Bookkeeper with AC struggle

My bookkeeper is struggling with an AC issue. As a minority female I think she may be being taken advantage of. This 1998 build York AC (H1RA048S06B) was serviced a month ago and checked out fine, correct Freon levels, etc. Two weeks later the system was blowing warm air and she noticed the outdoor condenser fan was not running. She called the tech who did the service and he guessed over the phone that the condenser fan motor was bad. He suggested she pull the breaker and take a stick and see if the fan was seized. It was not. I suggested she re-set the breaker and try to spin the fan with power on. She did so and the fan ran for a few minutes and then it stopped again. I told her she needed the tech on site. Because she had a home warranty on the equipment, another tech came and tested the charge and stated she would need 10 lbs of Freon and maybe a capacitor and service. He further stated that the lack of Freon was why the fan motor would not run. He quoted a pile of money, based mostly on the Freon expense. She became suspicious given the Freon level was fine a month ago. Now she does not know what to do. Techs are flat out here and finding an honest/competent one seems to be near impossible. Shouldn’t the tech have started by simply testing the resistance of the capacitor and replacing if out of spec?

Could easily be a coincidence that the original motor failed two weeks after a PM check ( is that what she had done or a service call ? )

If the data plate on the outdoor unit is visible, typically the manufacturers annotate the factory refrigerant charge to include a matching indoor coil and a certain amount of lineset.

Lack of refrigerant shouldn’t have anything to do with the fan motor operation, unless it’s ( motor ) on a head pressure control, which doubt she has.

Does the compressor run, as if the breaker did not trip or outdoor unit not have a high pressure safety switch to shut compressor off, then that may/may not be another issue.

How do you know the capacitor was not checked? when 2nd tech. came out? Amprege draw of motor is another check.

May have to call a non home warranty company and request a senior Tech. to check her system.

Originally Posted by Bazooka Joe

Could have easily installed a generic motor that was not a match, such as HP or amprege draw, and the motor is running at a higher amprege than it was designed for. If it ran for a few minutes then stopped, and it’s not seized the motor could have opened on a internal switch.

If the data plate on the outdoor unit is visible, typically the manufacturers annotate the factory refrigerant charge to include a matching indoor coil and a certain amount of lineset.

Thanks, but no new motor has been installed at all. It is original and the unit ran great all summer. Here is spec plate. She showed me a photo after removing service cover (breaker pulled!) and the compartment was full of leaves and junk. Contactor had cobwebs and junk.

Originally Posted by sgbroimp

(H1RA048S06B)

Because she had a home warranty on the equipment, another tech came and tested the charge and stated she would need 10 lbs of Freon and maybe a capacitor and service.

Shouldn’t the tech have started by simply testing the resistance of the capacitor and replacing if out of spec?

This unit only holds 7 lbs 5 oz of refrigerant for a 15 foot line length between the indoor and outdoor unit. It would take another 61 feet of line length (total of 76 feet) to get to 10 lbs of refrigerant. And that is if the system was completely empty.

Sounds like a typical home warranty tech trying to make extra money.

I had a similar situation just the other day. I was called as a second opinion. The home warranty tech said the condenser fan motor was bad, but he couldn’t replace it unless the homeowner paid him an additional exorbitant fee to clean the condenser coil first.

Yes, the capacitor should be checked. The fan motor could very well be bad too even though it is not seized.

Boy did that second picture make me laugh out loud! <g>

No 4 ton residential system built in the last 40 years takes 10 lbs of refrigerant.

And there is no refrigerant charge level low enough to stop the condenser fan while leaving the compressor run. <g>

If you genuinely want to help her – spring for the cost of getting at least a non-warranty mechanic over there to do the very simple, basic, fast, and easy repair she needs.

If you want to further help her – ********************

PHM
——-

[/QUOTE]

We don’t want to get into recommending legal action.

Originally Posted by sgbroimp

Thanks, but no new motor has been installed at all. It is original and the unit ran great all summer. Here is spec plate. She showed me a photo after removing service cover (breaker pulled!) and the compartment was full of leaves and junk. Contactor had cobwebs and junk.

The capacitor looks bulged from here, where the wires hook up, if so that’s not a good thing, and would need to be replaced. Question is, is the compressor OK? yes I corrected my initial post about a replacement motor being installed and see that the original one is in place.

How many feet of lineset does she have?

If reading serial number correctly says built date March 1973 or 1994 thinking more like 1994, which still makes the system pretty old.

Thanks, guys. As always, good advice! Probably a good idea to get all the leaves and crap out of there. Wonder if a spider has also made a home in the contactor, so guess that needs a good shot of air. Now if she can find a tech to do what is right and as PHMikey stated. As for the line set length, she states no more than 15′. If you are betting with the percentages, you would bet on the capacitor as culprit I guess……..

It requires a hand-on session – but no; that would not be my first guess based on the visual inspection we’ve had so far.

PHM
——-

Originally Posted by sgbroimp

Thanks, guys. As always, good advice! Probably a good idea to get all the leaves and crap out of there. Wonder if a spider has also made a home in the contactor, so guess that needs a good shot of air. Now if she can find a tech to do what is right and as PHMikey stated. As for the line set length, she states no more than 15′. If you are betting with the percentages, you would bet on the capacitor as culprit I guess……..

If it’s your bookkeeper, why isn’t she using you to fix it?

We are an importing company, not an HVAC outfit. She would not want me fiddling with it, believe me! Meanwhile she sent me another photo. What a lousy wiring job (not done recently she states) with added resistance I am guessing.