A/C outside fan not spinning. Took it apart and cleaned it good. Lots of pine needles, mud and debris. 4 dead mice with their nest in area where the electrical terminals are located, behind a L shaped panel. Turned A/C on from inside and heard a little noise from unit for a few minutes, then another continuous humming sound. We thought we saw the fan blade move about 1/4 in. Any ideas for next move?
This may take a few messages. First, turn power to outside unit; should be a disconnect box outside that you can turn off. Set thermostat to call for cooling, Indoor fan should be running. On the outside unit listen to see if you hear a hum or buzzing noise. Leave outside power off and see if you can spin the fan blade. It should spin freely. Let me know the outcome of this check.
Thank you for your help, Stan. I just wanted to comment that after a user posts their first message and it gets approved, there are no delays in the comment/response system. In fact, if both people are at the site, it might even be faster than email because the reply notifications pop up on the screen right away. Perhaps it may be better than leaving email in the open (we moderate the comments before they appear but have no control over who reads them).
Thanks for the info. I did not know this. Learn something new every day. I just didn't want to confuse him by laying out to much info at one time. Better to go step by step as if I were there checking it.
Stanhvac1, hi and thanks for answering. I am outside& the fan spins freely. I like your step by step approach.
Do you have a volt meter or ohm meter? It would help if so, but if not we will figure it out. First, look in the control panel on the outside unit where the contactor is. There is a capacitor there, (gray or silver metal can; either round or oval shape). Look at it good especially on the top where the wires are. If it is swollen or bulged it is defective. Second: USE EXTREME CAUTION ON THIS STEP. Get a stick that you can reach through the fan guard and rotate the fan blade. 1.Turn the thermostat to call for cooling.
Hello Stanhvac1, you were right, the capacitor needed changing! I wish I had done it myself, but my peeps were getting quite cranky due to the heat. Thank you for your help.
You're welcome. Thanks for letting me know what the problem was. I was almost 95% sure the problem was the capacitor.
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