Replace a malfunctioning condenser fan motor. Not sure if it's external or if it even has one. The service panel is the panel on the side of the condensing unit. I can hear the coil from the tinny fan control circuit board turning the fan off and then back on during this problem. So how do you fix dirty contacts? Why Does My Outside Condenser Keep Running? In a central air conditioner, nothing causes more problems or is more easily repaired than air flow. Today it is at 0-40. Naturally, this will cause the condenser fan to fail. After you turn the power back off, replace everything the way it was. My guess is no low speed, but we need to know all circumstances in which that speed is used to assure dropping it is ok. Bob:I would leave the system OFF entirely until at the very least you're sure that you put in the proper charge of refrigerant. It may be the AC condensers compressor or fan. 12 - Sub Zero Refrigerator Condenser Fan Motor. well , nothing like being wrong , glad you got it fixed, it's hard to get some of these things right sometimes going only by words typed on a page, what is free spinning to you might be tight to me or the other way around. Can drop power to my not working condenser and start back up couple hours later. So what do you do when the condenser fan in your AC stops running? Is there fluid leaking out of the capacitor? Turn off electrical power to the indoor unit. Take a look at the circuit breaker associated with . Not enough space clearance. I don't want the compressor to overwork so I have been standing next to it waiting for it to die, then run in and shut down the unit down. Cocoa/Merritt Island/Rockledge 321-631-6886 This keeps them both running together. Is it possible that this issue could be caused by the capacitor? Here's how to do it: Turn your refrigerator off at the wall or unplug it. I will contact pioneer. Is the drive separate from the compressor? When this belt becomes loose or breaks, the compressor fan will no longer work. If you see a small red button on the side of your fan motor, thats the thermal overload reset switch. This is at the front of the refrigerator underneath the door. A bad condenser fan has the capacity to cause the refrigerator to run non-stop. 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Gina Im having the exact same problem. Sorry Jedson but I don't understand the question. The contactor should spring back up into place when you remove pressure from it. Listen and Look for a Faulty Defrost Timer. Power source switched off or unplugged. When an outside fan fails, the most likely cause is a capacitor issue. Dirty condenser coils. Your service tech will perhaps look for a bad control board, relay, or wiring connection or sensor. The condenser fan is visible inside of the outdoor compressor/condenser unit such as the unit shown in our sketch at left, an in our other photos on this page. Compressor still running. The compressor is depending on the fan to move air across the condensing coil to convert high pressure, high temperature gas back to a liquid refrigerant. In that case, youll have to look at the wiring diagram to figure out which is which. Easy enough to do anyway. It comes about every 10 minutes or so. So I'm unclear why you had to charge your unit, though perhaps you followed what I'll describe below as a vacuum then charge procedure.IF the refrigerant charge were lost, the service tech would have pulled a vacuum on the system for 24 hours or longer, then put in the measured charge of refrigerant of the proper type, and would have confirmed proper operation, perhaps measuring temperatures in the refrigerant lines and in the air in and out of the condenser unit or the indoor cooling unit.Below is an example - for other readers, of a Pioneer mini-split AC system.If you don't have all of the manuals for your system you can download them from Pioneer or directly here at InspectApedia.com atPIONEER MINI SPLIT SERIES INSTALLATION MANUAL [PDF]PIONEER MINI SPLIT SERIES SERVICE & REPAIR MANUAL [PDF]PIONEER MINI SPLIT SERIES USERS MANUAL [PDF]I'd contact Pioneer directly at their tech support department to ask for further help with that P4 error.Contact Pioneer at(800) 919-0150https://www.pioneerminisplit.com/. One of the most common reasons fans stop spinning is because of a dead capacitor. Continue readingat CAPACITORS for HARD STARTING MOTORS or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX. The contactor coil is the part of the contactor that switches on and off. After running fine for like an hour the condenser unit fan would stop but the compressor would continue working. On 2020-03-02 by Anonymous I got a p4 error once which the troubleshoot guide says is: inverter compressor drive error. When the capacitor fails, the condenser fan will no longer rotate. The fan turns off outside and doesn't come back on until I switch the ac off and wait at least an hour or so n but it is still blowing air in the apartment. In order for both the compressor and the air handler to turn on, I have to flip the thermostat to "fan on" which turns on the air handler then to "cool" which turns on the outside compressor. Loacal AC guy came out for $89.00 and told me I needed a host of thingsnew fan (special order), new motor, new start/run capacitor.new type of freon$1,150.00! A faulty cooling fan relay can also negatively affect air conditioning (A/C) performance.The reason being, on most vehicles, is that the cooling fan doubles as a condenser fan.When the A/C is turned on, the fan moves air across the A/C condenser, thereby removing heat from the refrigerant, which changes from a vapor to a liquid state as it gives off heat it . I say that because mine is 30 UF +0.3 cap and I bought a 50+ UF cap at 470 volts. Did find a lose red wire on the contactor. Fan control circuit board is brand new. Are the bearings damaged or covered in sludge? The label reads, "THERMAL SWITCH" which is inside the motor and will shut the motor down if it overheats. A bent condenser fan causes stress on the blower fan motor shaft and can destroy the motor. Welcome to the forums. Melbourne/Palm Bay 321-727-9969 No cooling, no heating. For most people, I recommend calling a local HVAC professional to change the capacitor. I had a HVAC Repair company come out over 5 times trying to fix it. Thats a surefire way of knowing that a capacitor is bad. The problem came back. The condenser unit fanis a blower that moves outdoor air across the condensing coil found in the outdoor compressor/condenser unit. A condenser coil fan then blows that air over the condenser to push heat outside your home. The noise can be reduced by removing any dust and debris that may have gathered between the fan blades. Think this could be the fan motor itself? Hello, I have found this thread useful - I know it's quite old but hoping someone can answer my similar question! Why does my condenser keep running? Fan is brand new. Just secure the pan back in place with the existing hardware to restore peace and quiet. Capacitor is brand new. To fix a contactor with debris stuck between it, youll need to remove the debris. Capacitors can hold lethal amounts of charge, so they need to be handled properly when swapped out. Some units also have dual capacitors that power you air conditioner's fans, as well as your compressor. The unit cooled fine until late last week when we noticed it being extra warm but we have had a mild spring until the last couple of weeks. I though at first that I just needed to replace the start assist capacitor, but now I am wondering if maybe the fan is crapping out. The air flow is driven by a large fan (the "blower") inside the home. If these coils are dirty, then your air conditioner runs longer, causing the air conditioner to overheat. AC unit (old) has been running fine until couple days ago. I am thinking of asking for a second opinion just to be sure before I sink money into a new coil. The new 3 wire fan doesn't have this wire. Sign up for a new account in our community. This indicator light is connected to the units control board. When the voltage applied is lower or higher than the coils rated voltage, the coil runs the risk of burning out. 2. I have not got that error since. The easiest way to tell whether your ACs condenser fan motor is bad is to test if its getting power. AC ran fin all Summer of 2018. yes, I am not familiar with the proper terms. Jim, thanks so much for the very nice feedback - that's just super. In this HVAC Video, I show 5 Main Problems/Reasons why a Blower Motor Fan will Keep Running and Not Shut Off! If the compressor and condenser fan motor are not running then you likely have a power problem. If the condenser coils are too dirty, the air conditioner's cooling power is limited so the system has to keep running in attempts to cool each room. Here's why: Your standard split A/C unit has 2 parts: the outside unit and the inside unit. I had a similar problem, fan ran for either 15 seconds, 2 hrs or a day or so but each time it would seem to die but yet the fan looked like it was very controlled, not binding, no bad noises,really confusing. I ohmed the 3 motor windings and they add up correctly. Why does my condenser fan stop running? Trane xb1000. Could be a bad start-run capacitor or a bad control board. If the refrigerator runs constantly there might be something caught in the condenser fan motor blade, or the condenser fan motor might be defective. See if you can find the wiring diagram for your condenser unit - often on a sticker in the unit, or always in the IO manual for the unit. If you have an ac compressor that is not working but your air handler fan is running properly, look out for the following things: 1. My old fan was a 4 wire system and has a red,yellow, brown, and black wire. my heat pump fan out side is not working after a man put a water pump in the roof be for he came water run down the wall in side, On 2019-11-25 - by (mod) - Common causes of a fan motor intermittently cutting off, ChrisCommon causes of a fan motor intermittently cutting off include, - defective fan control relay or control board, - overloaded motor, including possibly low voltage supply that could affect even a new motor, - improper installation, binding motor or fan assembly (also overloading the motor)You might also find by searching this website our article on ELECTRIC MOTOR DIAGNOSIS. There also may be a reset button on the outside AC unit that can be pushed. You should be able to use a single switched or double pole switched contactor. Any suggestions? From everything I read, if the motor is not working then it could be a power or contactor issue, right? Many contactor contacts get dirty after a few years of use. Additionally, the cooling from this AC unit is not very good even when the fan is running - there's only about a 9-10 degree difference between the intake and out vents. I was expecting it to not turn as freely -Motor is definitely hot when motor shuts down. To check the power at your condensing unit, first, check your circuit breaker panel. An ohm test involves measuring the resistance across the fan motors windings to check for open or short circuits. The coil was not penetrated & maintains pressure. Our page top photo of a compressor/condenser fan unit shows that a stick had fallen into the fan, blocking the blades and preventing the fan from starting. Please bookmark this page to make it easy for you to check back for our response. If you don't have a meter they aren't all that expensive. Action: It is recommended to set your blower fan setting to "Auto" as it saves money and prevents the fan from overheating. Fan is brand new. The fan continues to run at its maxiumum speed, regardless of the engine temperature. The problem came back. Filter,and coils clean; ventsare open. Burnt Out Motor. Fan belts are components that wear down over time. Thanks for the great step by step instructions to troubleshooting. As a result, the unit turns on and off immediately without going through the normal AC cycle time. Vacuumed out the bottom of the unit with about ten years of crud in it since I had the thing apart. The AC ran for about 1.5 hours and then shut down the fan due to overheating. Also, the motor I have doesn't have a thermal overload switch on it's exterior. When it stops, feel the Motor to see if it's hot. The air conditioner or heat pump condensing coil (shown at left) receives high pressure refrigerant gas from the compressor and cools this refrigerant gas back to a liquid state. Sebastian/Vero Beach 772-778-2272. The fan should not run with only one side powered. There is more than one possible cause of a noisy air conditioner. Dodge Master. Please advice on what to do, thank you. More subtle would be a mis-adjusted or debris-clogged expansion valve or reversing valve.Note that Pioneer's mini split units come pre-charged with R410A in a volume sufficient to ccommodate refrigerant line lengths up to 25 ft. per circuit. Condenser fan motor runs backwards. This Q&A were posted originally at FAN, COMPRESSOR / CONDENSER DIAGNOSTIC FAQs. This will cut power to the condenser fan. Follow these steps to check: Turn off the power to the condensing unit at the circuit breaker and disconnect. The heavy fan motor is mounted on the panel, so have a helper hold it while you install the blanket. Clogged air filter. Meanwhile, I installed the old cap and the motor was cooled. I think I'll try checking the ohm load on the motor. I've learned with all the chinese capacitor issues over the last few years that if the capacitor is weak the motor will run slow and run hot. Typically, there's an on-off . If your outside condenser keeps running, this could be a sign of any of the following issues: Jay does a great job explaining the step-by-step process to change an AC condenser units fan capacitor. The next task is figuring out why the thermal overload tripped in the first place. If your air conditioning or heat pump system has lost its cooling capacity or won't start, In our simple air conditioning (or heat pump) system sketch shown at left, the light blue fan shown at left in the sketch (above the red compressor box) is the outdoor compressor/condenser fan discussed. If the fan itself is balanced and undamaged and secured to the shaft and the fan motor buzzes or hums the motor may be damaged, overheated, have an internal bearing failure, or the motor may be hard starting. Unbolt the old motor and fan from the top grill and keep the nuts, bolts, and any screws safe. Check for a refrigerant leak. Got lucky and looks like the cheapie fix was the right fix. Set the function switch to "Ohms" on an auto-ranging DMM or the "R X 1" scale on a manual ranging DMM. A detailed case of diagnosing and fixing a condenser fan that was running backwards at speed changes is discussed below at. New to this site however have an issue similar to above. Make sure the door seals are properly sealed and tight. 2. I check the uF on the cap with my meter first thing. Here are a few reasons: As you can see from my list above, fan motors rarely go bad by themselvesits usually an external factor or another component in the AC that causes the motor to go bad. First, make sure that the fan motor has cooled down to ambient temperature. This process converts hot refrigerant . Check the freezer's compressor. Ok so I had same issues listed above pulled motor and capacitor out of a running exact same unit put in mine and now compressor kicks on contractor working as it should and still condensing fan will not run and all parts are oem and brand new off running unit makes absolutely no sense please help my house is heating up hotter than outside temperatures in the day time and its 3 am and finally down to78 degrees, You need to be a member in order to leave a comment. Mechanical Issues. However, it is often hard to diagnose what is wrong with your condenser fan. So, I ordered a new motor and cap. Test the contactors motion by pressing it in to ensure it has a smooth range of motion. Why does a condenser motor fan break? Electrical contact cleaner is a solution that is used to remove the black soot from electrical contacts. The capacitator losing its charge. AC started back up, and it repeated the same issue. Took the temp at fan motor and it was over 200. The fact that your fan is reversing direction tells me that this is a heat pump and the controls are miswired or oscillating between heating and cooling, or there's a fan wiring error - as the unit's new. The AC is OFF. When your system's air filter is full of . My heat pump has a similar issue only in reverse. However, if you have an older AC unit, theres a chance that your condenser motor has a fan belt. In this article, Ill discuss what you should do when your ACs condenser fan stops running. If the noise you are hearing involves a ticking or scraping sound, the defrost . If the relay shorts or fails, it will not be able to . Within this unit, a fan blows cool air over the condenser to keep it cool. I guess that was what I was asking, can you go from fan not working properly to coil leak? 4. Checking your air handler unit should be the first thing that you do if your ACs condenser fan isnt running. It's easy! My unit is 22 years old! That identifies what each of the wires are. 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