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  • pronstar

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    Jul 2, 2017
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    Last night, I noticed warm air blowing from our system.

    I went outside, and the fan on the main unit was not on, and things were getting pretty hot to the touch.

    I turned the system off, waited about 30 minutes, then powered it back on again.

    The fan didn’t move, so I prodded it with a twig. I felt some resistance, but it quickly ramped up to speed and things seem to be working normally.

    I’ve gone to check on it several times, and the fan is activating.

    I figure the fan motor may be on its way out.

    Google-fu suggests I should replace the motor and the starting capacitor, but before I start replacing parts, I was hoping y’all may have some insight?

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    robertc1024

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    That's pretty common and a cheap fix. If that motor has any resistance to turning, its bearings are shot. You might just be able to replace those, but usually its more trouble than its worth.
     

    sidebite252

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    Yep ours went out last night as well. I’ve troubleshot with my AC guy (happens to be a close friend). My compressor isn’t running. He’s on his way........

    Good luck with yours. You gonna need it in a few hours.
     

    pronstar

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    Oh, he says and the resistance I felt was probably the the motor itself trying to get going.

    But I’ll keep an eye on it.

    Caps are cheap, the motor is $150+

    In any event, both cap and motor are easy to replace.


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    oldag

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    Is the compressor running even when the fan is not (up to the point the thermal switch shuts everything down)? I would think yes, since you said the unit was hot. Unit would not be hot if the compressor was not running. To me that would indicate the capacitor is working since it started the compressor.

    Start with the fan motor. The resistance could seem to indicate the bearings are going.

    Not that expensive and takes longer to get the tools together than to do the replacement.

    I have had the fan motors go out at least several times over the years on various units.
     

    dsgrey

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    Yep, I've had several capacitors replaced over the years. They go bad. Also, ants are attracted to them and the circuit board which can cause them to die early.
     

    John Galt

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    Mar 17, 2020
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    Instead of suffering without A/C while waiting on fan parts, I have had success laying a box fan on top of the condenser unit blowing down. Your pressures will still be a bit high since the box fan doesn't move nearly as much air as the installed one, but it'll get you out of a pinch and keep the house moderately cool.
     

    ZX9RCAM

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    I still remember the "gold medallion", lying on top of the inside unit, stating we had an all electric house....
     

    John Galt

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    It would be a good idea to discharge before removing just in case the cap is not the culprit. I never have though. Just don't touch the prongs.
    On a side note, the stored energy in a capacitor can be painful but not fatal. When I was in the Navy we used to charge capacitors and leave them laying in random places around the ship with notes saying, "Do Not Touch! Call (insert shop phone number)" We were always amazed at the number of discharged capacitors we would find when someone did call.
     
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