My trane xl14i system has gotten old and tired and I'm desperately hoping to keep it alive a while longer.
this year i had very little cooling and the compressor was short cycling. I had a tech come out and as expected was low on refrigerant. We took a gamble on topping it off and adding a leak sealant. The verdict is still out if its going to hold and for how long. The first couple days it cooled great though.
The weather cooles off and I didn't run it for a few days. Now when I start the system up the compresaor is having a hard time starting up (likely it was easy for it to overcome the low refrigerant pressure before but now topped off its a much greater load). It WILL start, but often buzzes for a few seconds trying then quits trying. Tries again in 20 seconds. After a few cycles or this it'll get going but obviously this is a compressor at its end of life. I replaced the capacitor just to be sure and the problem persists.
I have it off for the time being and just found out about hard start kits. It seems like this could help my system eek along a little while longer. For the lrice its worth a short.
My only question is what size hard start kit I need? Its a trane XL14i 5ton unit. I ordered a Supco SPP6 off of Amazon just to get it in the mail but ASAP if its correct. But I'm not sure id this is the appropriate size/kit for my unit.
Can anyone offer any insight on what hard start kit would be appropriate for this AC? Capacitor specs are 370v. 45 +/- 5 microfarads. 50/60hz. And says 40/85/21 if any of that is relevant to choosing a hard start kit.
So I installed the hard start kit and it seems to be the ticket. It was 96 today so it was running non stop but I shut it off and back on a couple times to see if it would struggle to turn the compressor over but it spun right up.
Next issue. While I was at it I decided to replace the contactor also but can't get my replacement(s) to energize the coil/magnet. I tried 2 brand new ones and neither one does anything. If I push the contactor in the circuit completes and it fires right up but for whatever reason they won't do it on their own. I tried swapping the blue and yellow wires on the sides tbinking maybe polarity was reversed but still nothing. Threw my old one back on and it kicks right on.
So there is a discrepancy in "LRA". Is that my issue? I was told by the guy at the store it should work and the other off of amazon (same specs) is the replacement that supposedly works for my system.
The specs are fine.
If the old one works and the new one doesn't.... it could be one of two problems.
1) it's defective and the coil is open. Can be checked with an ohmmeter for continuity.
2) you're not putting the coil wires in the correct location.
Since it's AC..... there is no connection polarity.
PJmax I tried two separate new ones and neither engages the coil so I dont think its a defective part.
As far as hooking up the wires I put them all in the same place as my working one. Unless I'm mistaken, the coil only has two wires going to it, one on either side (mine is a yellow and a blue). I tried with those the same as my functioning contactor and also tried switching them. Neither way kicks it in. I'm kind of baffled.
Pictured above- One of the new contactors hooked up and not working (I tried fhe blue and yellow opposite of this first).
Pictured above- The old contactor hooked up and working.
It looks like you are connecting the new contactors correctly.
Now you need a meter to see why they aren't working.
If there is 24v on the blue and yellow wire.... the contactor should close.
If it doesn't you need to check the coil for continuity using an ohmmeter.
I've never had a defective contactor out of the box but it can happen.
To get two bad.... something is wrong there.
Another person on this forum had a similar problem. What it turned out to be is that the contactor he purchased had a 240V coil rather than a 24V coil. Apparently, the guy at the store where he bought the contactor gave him the wrong one. You might want to check the label on the contactors you purchased and verify that they have 24V coils.
We recently moved into a newly built condo and are having trouble with cooling (set to 73 F) at moderate outside temperatures, 55 to 75 F. Usually that's late at night and in the early morning now. I would just open a window, but have limited mobility and outside is also noisy, so indoor temperature often rises to 77 or beyond. Cooling is supposed to work in these conditions, but my IR thermometer shows slightly warmed air coming out of the ducts. Cooling is ok when it's over 80 F outside. From 70 to 80 F, there is usually some cooling, but it's often too weak to hold the set point.
The 1750 sq ft unit was designed for 3 tons cooling with 1200 CFM airflow, but after considerable prodding, only about half of the spec airflow was measured (using a hood-over-vent device) even though the filter is new. This measurement was later in the day when cooling sort-of worked.
Can anyone suggest likely causes and easy checks?
This morning, cooling failed again with warm air from the vents. In the mechanical room the air handler drain was making dripping noise. Maybe the heat exchanger froze up and ice was melting? The air handler itself is [url=http://www.aspenmfg.com/documents/products/air-handlers/IO-123079-AFM_030513.pdf]Aspen AFM37[/url], with wire-selectable blower speed (X13 motor). The original installer says they checked the speed and it's "high". They offered to scope the duct to look for holes. Not very politely (admittedly not my finest moment), I told them to re-check the blower speed first. I guess I felt their techs have been rude and the contractor (original installer under warranty) is slow-walking the problem.
It's a bigger condo building and I've heard of other air flow problems. Maybe the installers systematically mis-wired the motor speeds and want to avoid that conclusion? Or maybe scoping the duct is a good idea (I'm no expert)? Thanks for any advice.
[img]https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.doityourselft.com-vbulletin/600x480/top_bot_e3f2ea53a334c3ce4906e2d30a8517eccc6ad67f.jpg[/img]
[i]Hydronic heating on top, c[/i][i]ooling and drain at bottom.[/i]
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I'm on Southern California Edison's (SCE) Summer Discount Plan. They attach a switching device to the compressor that allows them to turn off your AC remotely during peak power demands. Trouble is it doesn't turn off the blower so hot air from attic ducts fills the house with hot air during the entire 1 to 6 hour event. If I'm home I just manually switch off the blower but if no one is home the blower continues to run. SCE customer service says they can't control the blower. I'm looking for a work around for when we go on vacation and don't need this headache. Would a smart switch or smart thermostat cure the problem? Is there another way?
(5 year old Lennox Elite forced air AC Furnace).
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06-19-22, 06:07 PM
