I'm having the very same issue with my brother's 18 year old Lennox A/C. No 24v at the outside unit. This video gives me excellent clues on what and how to check the low voltage circuitry. I have not been able to find a fuse at the control board at the air handler but I will try again tomorrow.
I agree with all the positive comments.. You have a calm, teachable voice. Although the problem(s) was getting severe, you didnt allow that to stress you or panic you. Well Done Sam! 👍
Sam, like another person (s) have said, you have a teaching voice/knack. If you ever got tired of what you do, you could get a job at a University and teach this stuff. You have the gift of the mind and the gift of the soul. Thank you again for this lesson on how to do it right and safe.
One of the very best training videos I've seen especially for a novice. Sam has a lot of patience 👍 and explains it thoroughly. The guy is a great teacher. Well done.
Your troubleshooting skill is outstanding, but most of all, your clear narration along with great video footage is excellent. Thank you for putting in the time to provide such great content.
There may be a few genuine and ethical service men, after watching you step by step troubleshooting and servicing, I proudly can say you are the best helping and educating son this world needs. Thank you so much for serving the world. 👍👌🙏🏽
I knew Rocky Balboa worked as a meat processor and an enforcer for the mob. I had no idea that he was an HVAC EXPERT! I learned much from this video, thank you. I sincerely appreciated your tenacity and use of your IF/THAN logic to solve for the issue. 🧠🧠🧠🧠
Great video! Clearly explained step-by-step diagnostics. Good that you cut the thermostat wiring back to where the yellow wire was cut, so you could wire things back up for standard color coding. Here's my theory on why the yellow wire broke: when the system was installed, the tool used by whoever stripped off the black cladding from around the low-voltage/thermostat multi-wire cable may have cut a little too deep, cutting into the yellow wire, but leaving maybe one of the yellow wire's strands uncut or just nicked, which would still allow current/voltage through it, but over time, that thin remaining strand eventually broke, maybe due to mechanical motion transferred to it each time the system ran and rumbled. At the outside unit, it looks like the wire nut holding the two halves of the blue wire together might have fallen off because it wasn't twisted on firmly enough, or was too large for the gauge of the wire, and eventually the mechanical motion of the unit, vibrating the nut and the wires, loosened the nut off of the wires.
Yo bro great videos man very thoroughly explained and shown no extra b.s. talking to throw techs in training off. I started out for years being an installer and wanted to get into service more so I always come on UA-cam for training and glad I found your channel and will recommend it to my younger homeys in the field keep up the great videos.
I have work on units for a while and I can tell you you man do a great job explaining step by step for some people it’s hard but you make it really easy great job and keep them coming for the rest of the people 👍🏼👍🏼
You are very professional and it’s not only that you does think about the other technicians and you try to make it easy for them behind you. Truly not every technician they think about other. Good job Sam! I am lucky finding you to learn from you 👍
You are an excellent teacher/trainer! Most way over my head, but I did like the contactor test - which mine has been stuck every since I cleaned out my condensor coils last fall - contactor was stuck down! Now working THANK GOD for helping me 'unstick it' without fear!
Great video man. Aren't you ever worried that pushing the contactor in with your hand will get you shocked??? And new techs to the business really shouldn't do this!
Thinking about the next technician who might come after you with less experience is really good to see. Thanks for going the extra step and re-using the original Y wire.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge your help and you showing what you do helps me in my journey in learning the process that it takes to troubleshoot an ac unit Thank you so much stay blessed.
Great video. Thank replaced an ac contact switch that was fried or faulty, it looked burned. Before that I replaced the capacitor( this was my first time trouble shooting our ac ) Replaced the single pole with 2 pole; it’s all I found at the store and found a video on how to wire a 2 pole as a single pole. Still nothing. Our house has a switch that feeds the thermostat; it was off. I switched it on, put the disconnect back on and went to the thermostat and set it to cool and Shazam… cold air. I can’t believe it. So relieved as I’m in Texas and now o even have a spare capacitor and extra ac contact ( too cheap to not have spares) and now I have no worries about wether it might fail in the summer which I doubt and if on the chance it does than I can fix it again. So if I can than you can too
It's hard to be mindful of the next guy. I do it because many times I am the next guy! Honestly I do enjoy fixing the mess (sometimes)... because it's those situations that keep help you gain experience. Thank you for the feedback!
Thanks for this video! It gave me so much direction! I learned that I had a heat pump with two sources of heat -- and that I probably need to fill my gas tank! My heater wasn't blowing heat and I discovered that my white wire was an aux wire by going out to my outside unit and looking under the cover. I also blew a fuse on my control board -- which I didn't even know existed. Thanks again!
Sam, You the man, You are definitely very knowledgeable and you also have very nice and easy way of explaining details. I just wish you were in the Northern VA area. I am just having the same issue my Contactor is not pulling in because of 24 volts but may be I am wrong because I was checking 24 volt DC but after watching your video it seems, it is 24 volt AC. Right now its raining like hell in northern VA so I can't confirm the voltage but When I press the plunger the condensing unit starts. Looks like, the issue is of 24 AC volts. Thanks for very detailed video on this topic, I really learned a lot.
Thanks for the help. Mine ended up being a break in one of the t-stat wires going out to the condenser took me like 20 minutes to troubleshoot and fix the problem and now it works like a charm
Excellent Video. You explain very clearly exactly what and why you are doing what you are doing. Diagnosis was done with perfection, great result. Thank you. I just subscribed.
The blue wire was working. I would have just left a note at the board. You had a short at the condenser and a blown wire coming into the mother board. I have seen this many times where a circuit wasn't reading the full voltage necessary to pull in the contactor. Also reading the flashes from the light...this is really helpful!
Nice!! That is one of the true tough jobs you will run into, and you made it look simple. Wish I would of seen this before I ran into it for the first time in the field. Very good video for those in the field.
In all your videos you keep talking about fuses I still have to find one and I looked everywhere and I know I have a low voltage short but where??Thanks for all your videos!!
Excellent VIDEO and clear explanation. Some techs when they strip wire instead of stripping from the end back 6-8 inches, they cut around the wire that far back and pull the sheathing off, and in so doing they may have cut the wire as you experienced.
thanks for the video. i have two questions: 1, once you manually pressed the contactor and the compressor and fan are working, why did you still want to check the contactor output voltage? 2, why didn’t you go to the furnace board directly but rather went to thermostat first?
Great videos SAM, the way you explain every detail. and how you take your time to do so you're awesome, and you are actually showing us with the problem happening on every day. thank you sir keep up the videos will keep 👍👍up good bless
I found you due to the scamdemic quarantine 2020 and can say that you are a great technician. You explain your thought process and tell us the step by step process of what you are doing! that's a great way to teach, Sam. Thanks for sharing, from Texas. J
Sam why's the yellow (cooling) wire in the furnace board connected together with the white (heat) wire? Aren't they supposed to be apart? Why are there 2 red (power) wires & 2 white (heat) wires? And why is the blue (common) wire not connected or used? Thanks.
We have the 4 wires running from the thermostat to the furnace board. If we focus just on cooling... keep in mind that we still need low voltage to run to the condenser. What you see is one wire going from thermostat to the furnace board... yellow... and the other white runs to condenser... the low voltage that connects to the contactor. The wire to contactor are both low voltage one white and one red. This may not always be the case however. It depends on the colors used by the installer. The blue wire is sometimes used as a common wire but on this system is not used. Most wires for thermostats have 5 or even 6 wires. I simply used the blue wire as it was not being used. Hope that makes sense... did not want to overwhelm you... 😅
Thank you! I truly to remind myself that I need to be mindful that one day I may need help or assistance and I don't want someone to rip me off by being deceitful! You'd be surprised if I told you the stories I run into as to how this or that company wanted to charge such and such unnecessarily.
hi, when you were testing for continuity at 12:52 between R and W and the meter beeps. This is with the furnace switch pushed in, correct? If the furnace switch wasn't pushed in, then the meter should show OL, is this correct? thank you.
The inducer motor should not be running during the cool stage. The inducer motor will run only when you call for heat. I would suspect either a board or wiring issue.
I Should’ve gotten the popcorn like you said LOL.. However,, never would’ve learned as much as I did from any box office movie out there!! Thank you for helping us , I salute you 👏👏👏 QUESTION : Did you take a continuity test on the 24v while the coil had voltage on it or off ? Thanks you the MAN !
The reason I started my channel was because like you I used to go to UA-cam for help and was frustrated that a 2 minute video was 6 minutes. I remember thinking when i have a chance i would post videos to help others without talking about my personal life etc. Years later humbly I have a channel thinking about myself and others like you who just want help! Glad to be of a help and as you educate yourself you will master the trade! Good luck!
I’m only showing 17-18v to the thermostat. Control board terminal strip is showing 27v. Would the low voltage to the thermostat not cause the condensing unit and blower motor inside to not turn on?
Noticed after removing the thermostat wiring from the board to re do the wiring, there was another set on wires still on the board a RED & WHITE what are those wires for
great videos man, excuse me my friend, how do you test the high pressure switch, and the low pressure switch, thanks. I mean on heat pump system condenser unit.
I'm having the very same issue with my brother's 18 year old Lennox A/C. No 24v at the outside unit. This video gives me excellent clues on what and how to check the low voltage circuitry. I have not been able to find a fuse at the control board at the air handler but I will try again tomorrow.
I agree with all the positive comments.. You have a calm, teachable voice. Although the problem(s) was getting severe, you didnt allow that to stress you or panic you. Well Done Sam! 👍
Sam, like another person (s) have said, you have a teaching voice/knack. If you ever got tired of what you do, you could get a job at a University and teach this stuff. You have the gift of the mind and the gift of the soul. Thank you again for this lesson on how to do it right and safe.
I hate when people put "MUST WATCH" on their videos but this is a must watch. Ridiculously educational. Thanks alot
Thanks Sam, you make it easy to follow along and are a awesome teacher. Probably the best hvac wiring tutorial on youtube.
Great video, 24 minutes well worth watching, you explain with lots of details, very easy to understand, thanks for the the video.
One of the very best training videos I've seen especially for a novice. Sam has a lot of patience 👍 and explains it thoroughly. The guy is a great teacher.
Well done.
well except for the part where he uses his finger to push the contactor in.. Not good!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and being HONEST!!!! God Bless YOU and your business...
That was a real life scenario that can happen to anyone. Thanks for taking us through the troubleshooting steps. It was extremely helpful !
Pul contractor by the finger - you are crazy man! 240 volts there...
Your troubleshooting skill is outstanding, but most of all, your clear narration along with great video footage is excellent. Thank you for putting in the time to provide such great content.
There may be a few genuine and ethical service men, after watching you step by step troubleshooting and servicing, I proudly can say you are the best helping and educating son this world needs. Thank you so much for serving the world. 👍👌🙏🏽
I knew Rocky Balboa worked as a meat processor and an enforcer for the mob. I had no idea that he was an HVAC EXPERT! I learned much from this video, thank you. I sincerely appreciated your tenacity and use of your IF/THAN logic to solve for the issue. 🧠🧠🧠🧠
A " short " and a " open " both .
Really fantastic stuff here for someone fresh out of school like myself .
Thanks
Excellent troubleshooting Sir! You’ve definitely earned a subscriber! Please keep the videos coming!!!
Mister you are a MOSTER.... , excellent illustration thanks man👍
Sam, you're the man! The methodical way you explained, gives me confidence. Thank you!
THANK YOU! In my case, the led bulb was not flashing at all, but changing the fuse fixed it! You are an excellent teacher, much appreciated!
Great video! Clearly explained step-by-step diagnostics. Good that you cut the thermostat wiring back to where the yellow wire was cut, so you could wire things back up for standard color coding.
Here's my theory on why the yellow wire broke: when the system was installed, the tool used by whoever stripped off the black cladding from around the low-voltage/thermostat multi-wire cable may have cut a little too deep, cutting into the yellow wire, but leaving maybe one of the yellow wire's strands uncut or just nicked, which would still allow current/voltage through it, but over time, that thin remaining strand eventually broke, maybe due to mechanical motion transferred to it each time the system ran and rumbled.
At the outside unit, it looks like the wire nut holding the two halves of the blue wire together might have fallen off because it wasn't twisted on firmly enough, or was too large for the gauge of the wire, and eventually the mechanical motion of the unit, vibrating the nut and the wires, loosened the nut off of the wires.
Yo bro great videos man very thoroughly explained and shown no extra b.s. talking to throw techs in training off. I started out for years being an installer and wanted to get into service more so I always come on UA-cam for training and glad I found your channel and will recommend it to my younger homeys in the field keep up the great videos.
Wow I’ve been doing ac work and I didn’t know blue wire was an extra wire for cooling. Thank you so much for this video. New subscriber !!
Best troubleshooting video so far , great job.
I have work on units for a while and I can tell you you man do a great job explaining step by step for some people it’s hard but you make it really easy great job and keep them coming for the rest of the people 👍🏼👍🏼
your methodology is amazing! I WISH everyone who does this, sees your lessons!!!!
You are very professional and it’s not only that you does think about the other technicians and you try to make it easy for them behind you. Truly not every technician they think about other. Good job Sam! I am lucky finding you to learn from you 👍
You are an excellent teacher/trainer! Most way over my head, but I did like the contactor test - which mine has been stuck every since I cleaned out my condensor coils last fall - contactor was stuck down! Now working THANK GOD for helping me 'unstick it' without fear!
Your videos are very helpful. You know how to explain things clearly to make Spence to us non HVAC guys. Thanks a lot 🤙🏽
Great video man. Aren't you ever worried that pushing the contactor in with your hand will get you shocked??? And new techs to the business really shouldn't do this!
Thinking about the next technician who might come after you with less experience is really good to see. Thanks for going the extra step and re-using the original Y wire.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge your help and you showing what you do helps me in my journey in learning the process that it takes to troubleshoot an ac unit Thank you so much stay blessed.
This is the best video I have seen ..!
Keep up the good work and I thank you very much.
Man I'm new in this trade
You make everything so simple and understandable
Sam #1
Great video. Thank replaced an ac contact switch that was fried or faulty, it looked burned. Before that I replaced the capacitor( this was my first time trouble shooting our ac )
Replaced the single pole with 2 pole; it’s all I found at the store and found a video on how to wire a 2 pole as a single pole. Still nothing. Our house has a switch that feeds the thermostat; it was off. I switched it on, put the disconnect back on and went to the thermostat and set it to cool and Shazam… cold air. I can’t believe it. So relieved as I’m in Texas and now o even have a spare capacitor and extra ac contact ( too cheap to not have spares) and now I have no worries about wether it might fail in the summer which I doubt and if on the chance it does than I can fix it again. So if I can than you can too
Excellent video! His thought process while troubleshooting was very well explained.
That was a good troubleshooting experiences,can you please continue to show more 😮
Thanks for looking out for the guy behind you!
It's hard to be mindful of the next guy. I do it because many times I am the next guy! Honestly I do enjoy fixing the mess (sometimes)... because it's those situations that keep help you gain experience. Thank you for the feedback!
You are very good at teaching the young ones in the field keep up the good videos
Thanks for this video! It gave me so much direction! I learned that I had a heat pump with two sources of heat -- and that I probably need to fill my gas tank! My heater wasn't blowing heat and I discovered that my white wire was an aux wire by going out to my outside unit and looking under the cover. I also blew a fuse on my control board -- which I didn't even know existed. Thanks again!
Sam, You the man, You are definitely very knowledgeable and you also have very nice and easy way of explaining details. I just wish you were in the Northern VA area. I am just having the same issue my Contactor is not pulling in because of 24 volts but may be I am wrong because I was checking 24 volt DC but after watching your video it seems, it is 24 volt AC. Right now its raining like hell in northern VA so I can't confirm the voltage but When I press the plunger the condensing unit starts. Looks like, the issue is of 24 AC volts. Thanks for very detailed video on this topic, I really learned a lot.
Thanks for the help. Mine ended up being a break in one of the t-stat wires going out to the condenser took me like 20 minutes to troubleshoot and fix the problem and now it works like a charm
good job looking out for those that are in back of you that's exactly what this world needs truly this world will be better
You thinking in a possible next tech, man, more people like is what this world needs
Awesome thorough job Sam!
Excellent Video. You explain very clearly exactly what and why you are doing what you are doing. Diagnosis was done with perfection, great result. Thank you. I just subscribed.
Love the video very clear.. Love Them Don't Stop....🌴😎👍
Great video...thanks
I am presently having the same type of Problem & hopefully it can be resolved.....Thanks for your Video, it was very Helpful...…!
The blue wire was working. I would have just left a note at the board. You had a short at the condenser and a blown wire coming into the mother board. I have seen this many times where a circuit wasn't reading the full voltage necessary to pull in the contactor. Also reading the flashes from the light...this is really helpful!
Nice!! That is one of the true tough jobs you will run into, and you made it look simple. Wish I would of seen this before I ran into it for the first time in the field. Very good video for those in the field.
Your a good man the way you properly fixed that yellow wire
Sam, great video. One suggestion, summarize at the end your procedure. A recap is very helpful.
You just showed me an amazing way to isolate problems👍👍👍 thanks!!
Your videos are very helpful thank you for sharing your knowledge Sam
I’ve been watching all your videos. Great job & thanks for taking time to help us out. I’ve learned a lot.
In all your videos you keep talking about fuses I still have to find one and I looked everywhere and I know I have a low voltage short but where??Thanks for all your videos!!
Thank u for the knowledge and the patience. I know much more about low voltage short. You r very profound and knowledge, God, bless.
Excellent VIDEO and clear explanation. Some techs when they strip wire instead of stripping from the end back 6-8 inches, they cut around the wire that far back and pull the sheathing off, and in so doing they may have cut the wire as you experienced.
Nice Job, Excellent troubleshooting on the system,
Learning all my trouble shooting from you now on! Great job
He has a great idea in troubleshooting
thanks for the video. i have two questions: 1, once you manually pressed the contactor and the compressor and fan are working, why did you still want to check the contactor output voltage? 2, why didn’t you go to the furnace board directly but rather went to thermostat first?
Multiple problems that's real world, Thank You!
Freaking Savage!!!
I was looking up dog chews up thermostat wires from condenser unit & I came across your video.
Well worth watching!!
Great video! You explained everything really well. I appreciate that.
Very concise and very well explained ... Great to watch these vids ...
Great videos SAM, the way you explain every detail. and how you take your time to do so you're awesome, and you are actually showing us with the problem happening on every day. thank you sir keep up the videos will keep 👍👍up good bless
sir, i am really glad to know that people like YOU are out there, making life easy for lot of us new comers. Bless you! stay safe.
this guy always explains so well.
Excellent troubleshooting explanation!!!
Awesome video!! Worth every second , every minute
Excellent vidéo
Clear explanation step by step
Great skills & technique! Thanks for sharing!
Good job, good video...great details which many videos lack.
Great video I'm going to do this since it seems to be the exact problem I'm dealing with and after I do il come back with my results
Good job Sam!
Love your videos Sam! Why do you have a white wire with the yellow? Does that mean that is a heat pump?
Nitrofan69 I’m pretty sure it goes to the outside condenser contactor
Great job, thank you for your instructional videos.
I found you due to the scamdemic quarantine 2020 and can say that you are a great technician. You explain your thought process and tell us the step by step process of what you are doing! that's a great way to teach, Sam. Thanks for sharing, from Texas. J
A question fron a Hvac student. When you check continuity you must engage the furnace witch?
Thanks in advance.
No, I supposed you meant the wizzard.
When checking for continuity power shall be off.
Very informative video. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. 5 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐
Sam why's the yellow (cooling) wire in the furnace board connected together with the white (heat) wire? Aren't they supposed to be apart? Why are there 2 red (power) wires & 2 white (heat) wires? And why is the blue (common) wire not connected or used? Thanks.
We have the 4 wires running from the thermostat to the furnace board. If we focus just on cooling... keep in mind that we still need low voltage to run to the condenser. What you see is one wire going from thermostat to the furnace board... yellow... and the other white runs to condenser... the low voltage that connects to the contactor. The wire to contactor are both low voltage one white and one red. This may not always be the case however. It depends on the colors used by the installer. The blue wire is sometimes used as a common wire but on this system is not used. Most wires for thermostats have 5 or even 6 wires. I simply used the blue wire as it was not being used. Hope that makes sense... did not want to overwhelm you... 😅
Great reply Sam. FYI, you have the most detailed HVAC video I've ever seen. Thanks a lot for sharing buddy.
very good fault diagnosis. ..like your video. Thanks bro
Liked your video very very informational 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍. ..thanks man!!
Very enlightening video! Thank you very much!
Great job, honest service!
Thank you! I truly to remind myself that I need to be mindful that one day I may need help or assistance and I don't want someone to rip me off by being deceitful! You'd be surprised if I told you the stories I run into as to how this or that company wanted to charge such and such unnecessarily.
Awesome tutorial!! Step by step.
hi, when you were testing for continuity at 12:52 between R and W and the meter beeps. This is with the furnace switch pushed in, correct? If the furnace switch wasn't pushed in, then the meter should show OL, is this correct? thank you.
You're a true professional
Most excellent. Thanks for the lesson
Why would my inducer and blower motor be running in cooling mode...I enjoy your vids.
The inducer motor should not be running during the cool stage. The inducer motor will run only when you call for heat. I would suspect either a board or wiring issue.
I Should’ve gotten the popcorn like you said LOL.. However,, never would’ve learned as much as I did from any box office movie out there!! Thank you for helping us , I salute you 👏👏👏
QUESTION : Did you take a continuity test on the 24v while the coil had voltage on it or off ? Thanks you the MAN !
Any continuity test shall be done with voltage off.
Awesome I'm new to the trade an this video is very educational very well explained thank you for your time would love to see more of your videos.
The reason I started my channel was because like you I used to go to UA-cam for help and was frustrated that a 2 minute video was 6 minutes. I remember thinking when i have a chance i would post videos to help others without talking about my personal life etc. Years later humbly I have a channel thinking about myself and others like you who just want help! Glad to be of a help and as you educate yourself you will master the trade! Good luck!
thank you it was lots of help also thank you for all your time really appreciate you
Very good troubleshoot video
Does that meter check capacitance too?
Awesome video! 👍🏾👍🏾
Great job keep up the good work 👍👍
I’m only showing 17-18v to the thermostat. Control board terminal strip is showing 27v. Would the low voltage to the thermostat not cause the condensing unit and blower motor inside to not turn on?
you are good at hvac , and videos
Noticed after removing the thermostat wiring from the board to re do the wiring, there was another set on wires still on the board a RED & WHITE what are those wires for
great videos man, excuse me my friend, how do you test the high pressure switch, and the low pressure switch, thanks. I mean on heat pump system condenser unit.
Check the other videos.
How come on your furnace board there is 2 red wires and 2 white wires. I know one are from your tstat wires but what or where are the other 2 from?