[New Englander]

Originally Posted by EdFNJ

On my unit it is right next to the cap in the electronics section of the cpmpressor. Identified by the 2 very heavy 110V lines (AKA 1 220 line with 2 wires) attached to it. Sometimes the relay contacts get pitted due to arc-over so I just replace it rather than clean it whenever I replace the cap.

Edit: There is also a startup capacitor in the air handler for that fan motor similar to the one in the compressor to be aware of.

Thank You.

[HiHoSteveO]

For some DIY people here, you may find the videos put out by Ted Cook interesting.
Also available for streaming on your TV (Do a search on Youtube)

Anti DIY HVAC - YouTube

[cndlou3]

I have a question not necessarily about whom to have service the unit. My wonderful neighbor called me this morning and told me our unit had been running for 2 hours straight while he was out working in his yard closest to our house. He said he walked over and looked at it and said that there was ice on the inside of unit and on the pipe going into the house. I know that it is froze up my inlaws are going over to shut it off to thaw out and will recheck it later today. Can someone please explain to me the cause of the freezing up and what I should do. Unfortunately we are up north and can't diagnose anything at the moment. The unit was purchased Feb. 2017 so really not horribly old. Any help would be greatly appreciated

[ithos]

Originally Posted by cndlou3

I have a question not necessarily about whom to have service the unit. My wonderful neighbor called me this morning and told me our unit had been running for 2 hours straight while he was out working in his yard closest to our house. He said he walked over and looked at it and said that there was ice on the inside of unit and on the pipe going into the house. I know that it is froze up my inlaws are going over to shut it off to thaw out and will recheck it later today. Can someone please explain to me the cause of the freezing up and what I should do. Unfortunately we are up north and can't diagnose anything at the moment. The unit was purchased Feb. 2017 so really not horribly old. Any help would be greatly appreciated

Most of the time it is caused by two things.

1) Your inside fan is not running(or really clogged filter which is not likely). Since there is no heat transfer across the coil your system freezes up.

2) It is low on refrigerant and most likely have a refrigerant leak.

Have your neighbor check to see if the fan is running.

You can tell if it is a leak by using an amp probe and compare the amps to the one listed on the nameplate.

Either way you will probably need a service call.

[cndlou3]

Originally Posted by ithos

Most of the time it is caused by two things.

1) Your inside fan is not running(or really clogged filter which is not likely). Since there is no heat transfer across the coil your system freezes up.

2) It is low on refrigerant and most likely have a refrigerant leak.

Have your neighbor check to see if the fan is running.

You can tell if it is a leak by using an amp probe and compare the amps to the one listed on the nameplate.

Either way you will probably need a service call.

Thank you at least I know where to start. My father in law was going to go check on it for me. As soon as I hear from him I will proceed with a company for service.

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by Toymeister

Invariably, on TOTV, there has to be a Captain Obvious. Usually this is someone who is cautioning about a task they have never done themselves. Not only do the numerous YouTube videos tell you how to diagnose a bad capacitor but most also show you how to discharge a capacitor. In fact bad caps are so common there is an excellent chance you can replace the cap and fix the problem without diagnosis at all

Now is someone is unwilling to perform this task that's fine but to spread words of caution about something you don't understand that is something quite different.

fyi Been there done that.