[stadry]

everyone's a GREAT resource,,, THANKS !!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sunnies]

Originally Posted by njbchbum

Hubs sez compressor goes on but no fan. And of course Chuck Farrell’s office is closed til Monday. Anyone got any suggestions what to do other than turn on room fans and wait til Monday?

The A/C control panel has a Large dual capacitor. One side provides the boost of current for the compressor motor and the other side is the for the fan motor. It’s a $17 item and can be bought online and installed easily in a few minutes using YouTube videos. You can buy the Capacitor at the hardware store or Home Depot also. An A/C company will charge $100 to $1,000 - depending how honest they are.

If your A/C unit is over 10 yrs you should replace it anyway. If you take out the 3 screws on the A/C panel cover you will see the round capacitor and can get the numbers off it - to buy a new one. It’s a good practice to keep a spare on hand.

[rlcooper70]

Sunshine AC came to my house at 10:30 PM when our condenser quit .... I called them at 9:40 PM and they were right there. Best AC people in the area. Get an account.

[ts12755]

Typically its the $10 capacitor. Keep spares for the indoor unit and the outdoor unit at your house.

[catman]

12 ruler, give fan a spin, sounds like mine, a starter switch bad

[ekback]

If the compressor runs and the condenser fan doesn't, That means that you have power for everything in the system to work. First thing to check is, do you have the proper voltage to the fan motor terminals? If so, the run capacitor is defective or the motor is defective. Shut the power off and try to turn the fan blade with a long screw driver or stick. If it spins freely, it could as simple as a broken wire ( or not ) If it doesn't spin freely, Replace the motor and capacitor. Good luck.

[Joelack99]

Just so you know, there are 2 capacitors, one on the fan on the outside compressor, and one on the air handler. If no air coming out but the unit outside is running it’s likely the capacitor in the air handler in the garage. If neither is running, or it runs once in awhile, look for the clogged drain. Could be other stuff, but these are most likely.

[bragones]

The same thing happened to me during a very hot summer night. As people have attested here, Chuck Farrell was expedient and reasonable with a capacitor fix. But to get through the middle of the night, I opened the unit and was able to access the area where the fan blew air. I cut a hole in a piece of carboard and but my electric leaf blower through it and then placed it into the vent openning. I received a lot of giggles from folks when I showed them the pic, but it worked!

[OhioBuckeye]

Originally Posted by Topspinmo

My guess, Most likely the capacitor? utube it, if you are mechanical inclined takes about 10 to 20 minutes change it. $15 to $30 dollar part.

I think you’re exactly right! The Capacitor is bad. Easy to change, first trip the AC circuit breaker then take small cover off the side of AC. You’ll see a round cylinder with 2 or 3 wires on top of it. Take a screwdriver & lay it across 2 of the post that wires were hooked to then lay screwdriver across the 3rd one but make sure your screwdriver touches one of the other post while touching 3rd post. Pull capacitor out & put new one in, new capacitor cost $25. If you do it yourself, if you call someone to do it, it’ll cost you $180. Instructions might sound hard but it’s as easy as changing a light bulb. If you hire someone to do it, watch them change it, it only takes them about 10 mins.or less. I changed mine in Mar. of 2019. ONLY change it yourself if your a handy man, & not afraid. Or google it & you’ll see it’s easier than how I explained it, seriously, & you’l be glad you saved yourself $150.

[brakey]

I had a similar problem with our A/C unit. After a storm the fan would not run on the unit outside resulting in no cooling. With a multi meter I found the fan motor was not getting any power. The Relay was visibly burnt as were the wires. I ordered a relay from Repair Clinic and it corrected the problem. I did not replace the capacitor but it would have been a good idea to do so.
If you do this make sure you pull the fuse or breaker that supplies current to the outside A/C unit

Repair Clinic has a troubleshooting section that has helped in the past to find and correct these problems.

Its RepairClinic. com

Good Luck

[Carene7]

Originally Posted by John_W

My fan blower went out last year when the unit was 8 years old. I called Chuck's number and they were here within 2 hours. He got on the phone and ordered a new blower, said he would have it in a day or two. Then he had had a loaner fan, which installed and the A/C came right on. Two days later, they called and came out and removed the loaner and put in the one he ordered. Total price for two visits and parts was $175.

I had a capacitor go out when it was about 4 years old, the fan continued to blow but the air was hot. If you have no fan, it's probably what you suspect, the blower.

Do you know what size you're unit is?
Everyone is showing the dual capacitor of 45/5 microfarids. The 45uf is for the compressor, the 5uf is for the fan. If you have a larger ac unit you will need a higher cap.

[dennisgavin]

anyone have a number for Chuck Farrell? I want to save for future.
TIA.

[erojohn]

I live in a cyv villa complex of around 50 units at least 10 have had problems like your describing. Use a paint stir stick or pencil to give the fan a boost. If it takes off. The capacitor is bad. Ours wenT out on a holiday weekend. I ordered one on amazon but after I ordered I found one one locally. They are ordered by a number ours was 45/5. I believe it is a two section capacitor 45 for the compressor 5 for the compressor fan. If one section goes bad the whole capacitor needs replaced. I think some ac units have 2 capacitors one for each section of the outside unit. Be careful on diy capacitors store electricity. And could give you a jolt even if the 220 is shut off. The part on amazon was less than $20. I now have a spare as do at least 5 other neighbors. Never know whose will go out next. Of course ours went out on one of the hottest weekend s of the summer and on a long weekend. Good luck.

[Nordy]

Don't waste your time with the float switch or drain system. The float switch if your drain is plogged will turn off the outdoor unit(compressor and outdoor fan) or both indoor and outdoor unit completely, depending on how the installing contractor wired it. And you can have a bad fan capacitor and the compressor will still run for a little while until a safety(high pressure or thermal protection) shuts it off. Then the compressor may come on again, but this could severly damage your compressor. Best to shut it off at the t'stat or outdoor electrical disconnect and call an a/c company that has weekend service. But if you want to try spinning the fan blade when the compressor is running might work. Even if it doesn't continue you might still have a bad fan capacitor.
But remember if the fan continues to run your system will cool but once the thermostat is satisfied and stops your unit the fan will not restart by itself. Both the fan and compressor have a capacitor sometimes they are seperate and sometimes they are a combination. if seperate they will have two posts or terminal connections . If combination type the capacitor will have three posts. Some units have a start capacitor(DO NOT MESS WITH THAT CAPACITOR). It will be round, black and probably have a plastic housing. They hold an electrical charge even when removed from the unit! That being said, still50/50 chance you have a bad motor or other problem.

[Bridget Staunton]

Originally Posted by njbchbum

Hubs sez compressor goes on but no fan. And of course Chuck Farrell’s office is closed til Monday. Anyone got any suggestions what to do other than turn on room fans and wait til Monday?

My hubby, air conditioning business 40 years, said it’s the capacitor and every house should have an extra one