Heat Pump Fan Not Spinning


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Old 04-12-11, 06:38 AM
L
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Question Heat Pump Fan Not Spinning

I have a Janitrol Split System Heat Pump (Goodman Manufacturing Company). The decal on the outside unit is pretty worn in some spots but I could read the following:

Model: CPJ24- (CPJ24-1AP handwritten on install/operating booklet)
Heat Pump: G0181770080
Part Number: 14931-390 (as handwritten on install/operating booklet)
Central Cooling Air Conditioner: G0182770080
AC Volts: 208/230
Compressor RLA: 10.9, LRA: ?unreadable
Fan Motor FLA: 0.9
Voltage Max Range: 253, Min: ?unreadable

I just returned home from visiting family in PA for a week. The house was pretty warm (about 76) and the thermostat was set to heat (about 70) as the weather was pretty chilly here when we left. A friend who was watching the house for us said they didn't have to touch the thermostat.

I switched the thermostat to cool and the air started to blow through the registers within a minute. After a while, I walked outside to fire up the grill when I noticed that the heat pump fan was not spinning even though the unit sounded like something was running. In fact, I could feel heat radiating from the unit and carefully touched the casing to get an idea where it might be coming from. It was extremely hot where the fan motor attaches to the top of the casing, and it had that smell of burnt wiring.

I immediately ran inside and switched the thermostat to off. After waiting a while for the outside unit to cool off, I turned the thermostat to on again and listened to the unit as it sounded like it had kicked on, but the fan still would not turn...so I turned it off again.

This morning, out of curiosity, I used a stick (probably not the smartest method) to turn the fan...it seemed to spin freely. So, I turned the thermostat to heat and used the stick to turn the fan again. After a couple of nudges, the fan started up and seemed to run fine. I waited for it to complete the heat cycle and then turned the thermostat to off. After about 10 minutes, I switched it to cool and tried the same thing. Again, after a couple of nudges, the fan started and seemed to run fine.

Appreciate any info or guidance as to what the problem could be and how much it may end up costing. Thank you.
 
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Old 04-12-11, 10:00 AM
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most likely a bad run capacitor...
 
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Old 04-12-11, 03:17 PM
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Thanks for the reply Hvactechfw, I appreciate the help. You're exactly right. The HVAC tech has already been by, and I asked him if there I more likely had a bad run cap rather than a bad fan motor (he was actually leaning towards the fan motor when we talked on the phone). When he arrived, he opened the unit casing and found the run cap bulged and leaking. He replaced the part, we turned the unit on to cool, and the fan started up right away.
 
 

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