Central AC not working (outside unit fan not blowing)?
Our first day of 90+ temperatures yesterday and our Central Air Conditioning is not working. The condensing unit (outside part with all the fins) makes a "buzz" sound when I try to turn this on, but the fan blade does not spin (and all the "compressing noise" is not happening either).
Some details:
* Unit is a Carrier - less than 5 years old
* Inside Fuse box was not tripped, I reset - same issue
* Single fuse outside near compressor not tripped - reset same issue
* The inside fan works, air blows through vents
* Temp outside is about 92 degrees, temp inside was set to 72; now at 76 in the house
* Not a frozen coil issue (1 day later, still not working)
What is happening:
When I set the thermostat to cool and 77 and up the outside stops buzzing. I turn it to 75 or lower and the outside unit stops buzzing again.
Any help would be appreciated — if I had to guess I would think the issue is with a part inside of the compressing unit (the part with all the fins that makes all the noise and has a fan on the top — sorry, wish I knew the tech term for it). The units in the house (Thermostats and blower motors) seem to work fine.
Thank you.
Sure sounds like you do not have the 220 volts needed to power the unit.
The buzzing is probably the contactor energized by the 24 volts from the thermostat.
This is where you would need a volt meter to check the incoming voltage inside the outdoor unit.
If you do not know or are unsure of how to do this you should get a qualified person to do so.
There are wiring diagrams on the unit service panel to assist in this.
somethings are best left unsaid?
Sure sounds like you do not have the 220 volts needed to power the unit.
The buzzing is probably the contactor energized by the 24 volts from the thermostat.
This is where you would need a volt meter to check the incoming voltage inside the outdoor unit.
If you do not know or are unsure of how to do this you should get a qualified person to do so.
There are wiring diagrams on the unit service panel to assist in this.
References :
It may have an antifreeze leak either way you can go buy antifreeze liquid from your contractor store (IE:Lowes) they have tank like things they look like propane. and also there are refill kits you can get too. 5 years sounds like it should be under warrenty still, you should try to call your local carrier outlet and see if its under warrenty?
References :
turn power off to the unit, pull off the little cover over the electrical, there should be a big silver capacitor in there, with a bunch of wires hooked to it. some units have combo caps, the compressor and the fan are connected to it, since neither are running, if it has a combo cap, it might be bad. usually if they are you can tell by looking at them, (warped, bulging) but not always. the buzzing sounds like what happens, the cap goes out and the unit cant start, but tries(buzzing sound), then blows the fuse. or fan is bad, try spinning it, is it stiff?, or compressor is bad. look for loose or burned wires to, ive fixed alot of units by repairing burnt cap wires MAKE SURE POWER IS OFF. capacitors can shock you even with the power off. discharge by touching an insulated screwdriver to terminals on top of cap and body of unit, if this sounds iffy to you call an ac tech, its not worth dying for. compressors usually have 5 year warranties so if thats it, maybe its under warranty still
References :
I could suggest to you how to check and fix this problem, but I feel you would be best to contact a service man to do it.
If you do not know what you are doing you can mess up big time on these units. So I say call a service man and have him check it out may be cheaper for you in long run.
References :