Repair Diagnosis: Legit or Rip-off?


  #1  
Old 09-02-00, 09:46 AM
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My 15+ year old AC came on and blew air through the vents, and the outside fan seemed to be running okay, but the air was not cold at all. This has happened a couple of times now, and I had to turn the AC off, wait a few minutes, then turn it on again before the cooling seemed to kick in - had to do it 3 or 4 times to get it to work. Yesterday I came home to find the AC on, but blowing hot air. Outside fan unit running okay, breakers okay, but this time the on-off technique didn't seem to work. The cooling eventually kicked in while the repair tech was on his way over. When he arrives he goes straight to the outside unit, does voltage test at 3 or 4 wiring connections, looks at the compressor and says that it is overheating because of defective valves. He said that when it overheats it cuts out automatically which explains why I am getting no cooling. The compressor was pretty hot, barely touchable. He suggests replacing the entire outside unit for $1600. #1: Does this sound like a legit diagnosis? #2: If not, then any ideas about what it might be? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
 
  #2  
Old 09-02-00, 02:24 PM
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Hi Albert:

It sounds exactly like the compressor is overheating and shutting off on the internal protector. Now- this is a very important question. Did the technician read the Freon pressures with a manifold/guage & hose looking device or did he only check the electrical connections? If he didn't read the operating pressures, then he can't know if the valves are ok or not. If he did, then you could get a second opinion or rely on his judgement. A compressor of that vintage has reed valves inside and usually defective valves means broken valves and it won't cool the house even if it does run. It sounds like you may have a compressor on its' last legs anyway BUT Carrier units have a double section coil on the outdoor unit. Put your hands together as though praying. The coils in the unit are like that in relation to the airflow and dirt gets trapped in between the 2 sections. Get the idea? The only way to clean them adequately is to separate the coils and clean in between. If you can get the unit running again, see how hot the small tube that leaves the outdoor unit gets. If it's really hot, you could have high condensor pressure causing the compressor to overheat. Let us know what you think. Thanks. John.
 
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Old 09-03-00, 05:19 PM
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Hi Bigjohn,

Actually the repair guy did not do a Freon pressure check of any kind. He said that the hot compressor indicated that the whole unit should be replaced.

I called another tech in this afternoon, and described the exact same problems to him. This guy goes right to the contactor and points out where it looks kind of scorched and blackened at the contact points. He replaced the contactor, then did a check on the Freon and added about 2.5 lbs. He also discovered during this process that the filter canister was clogged so he had to replace this as well. He showed me that no coolant was showing in the little round window while he was charging. I asked him straight out if the compressor was okay, and he told me that as far as he could see it was fine. He did have to hose the compresssor down to get it cool enough to start up after he did the contactor replacement, but he assured me that this was not out of the ordinary. The AC seems to be cooling the house down fine now. What do you think?

The second tech also mentioned that the Freon coolant currently used in my home AC is not going to be available in about 4 years, and that Puron is the alternative. He said that Carrier is the only maker that has a Puron system right now, and that other manufacturers will probably come on line with similar products to help drive the price down in the near future.

Which leads me to ask: If I am eventually going to need a new system to replace my 15+ year old AC, then would it make sense NOT to invest in a Freon based system right now, but to wait a few more years if possible? Please let me know what you think.
 
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Old 09-03-00, 07:22 PM
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I say hold off , but dont let it bother you one way or the other... Yes R-22 will be higher in cost in a few years, but the real question would be if you want to spend the money now for something that would be 14 SEER and save money in the long run, or get something cheaper... I have now installed 4 Bryant Puron systems , with no problems and the customer has loved it...But that is true of any good install ...
 
  #5  
Old 09-04-00, 02:57 AM
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Hi albert:

I think you better hang on to the phone # of the second guy you called. As for R-22, it's going to be around for quite a while yet. I would wait. Thanks. John.
 
 

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