A/C problem, need help ASAP

Get an electrician to check your shorts

Have your buddy hold the breaker handle over for a while so the current can stabilize and you can get a better reading.

Absolutely. 200 amps is a lot of punch.

It is quite obviously not very relevant, but there is very solid 24 VAC as input to the contactor's coil.

One pair of contacts (across the contactor) measures 0 ohm. Another pair, strangely, measures infinity, which is quite strange as the contactor ought to be closed for a power fault like this to occur (barring some very strange troubles). I left the outside unit due to the rain that resumed, will come back there soon.

I am not used to seeing such strange contactors, all contactors that I dealt with, to date, were three pole contactors for 3 phase motors.

Also, can someone explain me why the capacitor has three sets of terminals. What is the purpose of the third terminal. Thanks.

Funny, but OMFG

My shorts are pretty wet by now, from the rain and wet grass.

As far as the wiring, I would like to check out some things by myself (I am not a big stranger to electricity, built my phase converter blah blah).

My shorts are pretty wet by now, from the rain and wet grass.

As far as the wiring, I would like to check out some things by myself (I am not a big stranger to electricity, built my phase converter blah blah).

My shorts are pretty wet by now, from the rain and wet grass.

As far as the wiring, I would like to check out some things by myself (I am not a big stranger to electricity, built my phase converter blah blah).

I tried it, and I think that the breaker is good enough to reset despite that. In any case, it is kind of pointless, as I know that the current is too large and lasts too long.

I tried asking my wife to turn on the CB while I was outside, I heard some humming noise and then stop. I will wait a little until rain subsides and will go back.

Well, the contactor's apparently bad. Start there. Been there, done that. Respectfully, Ron Moore

Hi Ron.

I think that I was wrong. The contactor is OK. I must have mismeasured something. It has zero ohms across bost pairs of contacts.

I am going to post a little update, it is a little more apparent to me -- see my separate post.

Turn up the "squelch" knob on the CB. That ought to stop the humming and noise.

Sounds like you are not going to be helpful.

You get what you pay for. Hire a tech and get it fixed. hang out on the world wide web and be entertained.

Cheap f*ck.

I am giving about 60% that I can diagnose it tonight.

Good idea, I will check motor leads for leaks to ground. (the main motor leads should read a very low resistance to one another).

This is symptomatic of a bad compressor. Try testing the motor leads for a dead short (to each other and ground). There are start and run leads. You may need a HVAC guy to replace your compressor and recharge the system.

Tony

Um, no, that could not be the case. If I disconnect the cap's fat blue lead and let the cap hang in the air, the breaker does not blow, the blower runs, and the compressor hums (I am sure that it does not run).

It is very likely the cap.

Two capacitors, in one can, with a common terminal.