How to troubleshoot my A/C?

Jul 12, 2008 5 Replies

Hi



My central A/C is not working as of today. We got up today Saturday and went to the lake with our kid and dog, had a great time, came back to an 86 degrees home. The blower in the addict works we can hear it but the condenser outside isn't. It tries to kick in it seems but doesn't. I pulled the "breaker" out and puit it back in that is located in a metal box close to the condenser but it didn't help. I went in the garage and tried to reset the A/C circuit breaker that didn't help either. I replace my filter every 2 months (They can last 90 days) and I pulled the filter which was only 45 days old and it was extremely filthy, a dark reddish color covered the whole filter. It is usually only dust, a grayish color. I showed it to my wife and daughter and none of us has a clue where that reddish dust could come from. Is it related to the condenser not running outside? The thermostat seems to be working fine, I checked the wiring in the back of it, and it all checks out. Could the thermostat be at fault here? How to know for sure? We will call a technician on Monday if all else fails that we try but I figured I would ask here first and see if it could be a sinple fix. I read on a troubleshooting site that condensers have sometimes reset buttons but I haven't been able to locate one on my unit, but I haven't removed the panels to really take a good look inside either yet.



Thanks for the help



Patrick (In real HotAtlanta ;-)


varois83 wrote: ...

Time to go back to the lake...

The addict in the attic may be the problem...

...

...

I'd guess "yes"...

Think it's dead...

--

Hi

Ok I think I found out where the red color came in the filter, my kid spray painted a model with a dark reddish color and I guess particles went into the air duct. That should take care of that mystery.

Patrick

Repair the burnt compressor wire, compressor terminal, contactor wire, contactor contacts, capacitor wire, start capacitor, run capacitor, PTC, compressor or any other burnt power wire outside. After thats done have the outdoor unit service and CLEANED. Bubba (Feel free to fill my PayPal Account afteryour repair)

I'd suggest to google AC repair, on the web. Got to be some sites out there. The clue is how the outside unit tries to kick on, but doesn't quite run. Might neeed a couple replacement parts, to make it work. Call a tech on Monday sounds like the right answer.

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