Central a/c problem

[mnvikingsfreak]

hello I have a problem with my central air at my house when I turn it on to auto and cool the heater and the a/c both turn on the air is cool but when I open the furnace panel up I see flames going like the furnace is on is this normal it's a 2002 york deluxe diamond 95 unit if there is a problem what would be the cost/time to fix it?? Im 1st time homeowner so I have no idea,also towards the end on the past winter the a/c fan on the outside turned on everytime I turned the heat on so I just turned the breaker to the a/c off and it solved that whats the problem?

thank you

[ikatcher]

could be several things, but i would start with your t-stat on your wall, if it is not a programable one you can pick one up at menards, home depot for under 25$. if thats not it you should call an expert. 200-400$

[papabear]

sounds like some cross wiring, check the tstat and the wiring

The wiring is real simple red to red, white to white, green, yellow, and maybe a blue. If something is crossed from the stat to the furnace try to correct it if you can. There should be a manual/guide by your furnace that can show this.

As always when in doubt call a pro before someone or something gets hurt.

[Wanderer]

Yeah, you need to fix that.

Your furnace and A/C condenser are both receiving a signal to start when the thermostat calls for cooling OR heating. Most likely a T-stat problem.

Could be wiring or just a bad stat.

Red is power (24 volts), white is heat, yellow is cool, green is fan. Make sure they are hooked up right on both the stat and furnace. Shut the power off if you make a wiring change. Its not dangerous on the low voltage side (skinny wires), you just don't want to blow a fuse or the stat.

If the wiring looks good, get a new T-stat. Wire it by the directions. If that doesn't work, call someone out since its likely the circuit board.

[pikechaser]

I wouldnt be so quick to rattle off wire colors...sure stat & terminal strip connections are standard, but wire color ..theres nothing set in stone. chances are its an electrical issue(wiring). Why guess and throw a thermostat at it? Ive seen so many people do this and still end up calling a pro. wouldnt it make sense to do that instead of guessing??

[Wanderer]

You're right, there are no colors set in stone. Some schmo could have wired it a number of ways. So thats why its been mentioned to check the connections on both ends to see if they are matched.

My best guess from this keyboard side of things is that as a 1st time homeowner, he has had this problem since he bought the place. The outgoing owner probably threw in a stat before he left and jumpered the heat and cool. But who really knows without looking at it first hand?

A nice little Honeywell round makes a cheap test instrument. Unless he can use a meter to check for a short to ground or trace the wires to find the pinch point.

So, you are correct, there are many variables. We were just offering an FMer an inexpensive idea to explore.

After reading this before I submit it strikes me it could come off with an agitated tone. It's not. Thank you for pointing out a problem you've seen.

And now I just finished the "other" thread.