Trane heat pump tripped breaker twice
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Trane heat pump tripped breaker twice
Trane 4TWX3036A
Unit is 12 - 15 year old. It was raining. Opened the cover, found a dead mouse on the capacitor. The service brochure was chewed to pieces. Cleaned everything, blow-dried everything, and rest the breaker. Run for 10 seconds. Heard a pop and saw a flash near the base. Wonder if the compressor is grounded, or some wire damage. Ordered a capacitor, which should arrive in a few days.
Can anyone post a wire diagram? Thanks.
Any guidance and speculations on potential problems are appreciated.
Unit is 12 - 15 year old. It was raining. Opened the cover, found a dead mouse on the capacitor. The service brochure was chewed to pieces. Cleaned everything, blow-dried everything, and rest the breaker. Run for 10 seconds. Heard a pop and saw a flash near the base. Wonder if the compressor is grounded, or some wire damage. Ordered a capacitor, which should arrive in a few days.
Can anyone post a wire diagram? Thanks.
Any guidance and speculations on potential problems are appreciated.
Last edited by PJmax; 05-30-16 at 01:36 AM. Reason: added model to text
#2
Welcome to the forums.
I moved your thread here to the heat pump forum. I'm searching for the diagram now.
I moved your thread here to the heat pump forum. I'm searching for the diagram now.
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Trane heat pump tripped breaker twice - Follow up
Trane heat pump tripped breaker twice - Follow up
Measured Compressor Ohms:
Red wire to ground, infinite;
Black/light blue to ground, 1.7k approx;
Light orange to ground, zero
Can I assume compressor is OK?
I figured the spark/flash is from outside the unit near the base, where the 240 volt feed is. I assume the cable insulation is burnt and grounds in rain. I am replacing the cable and see if it'll fix the problem.
More to follow.
BTW, the capacitor may be still OK but in pretty bad because the little chipmunk (perhaps not a little mouse as I originally thought) rested in peace on it.
Measured Compressor Ohms:
Red wire to ground, infinite;
Black/light blue to ground, 1.7k approx;
Light orange to ground, zero
Can I assume compressor is OK?
I figured the spark/flash is from outside the unit near the base, where the 240 volt feed is. I assume the cable insulation is burnt and grounds in rain. I am replacing the cable and see if it'll fix the problem.
More to follow.
BTW, the capacitor may be still OK but in pretty bad because the little chipmunk (perhaps not a little mouse as I originally thought) rested in peace on it.
#4
Before you replace the cable remove it from the contractor insulate the ends and reset the breaker,if the breaker resets then the cabling is fine.
#5
Black/light blue to ground, 1.7k approx
I'm a little surprised you're seeing continuity to ground on only one terminal. The motor windings are so low you should measure 1.7k on all terminals.
You should also check continuity between the windings like shown below. You may not get the same exact readings but the two windings added together should be equal to the highest value you measure. There should be no wires on the compressor when checking.
Safety glasses should be worn when working on the compressor connections in case of refrigerant rupture.
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Thank you, Pete. I'll check the compressor again.
The cable seems to be shorted when wet - I could be wrong. I saw a spark coming from the area.
Where do I go for SEU THHN (THWN) #6 CU 3-conductor cable?
Where do I go for SEU THHN (THWN) #6 CU 3-conductor cable?