:54 AM
Heat Pump blowing hot air after transformer blew in my area.
Heat pump is a Goodman cple24-1c. A transformer blew out about 2 miles from my home last night. Six hours later, after the power came on, I noticed that while air still blows out of the registers, it is no longer cold.
I can't speak to Freon pressures and have avoided any service on the unit since the unit was installed in ~2006. I have not been able to find an A/C company that I trust so I have never had a technician look at it. I really like to be able to do all work on my own since I have been ripped off so many times.
Anyways, hopefully we can keep on target here. Is there anything that I can check or any particular reason besides low Freon that might be causing this scenario?
Thanks for your time.
P.S. I don't know much about Heat Pumps (I know a lot more than when I started here), so please dumb it down for me when responding.
EDIT: One other thing....I don't hear any swishing noise in the area of the air handler circled. I usually hear some noise (presumably vacuum) in this area and fee cold air but now I feel nothing.
Not sure if this helps. (I believe that there is supposed to be a cap in there...but it came without one when I bought the house back in '07) so I filled it with some tar for use in an automotive application. (Don't worry I didn't drop anything in there).
I can't speak to Freon pressures and have avoided any service on the unit since the unit was installed in ~2006. I have not been able to find an A/C company that I trust so I have never had a technician look at it. I really like to be able to do all work on my own since I have been ripped off so many times.
Anyways, hopefully we can keep on target here. Is there anything that I can check or any particular reason besides low Freon that might be causing this scenario?
Thanks for your time.
P.S. I don't know much about Heat Pumps (I know a lot more than when I started here), so please dumb it down for me when responding.
EDIT: One other thing....I don't hear any swishing noise in the area of the air handler circled. I usually hear some noise (presumably vacuum) in this area and fee cold air but now I feel nothing.
Not sure if this helps. (I believe that there is supposed to be a cap in there...but it came without one when I bought the house back in '07) so I filled it with some tar for use in an automotive application. (Don't worry I didn't drop anything in there).
#2
09-01-14, 11:09 AM
Group Moderator
You need to check and see if the condensor unit is running outside.
Possibly there is a breaker tripped that supplies it.
Possibly there is a breaker tripped that supplies it.
#3
09-01-14, 11:12 AM
Is that the unit with the motor that spins? If so, yes the fan is spinning. Sorry I didn't mention that. Would air still flow from the registers for that part? There is a black plate on the air handler that has a picture of a box cutter engraved on to it, but I don't want to cut it and have to replace another plate if I am wrong about there being a breaker under that.
#4
09-01-14, 11:21 AM
Group Moderator
Go outside to the condensor unit and look for the copper supply lines connecting it to the house. The larger one should be insulated in foam..... see if it's cold.
#6
09-01-14, 11:57 AM
Sound (or doesn't sound) like the compressor isn't running. It could be as simple as a blown capacitor. Are you able to open the condensor to have access to the electrical connections?
#7
09-01-14, 12:09 PM
Sound (or doesn't sound) like the compressor isn't running. It could be as simple as a blown capacitor. Are you able to open the condensor to have access to the electrical connections?
Here is a pic of what I am looking at:
Any ideas?
Sound (or doesn't sound) like the compressor isn't running. It could be as simple as a blown capacitor. Are you able to open the condensor to have access to the electrical connections?
Last edited by PJmax; 09-01-14 at 12:16 PM. Reason: removed board added link
#8
09-01-14, 12:18 PM
Group Moderator
That's your compressor. It's most likely not running. The capacitor(s) for your system are in the wiring access box in one corner of the condensor. Check the corner where the main wiring enters. Make sure main power is off first.
#9
09-01-14, 01:05 PM
Ok, I found the capacitor. Any thoughts on what to do next?
EDIT: As I was looking at the Capacitor. I could hear a buzzing from the transformer near it. As I simply observed it all without touching anything, the fan stopped blowing and now the top of the casing that the fan bolts to is hot.
EDIT 2: I sprayed the fan motor down with cold water and it started blowing cold again.....but cold air still not coming out of vents as far as I know.
EDIT 3: Also, I moved the fan with a stick and it started moving on it's own. That seems to be a way to check for a bad capacitor. Even if the fan capacitor (seems to be called a start capacitor) is bad, can that stop the compressor from firing up?
EDIT 4: I have a smart cooling box from my electric company installed on my system. Could that have failed during outage?
Any ideas??
EDIT: As I was looking at the Capacitor. I could hear a buzzing from the transformer near it. As I simply observed it all without touching anything, the fan stopped blowing and now the top of the casing that the fan bolts to is hot.
EDIT 2: I sprayed the fan motor down with cold water and it started blowing cold again.....but cold air still not coming out of vents as far as I know.
EDIT 3: Also, I moved the fan with a stick and it started moving on it's own. That seems to be a way to check for a bad capacitor. Even if the fan capacitor (seems to be called a start capacitor) is bad, can that stop the compressor from firing up?
EDIT 4: I have a smart cooling box from my electric company installed on my system. Could that have failed during outage?
Any ideas??
Last edited by jj94auto; 09-01-14 at 02:56 PM.
#10
09-01-14, 03:33 PM
Group Moderator
The buzzing you heard was coming from the 24vac contactor that starts the condensor running. Since that contactor was humming and the fan was trying to start.... the power companies smart box was not active.
You may have a bad fan motor or capacitor. It's an inexpensive test/repair to just replace the capacitor(s). The compressor won't run for very long if the fan isn't running. It may have been off on overheat.
You may have a bad fan motor or capacitor. It's an inexpensive test/repair to just replace the capacitor(s). The compressor won't run for very long if the fan isn't running. It may have been off on overheat.
#11
09-01-14, 05:48 PM
The buzzing you heard was coming from the 24vac contactor that starts the condensor running. Since that contactor was humming and the fan was trying to start.... the power companies smart box was not active.
You may have a bad fan motor or capacitor. It's an inexpensive test/repair to just replace the capacitor(s). The compressor won't run for very long if the fan isn't running. It may have been off on overheat.
You may have a bad fan motor or capacitor. It's an inexpensive test/repair to just replace the capacitor(s). The compressor won't run for very long if the fan isn't running. It may have been off on overheat.
