Thank you so much man. Got my AC back up and running for $23. Top of capacitor was covered in rust including the terminals and wire connectors. Crimped on new connectors and changed capacitor and I'm back in business!
Thanks sir ... we are with fasting and our AC compressor not working from yesterday., after watching your video now we are able to start our rectification work on AC. Thankyou very much sir.
Glad your keeping your cool Terry. For the folks working on there own a/c don't touch the capacitor terminals until you discharge it. You can get a serious shock.
Ozzstar Good point Glen about discharging the caps. My head was wrapped around getting this thing fixed and I’m sure I left out other details. Thanks for covering my back! 😀👍
I followed all of your troubleshooting steps and did all the meter checks, compressor was good and found that the capacitor was a failure. Replaced and the unit is working fine. I thank you very much for you to share your knowledge in helping others. Its greatly appreciate. You have a blessed day and a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Sir, you've demonstrated you are one of the smartest people on the Internet. Very well described procedures. Thank you for a wonderful knowledgeable video.
Excellent learning video sir as always. I had faced very hard time once with such a capacitor with my vacuum/ compression pump when the capacitor went bad and I was suspecting a bad compressor. Thanks for upload.
Hey thanks for the video just installed a new start capacitor in our Hisense air con and away she went. Thanks for information, saved me calling out a repair person . We live out in country area so would not have been cheap one hour each way. Cheers.
LORD I CANT WAIT TIL THE AC TECH COME OVER TOMORROW EARLY IN THE MORNING IS SOOO HOT IN HERE.IM IN FLORIDA AND ALL YOU SEE IS AC TECHS DRIVING UP AND DOWN THE ROAD ALL DAY LONG IN THE SUMMER FIXING AC'S!!
Hey Jonathan and hope you and family are doing well! Yes, that's a big temp difference from different sides of the world. Tomorrow, we're supposed to hit 90F and the a/c is doing pretty good. Right now, it's on 70F and maintaining fine.
Another good one Terry ! I have a good friend who runs a Heating and Air-conditioning business. He takes care of my air I take care of his vehicles 😋 Refrigerant over here is running about $70. a pound
It's good that you have a relationship like that Norman where you can trade off work with each other. I'm not sure how much refrigerant is around here if a service man comes out, but I know it would surely be pretty high. :)
Thanks for sharing your knowledge! I’ve wanting to do HVAC but I have to help my Wife at the Dental Office ( assist her with the patients). Maybe one day I’ll do HVAC. I’m fixing my AC at home.
I've never been brave enough to work on a household ac system aside from changing capacitors and cleaning corrosion. This winter though, the electric furnace went out and I got a crash course in how they function due to necessity. It turned out to be a combination of a failing sequencer and a failing thermostat. Tricky to track down when you're learning!
John Lane we all start out John in knowing nothing. But as time passes we learn new and different things. I always look to learn something new as it keeps life interesting. And good of you to continue in your quest for knowledge. The case in point of you learning about the electrical heating system in your furnace. 😀👍
stuzman when it's cold and you can't afford a service call you figure something out. I think friends and family were more frightened of the furnace than I was. Several people offered space heaters because I "couldn't fix it"!
Sir my respect to you, great video well explained and to the point, learned a lot from it am trying too learn finding out that it takes years to be really good, thanks for sharing!
Thank you very much Steven, but I didn't think I went into a lot of detail about some things such as the the superheat and subcooling as I needed to get this unit running :)
Yes, we love her too. Unfortunately, she passed away October of last year. When she had her teeth cleaned, the anesthesia pretty much killed her. Thanks for the comment!
Nice diagnosis & repair Terry. Had to replace a few capacitors especially when they swell up. Fan & compressor need that kick start or they humm alot :D Great video Terry!
Hayward's Automotive Hey Bob and hope you’re doing well! Most caps do swell and is s sure sign that it’s shot. Yep, the motors need those caps to get them going! 😀
Ours was fine last night. This morning it was not as cold as normal. Outside fan running blowing ambient (not hot) air. Inside unit running fine. Cleaned evaporator & condensing coils. Changed filter (New one 5 days ago). Cleaned drain line in case clogged. I'm thinking capacitor - as I said outside fan running but no deep 'hum' of compressor running. Note: or system is from late 1990s 🤣 (94 to be exact). We rent and don't see new system any way possible so I guess another band-aid repair it is!
Hi Jennifer! If you don't hear the compressor running, then that is your issue. It's a good chance that you may have a bad run capacitor. It's not too hard to check it. Have a great day!
Scroll compressor can handle some liquid they call it slugging. All residential split systems have scroll compressor, cars and fridges don't. Appliances are criticaly charged.
Many Thanks for this video, saved me an expen$ive repair call (and probably days of waiting for the repair). 90F outside now in Ojai, CA. Turns out my capacitor was bad just like in this video. Easy fix. Was also glad to know that my compressor windings had good resistance values, Thanks for showing that part.
Thermostatic expansion valve is also known as a txv ( metering device cause a sudden pressure drop which is critical to low pressure for you evap coil)
Should have added safety warnings. DYI folks will electrocute themselves. Touch charged capacitor without bleeding electricity and you can die or burn fingers. Overall I loved this video.
Yes, good point as I was trying to get this unit fixed as quickly as possible. I did another video checking the run capacitors dynamically and I did show how to discharge the capacitors and do it safely.
Thanks for that educational video you did a great job. I wouldn't mind if you could do a tutorial video about the scale the in that video. I like to learn some more about it
Thank you Phillip, but I'm not sure what kind of video I could do about the scale as its only a digital scale. Is there something that you needed to know about it? :)
Interesting, that cap looked like new and had flat (not domed) top. Encourages me to dig deeper regarding cap as possible source of "dead" compressor and condenser fan which has all appropriate voltages, but appear to be shutting down from a thermal overload.
Hope you can answer a question for me. Our central ac went out two days ago. I watched a ton of videos and came to the conclusion my capacitor needed to be changed. I could push the plunger in and the compressor and fan would kick on but the blower in the house wouldn't come on. I just put the new capacitor on but it's the same thing. I just put a new thermostat on a few months ago and it has been working fine. Like the most of the country, we here in SW Missouri have been going through a heat wave. Yesterday the heat index was 102 and it got up to 89 in the house. My wife and I are both on social security so I am trying to find the least expensive way to get this done myself. Any ideas you may have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!
Hi Wm and sorry to hear that you're going through this heat wave. Take a look at the motor inside the air handler and find the voltage source going to the motor. That would be the first thing to check. You said that you changed the capacitor. I'm assuming that you're talking about the capacitor for the indoor fan unit. If so, then be sure to check the voltage going to the motor. If that's okay, then most likely you have an issue with the motor that needs replacing. Let me know how it goes so you and your wife can get back up and running.
@@stuzman52 Hey, thanks for the response. No, the capacitor that I changed is the one on the outside unit. I figured the blower motor should be okay because I run it on manual to keep a bit of an air flow in the house. After I changed the capacitor outside, I pushed in the plunger contact and the outside unit would come on (compressor and fan) but the blower on the furnace doesn't kick on. So when I run the furnace blower, is that bypassing the capacitor for the blower? Someone told me it could also be low on refrigerant. I really don't think that is the case however because when it was working, it was blowing very cold air. The electrical panel on the outside unit is so hard to get to. On the left side is steps going up on the deck, on the backside is the deck and on the right side is the wall to the house, so I literally have to lay on the unit and work upside down. LOL I guess I'll try to do some more testing and see if the low voltage from the thermostat is ok on the plunger contactor and the voltage on the furnace motor. Like I stated, I don't know if when I run the blower on manual if it is bypassing the blower motor's capacitor. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. My wife and I are both 67 and on Social Security and just trying to get by. Thank you so much!!
@@CombatDoc54 Okay, Wm. The capacitor inside the outside unit has nothing to do with the blower motor inside. The capacitor that's outside is a dual capacitor where one is used to start the compressor and the other capacitor is to start the condenser fan. You need to take a look at the wiring diagram on the inside cover of the outside unit and see why the contactor in the outside unit is not energizing. One of these components for energizing the contactor is the thermostat. You need to look at the wiring diagram for the control side of the contactor, (the coil) and see why it's not getting 24VAC. There could be pressure switches located in this circuit which are for low and/or high pressure switches for the refrigerant. That's where I would start for your troubleshooting. Good luck Wm!
Have a question? 2 wks ago I had HVAC here checking my ac. The refrigerant was ok. The issue was the compressor would kick on, the lines would get cool like they're supposed too and then shut off within 20-30 seconds. The HVAC guy replaced the run capacitor but the compressor still wouldn't stay running. It would start, run and then shut off. The guys couldn't figure out the problem and left. My ac unit is a 1979 rheem with the original 1979 Copeland compressor if that helps. Everything else on the ac unit and inside works as far as I was told.
When the compressor just drops out and the outside fan still works according to your description, would put the problem in the compressor circuit. Most likely, there is a loose connection. Look at the wiring diagram and check all the connections that include the start, run and common wires at both ends, connections on the run capacitor for the compressor. And you want to especially check the connections directly at the compressor. If you don't find any loose connections, then I would suspect that there is an internal opening of one of the windings inside the compressor. To confirm this, when the compressor shuts down, you'll want to check for continuity between the common, run and start windings of the compressor. You should be able to do this inside the control panel of the outside unit. And you'll want to do this quickly as the compressor cools, the winding may 'heal'.
Thank you for sharing this knowledge. I have this problem, but when I flip the breakers on the unit and main breaker box (they didn't trip), it comes back on about 50% of the time (repeat process if it doesn't). Only does it when cooling and typically when there is a lot of demand for cooling (very hot outside). I doubt the winding are bad on the compressor. I've also checked for iced cooling coils, but no. The drain is also free/not a full pan with a float switch (it pipes to a sump pump). The fan/blower keeps going fine, but the compressor stops seemingly at random. The thermostat is also new/no reason I would be suspect of it. Someone said the compressor breaker on the unit (box surrounding the blower/ducting) could be slightly off/crooked and seated wrong, which would explain why flipping it fixes the issue at random. Does that seem plausible? I don't necessarily expect an easy answer, although that would be awesome, just any kind of push in the right direction would be awesome.
Ian, it sounds like you're missing either the 24VAC control voltage to the contactor coil inside the outside unit or you're missing a leg possibly on the 240VAC that's feeding the outside unit. I would take the electrical cover off the outside unit and when you can get the issue to happen, check that the contactor is pulled in. You can look at the contactor visually or better yet, check the voltage to the coil and verify that its 24VAC. If that's good, then check from L1 to ground. You should have 120VAC. Check from L2 to ground. You should have 120VAC. Check from L1 to L2. You should have 240VAC. Of course L1 and L2 are the line power wires being fed from the disconnect into the outside unit and will go to one side of the contactor. Let me know what you find.
@@stuzman52 thank you for your response. I will be sure to let you know what I find as soon as it happens again. I'll try and get a video too, especially if I find the issue.
When he says he flips the Breaker off than back on the unit sometimes comes back on suggests that he may have an ac system that has a control board outside that shuts down the system if it detects a problem like high pressure, and wont allow it to restart unless system is reset, which he accomplishs by cycling the breaker.I would also tell him when it happens, and he is outside with the breaker still on, to see if any leds are flashing a signal.By the way, outstanding explanation on how to charge a system.
Hey Mark! You could watch the amps while charging, but you wouldn't want to use it as the method to charge a system. Most techs don't bother to look at the amperage while charging. I only did it as any experiment to see how much difference there would be.
The buzzing sound was coming from the coil of the main contactor. When the compressor is not running, it's normal to hear the buzzing. If I had turned off the thermosat, the coil wouldn't be energized, thus there would be no sound. Have a great day!
I'm having an issue I believe to be the vacuum or compressor pump. My unit will still be running but it will stop blowing cold air. To fix the problem I've been turning the thermostat on and off, sometimes it takes 2-3 tries. I've noticed that I can hear a loud hum when it's working properly, but that hum is gone when it's not. And I can also see liquid moving in the sight glass when it's working, but no liquid moving when it's not. Sounds like a pump to me because everything else is working fine. The pump does start eventually but it will stop working before reaching temp, and then the unit continues to run without cold air. What do you think?
It could be a faulty thermostat, but you'll need to do a little detective work to confirm. When the unit is acting up, take the control panel off to expose the line contactor inside the outdoor coil unit. Place a voltmeter across the coil terminals of the contactor and if you don't see 24VAC, then the most likely cause is a faulty thermostat.
@stuzman sorry it's taken me so long, we had cold weather and wasn't running the ac. I checked it today and it has 24v across the coil, and 240v on both sides of the contactor. Now it won't blow cold air at all. I think it's the compressor?
@@excuseme4960 Okay, by having 24V across the contactor coil there isn't a problem with the thermostat. And since you have 240V across both sides of the contactor, the contactor is good. The next time the contactor starts, verify that you hear the compressor start. If it starts, but there is a humming sound, then it's a good chance that the run capacitor is defective. To check, turn off the power to the outdoor unit. Bridge across the terminals of the run capacitor to discharge any residual charge that may be left on the cap. Remove the wires taking note of where each one goes on the terminals. Using a DVOM which if it's a good one will have a function to check the capacitance. You will see three terminals marked C, (common), Fan, and Herm (Hermetic which is for the compressor). Check between the C and Fan for its capacitance, and check between C and Herm for its capacitance. It should be +/-10% from the value on the capacitor. If not, replace the capacitor. Let me know what you find in these steps.
@stuzman I did that after I left the comment today, however I did not disconnect the wires off of it, and I was getting weird readings - probably because I didn't disconnect the wires. Tomorrow I am going to take both capacitors to the parts store and have them test them. I replaced the starting capacitor about 5 yrs ago. What's left to check if they are both good, starting relay?
@stuzman all capacitors are good, contactor good, voltage is good. Compressor won't come on at all anymore. I don't know what else could prevent the compressor from coming on. I assume it's finally kicked the bucket. Anything else that could be wrong? I'm trying to get some quotes on getting it replaced, seems most people just want to replace the whole unit.
I don't work professionally as a HVAC person now, but I did work in refrigeration for about four years ago. I do have certifications in all three types of licenses for industrial, commercial and residential, EPA 608, and a certification for mobile A/C EPA 609. As for the cost of tools, I couldn't give you a cost off the top of my head as I bought them at different times as the years rolled on. I would suspect that all of the refrigeration tools that I have, (which some are not shown in this video) are at least six thousand dollars.Thanks for the comment wakawaka1976!
Check to see if you have 24VAC to the coil of the main contactor inside the outdoor unit. If not, then you'll need to check the thermostat, transformer, fuse, its wiring, etc. If you have 24VAC at the coil, then check the line voltage going to the main contactor contacts. Good luck on what you find.
Hello there, I have just started the search for information to fix my air compressor Makita AC1300. Your film is the first one that I have come across. Can you help please. The problem I have with my compressor is that it will not restart after it has run low of air. It will start from the beginning with no air in the tank and build up to the required pressure. But once the air as depleted down to a lower level it struggles to restart. It just turns over slowly and does not restart. If the air is completely emptied from the air tank it will then restart. I have had the compressor for some years.!I bought it off eBay and it was only a matter of months old. It was stated that it was an ex display model ??? It may be better if I take a film of what I'm saying is going on with the machine. If I upload it onto UA-cam I can then let you know the link. Might be can be for other people to repair their machine with the same problem. Do you think it might be some pressure valve or sensor. Thank you for any help. Kind regards, Daniel King.
Not sure how I see the correlation between an air conditioning compressor and an air compressor. In any event, take a look at your pressure regulator switch assembly. There would be a cut-in and cut-out for a set of contact which allows the compressor to start and stop. It sounds like you have an issue with the cut-in stage of this assembly. Good luck!
Sure, you can change the capacitor without checking it. If the compressor or condenser fan is humming and not starting, it's a good chance that the capacitor is bad. Have a great day!
My outside unit is running but there's not very cool air coming out the vents in the house. Everything is OK with the thermostat. But the line that is supposed to be "sweaty" that goes to the ac unit outside is dry. Like bone dry. There's no condensation on any of the lines going to the outside unit at all. What could it be? Could it be that there's some kind of leak of freon and I need a recharge? Or do you think it is just a capacitor or compressor issue? The outside unit fan is running but when you put your hand over the outside unit it's not warm air coming up it's cool air. So ik something I wrong with the outside unit but I just can't find a real answer anywhere online. But by what I've described what would you say it is?
One of the first things to notice is to see if the compressor is running. Have someone turn the thermostat off and while you're outside at the outside unit, have your helper turn on the thermostat. You'll want to listen for the sound of the compressor starting. If it starts with a buzzing sound and then stops, then your compressor is kicking off because of an overload. If that's the case, turn the power off to the outside unit. There should be a disconnect next to it. You'll want to check the run capacitor for the compressor as I show in this video. Do that and let me know what your results are. Have a great day!
@@stuzman52 ok I haven't done this yet. BUT I did turn off the power to my inside unit and thermostat and turned the breaker for both the outside unit and inside unit off and back on then turned the thermostat and ac back on inside and I can't fully tell if it's because it rained here earlier and it's now night time (still like 70 something outside right now) but the air coming out of the vents seems to be cooler than it was now. So either that's just because it not daytime so the air coming out is cooler or if it's actually the air conditioning cooling again. I had the thermostat off for a good 2 hours almost cuz I had to do something so it may take it a minute for the house to cool down so the ac goes off but I'm getting nervous that because I only set the temp down 1 degree from what the thermostat read and it's still on blowing air now for about an hour that it's not working still and it's just colder air cuz it's not daytime anymore. Idk if any of this makes ANY sense so I'm sorry if it doesn't.
I just used the scale Phillip to know how much refrigerant went into the system. For charging systems, you add the amount of refrigerant depending on whether your system has a capillary tubing, (orifice or piston as it's sometimes called) or if the system has a thermostatic expansion valve. Both of these items are located at the inlet of the evaporator which is inside the air handling unit. On my system, it had an expansion valve which means that I needed to charge the system until the subcooling was between 5-7 degrees F. If the system had a capillary tubing, then you would charge using the superheat which is a little more involved because you have to take the wet bulb temp at the return, take the outside ambient temp and then look those up on a chart to see what the actual superheat should be. So, to know when the charge is correct in my case, I just monitored the saturated temperature on the high side and then subtract off the temperature that's down on the liquid line. When that temperature difference is correct, then you've added the correct amount of refrigerant. Was that clear as mud? :))
hello very nice channel very useful thank you for good useful shares i have a question i want to work with the air conditioner compressor externally I connected (+) L directly to c /// I made parallel connection from (-) N to capacitor // R I made a connection from the other leg of the capacitor or fuse blows or the compressor runs for 2 seconds 5/6 seconds stops and rings again for 2 seconds and it gets very hot.
I'm not sure Ali how you made your connections and will clarify the connections between the compressor windings and a run capacitor. You mention a connection to N which I assume is neutral. L1 will connect to the C, (common) terminal of the compressor where the run and start windings are connected internally inside the compressor. The R, (run) terminal on the compressor will connect to L2 or N if you have a neutral. The S, (start) terminal on the the compressor will connect to the HERM, (Hermetic compressor) terminal on the run capacitor. And finally, the COM, (common) terminal of the run capacitor will connect to L2 or N. If the unit still blows a fuse or the compressor trips, you'll want to check the run capacitor. I show how in this video. If the capacitor checks okay, then check the windings of the compressor. I show that procedure also in this video. Hope that helps you out Ali and good luck!
Better than calling the professinal crooks and paying $500 for them to tell 10 mins worth of basic information. Great video.
That is for sure Nick! Have a great day!
Great video from a professional technician !
Thank you sir! Woke up tonight with it 80 degrees in the house. Switched out the capacitor, works like a charm. Already down to 75 in 10 minutes.
Glad to hear the video helped out! Have a great day!
You saved me a lot of money with a $12 fix. You sir are my hero of the month
Excellent to hear that you saved some money. Have a great day!
Thank you so much man. Got my AC back up and running for $23. Top of capacitor was covered in rust including the terminals and wire connectors. Crimped on new connectors and changed capacitor and I'm back in business!
Great news to hear and you saved yourself about $300 for a technician to come out and replace that capacitor. Have a great day!
$26.50 for me, thank you very much
Brilliant diagnostics, Terry, two thumbs up for sure. Your information delivery has sped up dramatically, great job!
spelunkerd Thank you very much Dave and I have been trying a different delivery and thanks for noticing. 😀
You are a saint to give your knowledge to the public correct and free. Well done
Thank you Joseph!
Thanks sir ... we are with fasting and our AC compressor not working from yesterday., after watching your video now we are able to start our rectification work on AC. Thankyou very much sir.
Glad to hear that it all worked out...
Glad your keeping your cool Terry. For the folks working on there own a/c don't touch the capacitor terminals until you discharge it. You can get a serious shock.
Ozzstar Good point Glen about discharging the caps. My head was wrapped around getting this thing fixed and I’m sure I left out other details. Thanks for covering my back! 😀👍
How do you discharge it?
@@jessetovar100 jump the terminals with an insulated handle screwdriver.
@@ozzstars_cars Gotcha! Thank you, sir!
I followed all of your troubleshooting steps and did all the meter checks, compressor was good and found that the capacitor was a failure. Replaced and the unit is working fine. I thank you very much for you to share your knowledge in helping others. Its greatly appreciate. You have a blessed day and a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Glad to hear that you got your unit fixed. You and your family have a Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas too.
Sir, you've demonstrated you are one of the smartest people on the Internet. Very well described procedures. Thank you for a wonderful knowledgeable video.
Thank you very much Terry and be sure to have a great day!
Now that is what I'm talking about my friend, Thank you very much for your help, you're the best!
Thanks for the comment and have a great day!
Excellent learning video sir as always. I had faced very hard time once with such a capacitor with my vacuum/ compression pump when the capacitor went bad and I was suspecting a bad compressor. Thanks for upload.
LearningZone Thank you Jahan and hope you and the family have been doing well! 😀
Even I could understand this presentation and not an AC person. superbly done
Thank you Harry and glad to hear that the video made sense to you. Have a great day!
Hey thanks for the video just installed a new start capacitor in our Hisense air con and away she went. Thanks for information, saved me calling out a repair person . We live out in country area so would not have been cheap one hour each way. Cheers.
Glad to hear that you saved yourself quite a bit of money Ray! Take care and have a great day!
The best well explained AC information I watched. Thank you Sir! More power to you 👍
Thank you very much and have a great day!
Nice easy steps. If I have a failure I know which video to come back to.
Hey Wyatt and hope you're doing well! Yep, it's not too bad when you know the basics :))
LORD I CANT WAIT TIL THE AC TECH COME OVER TOMORROW EARLY IN THE MORNING
IS SOOO HOT IN HERE.IM IN FLORIDA AND ALL YOU SEE IS AC TECHS DRIVING UP AND DOWN THE ROAD ALL DAY LONG IN THE SUMMER FIXING AC'S!!
Sorry to hear about your dilemma Raquel. You're right that during the summer season where it's hot and humid, the ac techs are pretty busy.
I think you are a hvac tech that can repair autos, electronics and anything else. you nailed your refrigeration principal operation dead on!!!!
gary smith Hi Gary, by trade I’m an electrical controls engineer and you know how it when you have to wear many hats. 😜
Glad my nephew does HVAC for living so I get someone else to do this for me! Great information Terry.
It's always nice Mike to have someone in the family who can do HVAC work. Unfortunately, I'm all on my own! Thanks Mike for dropping in!
Awesome video Pop! Thanks! I'm enjoying drinking coffee while watching videos thanks Pop ☕👍👌😎😜
Glad to hear Alejandro that you're enjoying the video! Have a great day!
Thank you, helped me diagnose a bad capacitor after a lightning storm power outage.
Glad to help out and have a great day!
Excellent tutorial. Thank you. The Capacitor Information is helpful. The refrigerant is above my knowledge base.
You are welcome Lynda! Have a great day!
It's 30F outside whist I'm watching this and I'm trying to light the fire. Great information Terry and hopefully you'll have a cool summer.
Hey Jonathan and hope you and family are doing well! Yes, that's a big temp difference from different sides of the world. Tomorrow, we're supposed to hit 90F and the a/c is doing pretty good. Right now, it's on 70F and maintaining fine.
Good lesson described perfectly . Thanks for taking the time to share.
You are quite welcome and have a great day!
It's still rocket science to me! Well done!
Thomas EXOVCDS All this stuff amazes me sometimes too Thomas and thank you!
Another good one Terry ! I have a good friend who runs a Heating and Air-conditioning business. He takes care of my air I take care of his vehicles 😋 Refrigerant over here is running about $70. a pound
It's good that you have a relationship like that Norman where you can trade off work with each other. I'm not sure how much refrigerant is around here if a service man comes out, but I know it would surely be pretty high. :)
perfect! you show up so many and make this so easy to understand! Thankyou so much sir.
Thank you Steven and have a great day!
It was great learning video for who knows little bit about the AC.
I enjoyed it.
Looking forward to learning more from you sir.
Thank you
Thank you Armin and glad that you liked the video.
Great information stuzman, best video on youtube! I got an Amrad Engineering capacitor online and running strong!
Glad to hear that your system is working well. Thanks for watching and sharing a comment. Have a great day!
Excellent explanation of Sub-Cooling and Super-Heat ! Subscribed.
Thank you for the comment and sub!
Excellent video and great pace for new info. Thanks!
Thank you Robert and have a great day!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge! I’ve wanting to do HVAC but I have to help my Wife at the Dental Office ( assist her with the patients). Maybe one day I’ll do HVAC. I’m fixing my AC at home.
No doubt Andy that if you want to learn more about HVAC, you'll get there. Good luck on your repairs and have a great day!
Wish I could do thumbs up twice for this video. Thank you.
Thank you very much Hiten and have a super great day!
Great video, I learned quite a bit in 13 minutes. Appreciate you creating and posting!
Thank you very much Dean!
I've never been brave enough to work on a household ac system aside from changing capacitors and cleaning corrosion. This winter though, the electric furnace went out and I got a crash course in how they function due to necessity. It turned out to be a combination of a failing sequencer and a failing thermostat. Tricky to track down when you're learning!
John Lane we all start out John in knowing nothing. But as time passes we learn new and different things. I always look to learn something new as it keeps life interesting. And good of you to continue in your quest for knowledge. The case in point of you learning about the electrical heating system in your furnace. 😀👍
stuzman when it's cold and you can't afford a service call you figure something out. I think friends and family were more frightened of the furnace than I was. Several people offered space heaters because I "couldn't fix it"!
It was my capacitor! Thank you!!! Save dme the cash that I don’t have enough of.
Excellent! Glad to hear that you saved yourself some money. Nowadays, with the inflationary prices, 200-300 dollars would be out of your pocket.
Sir my respect to you, great video well explained and to the point, learned a lot from it am trying too learn finding out that it takes years to be really good, thanks for sharing!
Thanks and welcome
Very Thorough video. Excellent work. Thank you for taking your time for this.
You're quite welcome Ted and thank you very much!
Excellent content & extremely helpful. Fixed it. Thank you Sir!
You are welcome! Thanks for watching and sharing a comment! Have a great day!
Great video as always, I really enjoy and I always learn, nice Mug there at the very start!
Jonathan Dean Thank you Jonathan, I appreciate it! 😀
Awesome. I enjoy watching your videos and how you explain them.
Thank you very much Steven, but I didn't think I went into a lot of detail about some things such as the the superheat and subcooling as I needed to get this unit running :)
We love Yingee...forgive the spelling..thank you for a great crash course...
Yes, we love her too. Unfortunately, she passed away October of last year. When she had her teeth cleaned, the anesthesia pretty much killed her. Thanks for the comment!
@@stuzman52 broke my heart....and brought tears to my eyes....
This generosity of the spirit is the signature of the american exceptionalism....much obliged...
@@christian.hansen You are welcome and have a great one!
Nice video. I like the way you teaching very clear
Thank you very much Jorge!
This helped me tremendously. Thank you!
Glad to hear the video helped out Anthony!
Great video the top of my capacitor was "swelled" like it has blew, replaced it all is good !
Great job! Yes, whenever you see a cap that is swelled it is bad. Have a great day!
Excellent video! You saved me hundreds of dollars! Thank you
Glad to hear it KC and thanks for sharing a comment!
Very informative, thank you for sharing👏🏿
You are welcome!
Always great info! Thanks again
Thanks Paul for the comment!
شــُـكـرً لــّـك :
،Thank you very much
Excellent instructions.
Thank
you again.
Keep Up.
An Arab, Engineer &
QC. Lead Inspector.
DH and Jeddah.
Sorry for the delay as UA-cam did not notify me! Thank you very much!
So easy to understand. Awesome video!!!
Thank you very much and glad to hear that you were able to follow through on the the video :)
Good video
Helped me get my ac going with only 20 dollar part
3 ton carried performance series unit which was installed in May 2018
Glad to hear that you saved some money Tony!
Nice diagnosis & repair Terry. Had to replace a few capacitors especially when they swell up. Fan & compressor need that kick start or they humm alot :D Great video Terry!
Hayward's Automotive Hey Bob and hope you’re doing well! Most caps do swell and is s sure sign that it’s shot. Yep, the motors need those caps to get them going! 😀
Ours was fine last night. This morning it was not as cold as normal.
Outside fan running blowing ambient (not hot) air. Inside unit running fine.
Cleaned evaporator & condensing coils. Changed filter (New one 5 days ago). Cleaned drain line in case clogged.
I'm thinking capacitor - as I said outside fan running but no deep 'hum' of compressor running.
Note: or system is from late 1990s 🤣 (94 to be exact). We rent and don't see new system any way possible so I guess another band-aid repair it is!
Hi Jennifer! If you don't hear the compressor running, then that is your issue. It's a good chance that you may have a bad run capacitor. It's not too hard to check it. Have a great day!
Nice video I really liked it keep up loading more videos
greetings from
Nv
Thank you Ed!
That Ant was getting plenty of air time 🐜 😆
Paul Wilkinson I agree. That ant was all over the place lol
Paul Wilkinson HaHa! I was wondering when someone was going to notice him. 😀
Great video very informative. Thanks
Thank you Daniel!
Great video thanks for sharing your knowledge. 🙏👍
Thanks for watching and for the comment! Have a great day!
What at great video. Excellent job. Tanks for all you help!!!!
You are welcome Is Zel!
Any concerns about voltage in capacitor before testing....and how to disapate held voltage?
Be mindful before touching any wires make sure you pull out the disconnector.
Scroll compressor can handle some liquid they call it slugging. All residential split systems have scroll compressor, cars and fridges don't. Appliances are criticaly charged.
1.000.000 Thanks ...it was the exact issue and problem solved.
Excellent keep up the great videos
Thanks, will do!
Many Thanks for this video, saved me an expen$ive repair call (and probably days of waiting for the repair). 90F outside now in Ojai, CA.
Turns out my capacitor was bad just like in this video. Easy fix. Was also glad to know that my compressor windings had good resistance values, Thanks for showing that part.
Glad to hear Robert that you had an inexpensive repair! Have a great evening!
Excellent video. Thank you !
Thank you very much!
Super informative. Thanks you.
Thank you very much!
Thermostatic expansion valve is also known as a txv ( metering device cause a sudden pressure drop which is critical to low pressure for you evap coil)
Thank-you for the info, as this really helped me!!!!
Glad to hear the video helped you out Peter!
Thank you very much for this video Sir! It was very helpful.
Glad you liked it Steven!
I gave a thumbs up for the coffee reference... by the way I like mine regular no additives.
Yep, I like my coffee black too. 😊
Another awesome job mate
What a great video thanks for posting this
Thank you samiol23!
👍 informative, thank you.
You are welcome and have a great day!
Should have added safety warnings. DYI folks will electrocute themselves. Touch charged capacitor without bleeding electricity and you can die or burn fingers. Overall I loved this video.
Yes, good point as I was trying to get this unit fixed as quickly as possible. I did another video checking the run capacitors dynamically and I did show how to discharge the capacitors and do it safely.
Good video, a better way to charged the unit, is by weight, which is normally printed on the unit
Thank you for the help!
Thank you William and have a great day!
Superb. Brilliant.
Thank you Prabal!
Thanks for that educational video you did a great job. I wouldn't mind if you could do a tutorial video about the scale the in that video. I like to learn some more about it
Thank you Phillip, but I'm not sure what kind of video I could do about the scale as its only a digital scale. Is there something that you needed to know about it? :)
Interesting, that cap looked like new and had flat (not domed) top. Encourages me to dig deeper regarding cap as possible source of "dead" compressor and condenser fan which has all appropriate voltages, but appear to be shutting down from a thermal overload.
Be worth checking out for sure!
@@stuzman52 i checked cap and mine is fine. I had replaced it 18 months ago, but symptoms are like bad cap. I need to dig deeper.
Hope you can answer a question for me. Our central ac went out two days ago. I watched a ton of videos and came to the conclusion my capacitor needed to be changed. I could push the plunger in and the compressor and fan would kick on but the blower in the house wouldn't come on. I just put the new capacitor on but it's the same thing. I just put a new thermostat on a few months ago and it has been working fine. Like the most of the country, we here in SW Missouri have been going through a heat wave. Yesterday the heat index was 102 and it got up to 89 in the house. My wife and I are both on social security so I am trying to find the least expensive way to get this done myself. Any ideas you may have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!
Hi Wm and sorry to hear that you're going through this heat wave. Take a look at the motor inside the air handler and find the voltage source going to the motor. That would be the first thing to check. You said that you changed the capacitor. I'm assuming that you're talking about the capacitor for the indoor fan unit. If so, then be sure to check the voltage going to the motor. If that's okay, then most likely you have an issue with the motor that needs replacing. Let me know how it goes so you and your wife can get back up and running.
@@stuzman52 Hey, thanks for the response. No, the capacitor that I changed is the one on the outside unit. I figured the blower motor should be okay because I run it on manual to keep a bit of an air flow in the house. After I changed the capacitor outside, I pushed in the plunger contact and the outside unit would come on (compressor and fan) but the blower on the furnace doesn't kick on. So when I run the furnace blower, is that bypassing the capacitor for the blower? Someone told me it could also be low on refrigerant. I really don't think that is the case however because when it was working, it was blowing very cold air. The electrical panel on the outside unit is so hard to get to. On the left side is steps going up on the deck, on the backside is the deck and on the right side is the wall to the house, so I literally have to lay on the unit and work upside down. LOL I guess I'll try to do some more testing and see if the low voltage from the thermostat is ok on the plunger contactor and the voltage on the furnace motor. Like I stated, I don't know if when I run the blower on manual if it is bypassing the blower motor's capacitor. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. My wife and I are both 67 and on Social Security and just trying to get by. Thank you so much!!
@@CombatDoc54 Okay, Wm. The capacitor inside the outside unit has nothing to do with the blower motor inside. The capacitor that's outside is a dual capacitor where one is used to start the compressor and the other capacitor is to start the condenser fan. You need to take a look at the wiring diagram on the inside cover of the outside unit and see why the contactor in the outside unit is not energizing. One of these components for energizing the contactor is the thermostat. You need to look at the wiring diagram for the control side of the contactor, (the coil) and see why it's not getting 24VAC. There could be pressure switches located in this circuit which are for low and/or high pressure switches for the refrigerant. That's where I would start for your troubleshooting. Good luck Wm!
Excellent Tutorial
Thank you Martin!
all your video are excellent thanks Terry special your electronics schematics.
Thank you very much Paul as I appreciate your comment! 😀
Have a question? 2 wks ago I had HVAC here checking my ac. The refrigerant was ok. The issue was the compressor would kick on, the lines would get cool like they're supposed too and then shut off within 20-30 seconds. The HVAC guy replaced the run capacitor but the compressor still wouldn't stay running. It would start, run and then shut off. The guys couldn't figure out the problem and left. My ac unit is a 1979 rheem with the original 1979 Copeland compressor if that helps. Everything else on the ac unit and inside works as far as I was told.
When the compressor just drops out and the outside fan still works according to your description, would put the problem in the compressor circuit. Most likely, there is a loose connection. Look at the wiring diagram and check all the connections that include the start, run and common wires at both ends, connections on the run capacitor for the compressor. And you want to especially check the connections directly at the compressor. If you don't find any loose connections, then I would suspect that there is an internal opening of one of the windings inside the compressor. To confirm this, when the compressor shuts down, you'll want to check for continuity between the common, run and start windings of the compressor. You should be able to do this inside the control panel of the outside unit. And you'll want to do this quickly as the compressor cools, the winding may 'heal'.
Raquel
Thank you for sharing this knowledge. I have this problem, but when I flip the breakers on the unit and main breaker box (they didn't trip), it comes back on about 50% of the time (repeat process if it doesn't). Only does it when cooling and typically when there is a lot of demand for cooling (very hot outside). I doubt the winding are bad on the compressor. I've also checked for iced cooling coils, but no. The drain is also free/not a full pan with a float switch (it pipes to a sump pump). The fan/blower keeps going fine, but the compressor stops seemingly at random. The thermostat is also new/no reason I would be suspect of it. Someone said the compressor breaker on the unit (box surrounding the blower/ducting) could be slightly off/crooked and seated wrong, which would explain why flipping it fixes the issue at random. Does that seem plausible? I don't necessarily expect an easy answer, although that would be awesome, just any kind of push in the right direction would be awesome.
Ian, it sounds like you're missing either the 24VAC control voltage to the contactor coil inside the outside unit or you're missing a leg possibly on the 240VAC that's feeding the outside unit. I would take the electrical cover off the outside unit and when you can get the issue to happen, check that the contactor is pulled in. You can look at the contactor visually or better yet, check the voltage to the coil and verify that its 24VAC. If that's good, then check from L1 to ground. You should have 120VAC. Check from L2 to ground. You should have 120VAC. Check from L1 to L2. You should have 240VAC. Of course L1 and L2 are the line power wires being fed from the disconnect into the outside unit and will go to one side of the contactor. Let me know what you find.
@@stuzman52 thank you for your response. I will be sure to let you know what I find as soon as it happens again. I'll try and get a video too, especially if I find the issue.
@@iantherealg That would be great Ian with a video. Just let me know.
When he says he flips the Breaker off than back on the unit sometimes comes back on suggests that he may have an ac system that has a control board outside that shuts down the system if it detects a problem like high pressure, and wont allow it to restart unless system is reset, which he accomplishs by cycling the breaker.I would also tell him when it happens, and he is outside with the breaker still on, to see if any leds are flashing a signal.By the way, outstanding explanation on how to charge a system.
Thank you both for your input. The issue hasn't yet happened, but I will take a video following your advise and then follow up when it does happen.
Excellent video, would it be advisable to have a amprobe checking amps while charging ????
Hey Mark! You could watch the amps while charging, but you wouldn't want to use it as the method to charge a system. Most techs don't bother to look at the amperage while charging. I only did it as any experiment to see how much difference there would be.
Great video! What was that buzzing sound in the beginning??
The buzzing sound was coming from the coil of the main contactor. When the compressor is not running, it's normal to hear the buzzing. If I had turned off the thermosat, the coil wouldn't be energized, thus there would be no sound. Have a great day!
Excellent video..
Thank you for the comment and have a great day!
I'm having an issue I believe to be the vacuum or compressor pump. My unit will still be running but it will stop blowing cold air. To fix the problem I've been turning the thermostat on and off, sometimes it takes 2-3 tries. I've noticed that I can hear a loud hum when it's working properly, but that hum is gone when it's not. And I can also see liquid moving in the sight glass when it's working, but no liquid moving when it's not. Sounds like a pump to me because everything else is working fine. The pump does start eventually but it will stop working before reaching temp, and then the unit continues to run without cold air. What do you think?
It could be a faulty thermostat, but you'll need to do a little detective work to confirm. When the unit is acting up, take the control panel off to expose the line contactor inside the outdoor coil unit. Place a voltmeter across the coil terminals of the contactor and if you don't see 24VAC, then the most likely cause is a faulty thermostat.
@stuzman sorry it's taken me so long, we had cold weather and wasn't running the ac. I checked it today and it has 24v across the coil, and 240v on both sides of the contactor. Now it won't blow cold air at all. I think it's the compressor?
@@excuseme4960 Okay, by having 24V across the contactor coil there isn't a problem with the thermostat. And since you have 240V across both sides of the contactor, the contactor is good. The next time the contactor starts, verify that you hear the compressor start. If it starts, but there is a humming sound, then it's a good chance that the run capacitor is defective. To check, turn off the power to the outdoor unit. Bridge across the terminals of the run capacitor to discharge any residual charge that may be left on the cap. Remove the wires taking note of where each one goes on the terminals. Using a DVOM which if it's a good one will have a function to check the capacitance. You will see three terminals marked C, (common), Fan, and Herm (Hermetic which is for the compressor). Check between the C and Fan for its capacitance, and check between C and Herm for its capacitance. It should be +/-10% from the value on the capacitor. If not, replace the capacitor. Let me know what you find in these steps.
@stuzman I did that after I left the comment today, however I did not disconnect the wires off of it, and I was getting weird readings - probably because I didn't disconnect the wires. Tomorrow I am going to take both capacitors to the parts store and have them test them. I replaced the starting capacitor about 5 yrs ago. What's left to check if they are both good, starting relay?
@stuzman all capacitors are good, contactor good, voltage is good. Compressor won't come on at all anymore. I don't know what else could prevent the compressor from coming on. I assume it's finally kicked the bucket. Anything else that could be wrong? I'm trying to get some quotes on getting it replaced, seems most people just want to replace the whole unit.
Stuzman are you an HVAC guy or just a REALLY handy guy? How much did that set up cost you?
I don't work professionally as a HVAC person now, but I did work in refrigeration for about four years ago. I do have certifications in all three types of licenses for industrial, commercial and residential, EPA 608, and a certification for mobile A/C EPA 609. As for the cost of tools, I couldn't give you a cost off the top of my head as I bought them at different times as the years rolled on. I would suspect that all of the refrigeration tools that I have, (which some are not shown in this video) are at least six thousand dollars.Thanks for the comment wakawaka1976!
How do you check a capacitor if there are some tabs soldered on there??
Thanks soo much I fix my unit . Thanks
Good for you Daniel and glad to hear that you got your unit working!
i have an older york....worked great last year...this year, thermostat clicks, but its like no power to the out door unit....your thoughts?
Check to see if you have 24VAC to the coil of the main contactor inside the outdoor unit. If not, then you'll need to check the thermostat, transformer, fuse, its wiring, etc. If you have 24VAC at the coil, then check the line voltage going to the main contactor contacts. Good luck on what you find.
Tank you. You the. Best.
Thank you Jose!
what happened to the ant that was running around on the capacitor ??
He probably lived a long life afterwards :)
Hello there, I have just started the search for information to fix my air compressor Makita AC1300. Your film is the first one that I have come across. Can you help please. The problem I have with my compressor is that it will not restart after it has run low of air. It will start from the beginning with no air in the tank and build up to the required pressure. But once the air as depleted down to a lower level it struggles to restart. It just turns over slowly and does not restart. If the air is completely emptied from the air tank it will then restart. I have had the compressor for some years.!I bought it off eBay and it was only a matter of months old. It was stated that it was an ex display model ???
It may be better if I take a film of what I'm saying is going on with the machine. If I upload it onto UA-cam I can then let you know the link.
Might be can be for other people to repair their machine with the same problem.
Do you think it might be some pressure valve or sensor.
Thank you for any help.
Kind regards, Daniel King.
Not sure how I see the correlation between an air conditioning compressor and an air compressor. In any event, take a look at your pressure regulator switch assembly. There would be a cut-in and cut-out for a set of contact which allows the compressor to start and stop. It sounds like you have an issue with the cut-in stage of this assembly. Good luck!
Thank you kindly for your reply.
@@danielking7133 Glad to help!
I dont have all of those gauge tools. If i was to just replace the capacitor would i be fine without testing after it started running again?
Sure, you can change the capacitor without checking it. If the compressor or condenser fan is humming and not starting, it's a good chance that the capacitor is bad. Have a great day!
My outside unit is running but there's not very cool air coming out the vents in the house. Everything is OK with the thermostat. But the line that is supposed to be "sweaty" that goes to the ac unit outside is dry. Like bone dry. There's no condensation on any of the lines going to the outside unit at all. What could it be? Could it be that there's some kind of leak of freon and I need a recharge? Or do you think it is just a capacitor or compressor issue? The outside unit fan is running but when you put your hand over the outside unit it's not warm air coming up it's cool air. So ik something I wrong with the outside unit but I just can't find a real answer anywhere online. But by what I've described what would you say it is?
One of the first things to notice is to see if the compressor is running. Have someone turn the thermostat off and while you're outside at the outside unit, have your helper turn on the thermostat. You'll want to listen for the sound of the compressor starting. If it starts with a buzzing sound and then stops, then your compressor is kicking off because of an overload. If that's the case, turn the power off to the outside unit. There should be a disconnect next to it. You'll want to check the run capacitor for the compressor as I show in this video. Do that and let me know what your results are. Have a great day!
@@stuzman52 ok I haven't done this yet. BUT I did turn off the power to my inside unit and thermostat and turned the breaker for both the outside unit and inside unit off and back on then turned the thermostat and ac back on inside and I can't fully tell if it's because it rained here earlier and it's now night time (still like 70 something outside right now) but the air coming out of the vents seems to be cooler than it was now. So either that's just because it not daytime so the air coming out is cooler or if it's actually the air conditioning cooling again. I had the thermostat off for a good 2 hours almost cuz I had to do something so it may take it a minute for the house to cool down so the ac goes off but I'm getting nervous that because I only set the temp down 1 degree from what the thermostat read and it's still on blowing air now for about an hour that it's not working still and it's just colder air cuz it's not daytime anymore. Idk if any of this makes ANY sense so I'm sorry if it doesn't.
Yes, I just like to know, when you put the Freon tank an the scale how did you get to measure the amount of Freon to put into the compressor.
I just used the scale Phillip to know how much refrigerant went into the system. For charging systems, you add the amount of refrigerant depending on whether your system has a capillary tubing, (orifice or piston as it's sometimes called) or if the system has a thermostatic expansion valve. Both of these items are located at the inlet of the evaporator which is inside the air handling unit. On my system, it had an expansion valve which means that I needed to charge the system until the subcooling was between 5-7 degrees F. If the system had a capillary tubing, then you would charge using the superheat which is a little more involved because you have to take the wet bulb temp at the return, take the outside ambient temp and then look those up on a chart to see what the actual superheat should be. So, to know when the charge is correct in my case, I just monitored the saturated temperature on the high side and then subtract off the temperature that's down on the liquid line. When that temperature difference is correct, then you've added the correct amount of refrigerant. Was that clear as mud? :))
hello very nice channel very useful thank you for good useful shares i have a question i want to work with the air conditioner compressor externally I connected (+) L directly to c /// I made parallel connection from (-) N to capacitor // R I made a connection from the other leg of the capacitor or fuse blows or the compressor runs for 2 seconds 5/6 seconds stops and rings again for 2 seconds and it gets very hot.
I'm not sure Ali how you made your connections and will clarify the connections between the compressor windings and a run capacitor. You mention a connection to N which I assume is neutral. L1 will connect to the C, (common) terminal of the compressor where the run and start windings are connected internally inside the compressor. The R, (run) terminal on the compressor will connect to L2 or N if you have a neutral. The S, (start) terminal on the the compressor will connect to the HERM, (Hermetic compressor) terminal on the run capacitor. And finally, the COM, (common) terminal of the run capacitor will connect to L2 or N. If the unit still blows a fuse or the compressor trips, you'll want to check the run capacitor. I show how in this video. If the capacitor checks okay, then check the windings of the compressor. I show that procedure also in this video. Hope that helps you out Ali and good luck!
You are the man!