Need AC help (video added)

[DTro]

Noticed house hadn't been cooling very well lately, and chalked it up to high temps, but then I noticed that the unit was making odd sounds so went to take a look at it.

The condition I found it was that it was cycling on and off every few minutes. The fan would not kick in. The compressor was very hot to the touch. The compressor would come on and buzz loudly and then just shut down (like it tripped a breaker or something) then the process would repeat itself.

From a little research it sounds like it might be a bad capacitor which is why the fan was not kicking in.

I'm hoping the compressor isn't seized.

Any thoughts?

[cavalierowner]

That sounds a bit like a problem I had many years ago. Turned out that one of the two fuses in the disconnect by the condensing unit had blown, so I was trying to run on just one leg of the 220V.

[rundrave]

The compressor was very hot to the touch. The compressor would come on and buzz loudly and then just shut down (like it tripped a breaker or something) then the process would repeat itself.

From a little research it sounds like it might be a bad capacitor which is why the fan was not kicking in.

I am going to say the bad capacitor as well. I just had the same thing happen about a month ago. Called my HVAC and he came out and gave it a once over. It was about a $30 part to replace.

Mine was very hot to touch as well but I think it will fail over after trying so many times to prevent anything from being damaged.

Your unit looks very similar to mine and is about 11 years old.

[DTro]

Well, I dug into it today and noticed that the disconnect on the wall was a little melted inside. It is a non-fused unit.

I decided to replace that whole disconnect and also found the only dang capacitor in the metro area over in St Paul.

Got everything all hooked back up and it's whizzing away right now. I did notice however that the compressor is louder than normal now. I would bet the thing is on its last legs. It hadn't cooled very well the past couple of years, probably needs a shot of freon.

[DTro]

It was running loud like it was about to die, I just went out there to check the compressor mounts and discovered the fins on the side of the compressor were totally plugged with gunk. (I hosed down the other 3 sides every year. After I cleaned that 4th side it purrs like a kitten now!

I love the internet.

[aanderud]

It hadn't cooled very well the past couple of years, probably needs a shot of freon.

[DTro]

Well since it was so hot in the house, ts going to take a while ill let you know later today.

I do know that I slept a little better last night and I had a 15 degree difference between the supply and return which I think is about all you can expect from a 12 yr old unit.

[aanderud]

The reason I asked was that after you mentioned how cleaning it off was potentially helpful, I checked my AC unit, which has heat dissipation fins basically around the whole thing and a compressor/fan in the middle. The fins were definitely clogged up with dust/dirt in many places. So I hosed the thing down pretty well. Not sure if that's going to make my A/C run more efficiently or just make me feel better.

[DTro]

Actually cleaning the fins is how a lot of service calls end up. It certainly makes a difference,

I just neglected that one hidden side behind the compressor. I guess that is all it took. Might even had been the reason for the initial overheat I had.

[CAMAN]

Actually cleaning the fins is how a lot of service calls end up. It certainly makes a difference,

I just neglected that one hidden side behind the compressor. I guess that is all it took. Might even had been the reason for the initial overheat I had.

This reminds me, I was behind a couple guys at Chipotle the other day and one guy told the other he had issues with his AC over the weekend. I was curious what the issue was so I listened in. He called service and they checked everything on the AC unit, everything checked fine. So the tech went inside to check the furnace, he looked everything over and said everything looked fine. He then checked the furnace filter, turns out there was over TWO INCHES of junk piled up on the filter!

Hopefully a $300 bill to replace a filter gets the guy to realize periodic maintenance is required to keep expensive equipment running right.

Atleast you were able to figure it out on your own and save a few bucks.

[Archerysniper]

Darren cotton wood seeds keep the A/C guys busy this time of year and your on the right track. You can even buy a fin comb that is used to clean fins. Also if you have pets the coiling or A coil in your duct work can become plugged causing the efficiency to go down.

[papabear]

Easy money for a tech who checks that first. BTW coils on fridges dont work real well with a blanket of dust/fur on them either.