Last summer I replaced a cap on this '88 Trane unit when it stopped running. It was actually the 2nd time I'd replaced that cap. Once the cap was replaced it ran fine. Cooled the house off quick, not huge impact on the power bill given rate hikes over the years. Ran it a few times for heat briefly during the Winter, didn't notice any problems. Just now when I tried to fire it up on A/C again, no cooling. So, having gone through this drill twice before I immediately went to look at the cap. It's not bulging like the previous 2 were before but one of the spade connectors has severed from the wire and there's obvious arcing residue on the contacts and melting of the plastic fitting around the contacts the severed spade was attached to. On that side the contacts are also very rusted while the contacts on the other side are still shiny. I can also feel oil on the outside of the cap.
Not a big trick to get another cap and solder a spade connector back onto the wire, but I wonder what caused the arcing? The A/C ran like a champ when it was running last summer after the cap was replaced and I visually checked it a time or two over the next couple of months to see if I could see any issues, didn't see anything that caught my attention - but this makes 3 times in a couple of years I've had issues with that cap, albeit not the same identical issue at least from an eyeball standpoint.
I've had the cap mounted sideways, simply because the strap on the unit for the factory cap is oriented that way. Should it make any difference which direction the cap is oriented?
Thanks for all assistance and wisdom.