FYI, Curtis, thanks to watching your videos I was confident enough to diagnose my own HVAC problem. It started a few weeks ago when I the house got hot. I went to the air handler and the catch basin my Mom had put on the floor under the unit was half full of water. I checked the drain pipe to outside and determined it was full of ice. Then I checked the air handler and it had ice in it. I shut it off and gave it about an hour to thaw. I dumped the basin and once the drain line cleared itself, I started the system and it came on. The next day I noticed it came on but the blower wasn't running, the evaporator was making gurgling sounds. So I shut the system off again and after I heard a click signalling that it had shut down, I turned the fan on and it started. It ran just fine for about two weeks. Then it did the same thing again. So I figured there must be a problem with the blower motor. Watching your videos I noticed that most blower motors don't have a capacitor so I started looking for where I could get a blower motor. Meanwhile it runs most of the time and occasionally the blower doesn't start. That sounds more like a capacitor going bad then the motor, so this morning I pulled the cover on the air handler and sure enough, it has a capacitor. I order a new one on Amazon and will install it when it gets here. Thank you for the education.
Than, it's than. Not always the cap then the blower motor. Sometimes it's the blower then the cap. But I think I would rather change the cap than the blower.
@@jimwhite9483 The cap was less than $10, so why not try it first. I would think if the motor was bad it wouldn't start more often. The cap kicks the motor turning in the right direction, so if it's going bad, it wouldn't start the motor turning. But, we'll see. I've seen a lot of wrong words used in comments, the worst is the wrong there-their-they're. But I do appreciate the correction, I like using the correct words.
sounds more like an intermittent relay/problem on the control board. but TEST don't guess, control boards are not cheap and have lots of wires. it could also be the thermostat/wiring, if an older system and relies on the thermostat only to turn fan on for cooling.. without seeing it, this is all educated guessing. TEST TEST TEST
I hope you had a multi-meter to verify if the capacitor was 5or6 below or over usually 6 is intended to be a bad capacitor actually any capacitor running at 10% below it’s intended mfd is a bad one what if it was an ECM blower motor those don’t have capacitors then you would’ve probably been outta luck unless this UA-camr/hvac tech has a video of how to change the speeds and what not cause those blower motor fans are pretty expensive compared to the $120+ it’ll cost a toe to just get it and a leg to get someone to diagnose it cause you wouldn’t know how to. Sorry for my rambling just wanted to inform you that there is more than just guessing I’ve learned it the hardest ways possible 🤭😂
Trane's with the larger condensers and large refrigerant loads have issues with off state refrigerant flood back to compressor. In spring and fall when early morning temps drops below 65 degrees and customer still has unit in cooling mode it can have the liquid condensation in bottom of compressor. The heater vaporizes the liquid preventing sucking up liquid refrigerant on startup. Newer EEV systems shutdown EEV when compressor shuts off trapping refrigerant between compressor discharge port check valve and EEV valve. Most of trapped refrigerant turns to liquid in condenser coil during idle off mode.
This one was interesting. Once this one got running it seemed like the condenser fan motor was noisy however that could have been the sensitive camera mic making it sound that way. Those R22 condensers tend to run and run if they make it this long so, worth fixing them. Good fix...NO Parts Required. Hopefully the last HVAC put in the correct cap.
Gator clips work great for those tight situations where it’s hard to get your hands in there. They screw on the end of your test leads. Just food for thought.
That was really great sharing all of your knowledge buddy, thank you 👍 Our parrots were going crazy during the playback from your background environment!!
Another great video! When measuring resistance within the motor poles, your body is resistance is negligible. Your body resistance is only significant when measuring resistance to ground.
Curtis, you need to sink in the schreader core depressors on your probes. I used to have the same thing happen when i would put them on. Now i barely get a hiss and they read pressure perfectly fine.
i’ve replaced TWO climatuff compressors in my 28 years .. they were truly amazing compressors .. words cannot express my disappointment with trane/american standard of today.. since they were acquired by angersoll rand they now use one of 4 compressor brands and you never know which brand you’re getting until you unbox the pos .. to my understanding they include alliance, copeland, bristol and LG.. yes LG (JUNK)… i’ve recently stopped selling and recommending anything trane/american standard and switched to Bosch awhile back.. i have not been happier , these are truly incredibly efficient snd so far reliable systems .. 🤞
Good detective work 👏 was going to say with ur warm climate do u reely need a heater ya rap around heater defently good option if u decide to keep it 👍
you should make a pig tail test plug from an old compressor plug. You remove the compressor wires and plug it into the compressor with those 3 wires already attached to it. This way you wont need to see the terminals you'll have wires.
Would connecting an alligator clip or clips to the compressor terminals and testing from the other end make that easier? The increasing resistance makes me think the capacitor is in the circuit. It's nice that your viewers are relentless about things they sincerely believe will make your life easier, like having a magnetic parts tray. Almost as relentless as you were on this one. Very nice! Please don't forget to replace your test leads, and get extra ones!
Get some small alligator clip jumpers to test pins that are way down there like that. You could even put clips on that old set of leads rather than throw them away.
If you manually set the range on your meter to a low ohms range, you won't have to wait while it auto-ranges. It helps a bunch in situations where you can't reliably hold the leads on something for long. Also, that Kaiweets kit probably had an alligator clip option, which you could've attached to ground or common so you only had to manually fiddle with one lead.
You might find it easier to install an alligator clip on the negative lead. I have found it good to have one hand free and hold the other positive lead with a hand. Also, the gator clip can often punch thru oxidation on a terminal and get a better reading.
tip for ohming those compressors - Get a Compressor lead kit and push it on the compressor terminals that gives you about 6" of wire on each terminal to do what u need to do.
Hey Curtis, I believe you got a Shorty crank case heater it’s next thing out of check cause it would definitely cause a breaker to trip for sure you checked out everything else and everything looks good for the compressor and the fan motor so I’d say it’s the current case here Tallahassee, Fred Fred
Wow that's a weird one in that 14 to 18 kilo-ohms should not draw that many amps but maybe under load the resistance drops down???? Great find and great that you were able to help the customer out and save them some money at least for now. Thanks for taking us along.
I switched from residential to commercial a few months ago, I don't miss working in jungles like this or the yappy dogs at all. Can't seem to escape mini splits though
Please get you some circuit breaker locks to keep someone from resetting a breaker on you. It is OSHA required and could save your life. They are inexpensive.
I almost feel sorry for the yung guy that misdiagnosed that compressor. Sounds like he needs alot more training, but in his defense I can see how he could have missed it on that one.
It's almost pointless to check sub cooling or superheat on a r22 system these days. You have no clue if r421a, MO99, or any other retrofit refrigerant has been added. Change your gauges to r421a and see what happens to sub cooling and superheat.
Its a shame that some people just make a quick diagnosis without thorougly checking. That fan motor doesn't seem long for this world.. sounded really terrible and loud.
When I run across one of these units and it trips the breaker. The first thing I check is the crank case heater. Also there is a spring that hold the crank case heater in place. But yes they can get stuck in there. The 2 means it is R-22. 4 means it is R-410 not the T
Seems like it would have been a whole lot easier to ohm compressor starting at the wiring in the control box rather than right at the compressor terminals. Also wonder about metering device - piston or TXV?
"technician thinks its the compressor so we are going to send out the service manager" sounds more like the tech didn't know how to fix it and the manager wanted to pressure the customer into buying a new system without proper diagnosis.
great diagnosis bro. you should check out the appion core depressor tool for the liquid side. and the appion low loss charging T for suction. u dont have to take joblink probes of to charge. its a game changer
I’m not a technician and am just a curious observer. In the beginning of the video you pulled the disconnect and a bit later you determined the breaker in the house for the outside unit was tripped. I’m curious as to what was powering the small green blinking light in the outdoor unit that was visible when the access cover was removed?
When you are testing continuity, which I assume is what you are doing on that condenser... won't the current go through your body and show a reading if you are touching the probes? (not sure if you were, hard to see)
Yes, if you were touching both ends. He wasn't on the ground side where he sanded the copper. Even if he was though, in the case of measuring very low resistance windings, the meg ohms through your body would not make a difference. It would though if measuring for ohms to ground.
@@khx73 I think at one point he had both probes where I couldn't see them, and I assume using his fingers to find the pins and keep them connected. But, sure, probably a minor reading difference. Depends on how sweaty he was.
Why do you not clean up your area I.e inside the air handler and around the outside of the condenser or heat pump when it has pine straw and Vines around the unit
Worked for trane dealer for 17 years called out for second opinion on bad compressor found out it was a bad crank case heater about 80 percent of the time
Humm, I find that strange, 90 percent of the time I find a Trane kicking the breaker is because of the potential relay. I have been the second guy out on at least 20 Tranes where the previous company took the start capacitor set-up off or put some type of aftermarket hard start on it..then it keeps kicking the breaker and the other company says bad compressor. Trane is picky. If you don't use the exact cut in and cut out voltage potential relay, it will kick the breaker randomly. The one in the video didn't have the start capacitor set-up
I hope you rechecked your wiring for a new crankcase heater, Crankcase heaters are to be wired 240 volts and on continuously, your video showed your wiring will not work.
FYI, Curtis, thanks to watching your videos I was confident enough to diagnose my own HVAC problem. It started a few weeks ago when I the house got hot. I went to the air handler and the catch basin my Mom had put on the floor under the unit was half full of water. I checked the drain pipe to outside and determined it was full of ice. Then I checked the air handler and it had ice in it. I shut it off and gave it about an hour to thaw. I dumped the basin and once the drain line cleared itself, I started the system and it came on. The next day I noticed it came on but the blower wasn't running, the evaporator was making gurgling sounds. So I shut the system off again and after I heard a click signalling that it had shut down, I turned the fan on and it started. It ran just fine for about two weeks. Then it did the same thing again. So I figured there must be a problem with the blower motor. Watching your videos I noticed that most blower motors don't have a capacitor so I started looking for where I could get a blower motor. Meanwhile it runs most of the time and occasionally the blower doesn't start. That sounds more like a capacitor going bad then the motor, so this morning I pulled the cover on the air handler and sure enough, it has a capacitor. I order a new one on Amazon and will install it when it gets here. Thank you for the education.
Than, it's than. Not always the cap then the blower motor. Sometimes it's the blower then the cap. But I think I would rather change the cap than the blower.
@@jimwhite9483 The cap was less than $10, so why not try it first. I would think if the motor was bad it wouldn't start more often. The cap kicks the motor turning in the right direction, so if it's going bad, it wouldn't start the motor turning. But, we'll see. I've seen a lot of wrong words used in comments, the worst is the wrong there-their-they're. But I do appreciate the correction, I like using the correct words.
@@davefuelling7955 Nice. Be sure to update us on your results.
sounds more like an intermittent relay/problem on the control board. but TEST don't guess, control boards are not cheap and have lots of wires. it could also be the thermostat/wiring, if an older system and relies on the thermostat only to turn fan on for cooling.. without seeing it, this is all educated guessing. TEST TEST TEST
I hope you had a multi-meter to verify if the capacitor was 5or6 below or over usually 6 is intended to be a bad capacitor actually any capacitor running at 10% below it’s intended mfd is a bad one what if it was an ECM blower motor those don’t have capacitors then you would’ve probably been outta luck unless this UA-camr/hvac tech has a video of how to change the speeds and what not cause those blower motor fans are pretty expensive compared to the $120+ it’ll cost a toe to just get it and a leg to get someone to diagnose it cause you wouldn’t know how to. Sorry for my rambling just wanted to inform you that there is more than just guessing I’ve learned it the hardest ways possible 🤭😂
Trane's with the larger condensers and large refrigerant loads have issues with off state refrigerant flood back to compressor.
In spring and fall when early morning temps drops below 65 degrees and customer still has unit in cooling mode it can have the liquid condensation in bottom of compressor. The heater vaporizes the liquid preventing sucking up liquid refrigerant on startup.
Newer EEV systems shutdown EEV when compressor shuts off trapping refrigerant between compressor discharge port check valve and EEV valve. Most of trapped refrigerant turns to liquid in condenser coil during idle off mode.
This one was interesting. Once this one got running it seemed like the condenser fan motor was noisy however that could have been the sensitive camera mic making it sound that way. Those R22 condensers tend to run and run if they make it this long so, worth fixing them. Good fix...NO Parts Required. Hopefully the last HVAC put in the correct cap.
Great tutorial on chasing down a short. Been doing service for about three years and I'm still learning and getting better everyday.
Very interesting diagnosis. Good Job as usual.
Watch a ton of your stuff thought I would say hi and I love the van layout it's set up exactly how I think it should be. Keep up the work
Gator clips work great for those tight situations where it’s hard to get your hands in there. They screw on the end of your test leads. Just food for thought.
Thanks Curtis, that was a tricky job and you sorted it out in the end, Well done 👍 Au
Nice job on that old trane. Whoever it was that said it was the compressor needs to start watching your videos. Thanks for sharing.
That was really great sharing all of your knowledge buddy, thank you 👍
Our parrots were going crazy during the playback from your background environment!!
i purchased that 680 meter. Its so nice 😊
Great work Curtis… for a guy only at his second year in the trade I really appreciate your videos, it keeps me learning
Glad to help
Another great detective video! Thanks for bringing us along.
Always Smart to get a Second Opinion since this World is Full of HVAC Hacks. 🤔👍
Way to run it down proper! Those compresser leads can be a giant pain. Good job Curtis!
Thanks 👍
Great work! I'll bet the owner is sure glad he called you!!
Great job troubleshooting curtis as always enjoyed the video thanks again
Amazing knowledge Curtis!!
Another great video!
When measuring resistance within the motor poles, your body is resistance is negligible. Your body resistance is only significant when measuring resistance to ground.
Curtis, you need to sink in the schreader core depressors on your probes. I used to have the same thing happen when i would put them on. Now i barely get a hiss and they read pressure perfectly fine.
Great video thanks, Always nice when you hit the disconnect and she fires up! God bless!!!
Thanks 👍
Awesome job! Great video,Curtis!
Glad you enjoyed it
i’ve replaced TWO climatuff compressors in my 28 years .. they were truly amazing compressors .. words cannot express my disappointment with trane/american standard of today.. since they were acquired by angersoll rand they now use one of 4 compressor brands and you never know which brand you’re getting until you unbox the pos .. to my understanding they include
alliance, copeland, bristol and LG.. yes LG (JUNK)… i’ve recently stopped selling and recommending anything trane/american standard and switched to Bosch awhile back.. i have not been happier , these are truly incredibly efficient snd so far reliable systems .. 🤞
we've all been there struggling with those contactor screws. haha
Good troubleshooting video 👍
Thanks 👍
Good detective work 👏 was going to say with ur warm climate do u reely need a heater ya rap around heater defently good option if u decide to keep it 👍
you should make a pig tail test plug from an old compressor plug. You remove the compressor wires and plug it into the compressor with those 3 wires already attached to it. This way you wont need to see the terminals you'll have wires.
Are all compressor connections the same? I thought about it but if they are different you have a sack full of 40 odd compressor plugs....
Would connecting an alligator clip or clips to the compressor terminals and testing from the other end make that easier?
The increasing resistance makes me think the capacitor is in the circuit.
It's nice that your viewers are relentless about things they sincerely believe will make your life easier, like having a magnetic parts tray.
Almost as relentless as you were on this one. Very nice!
Please don't forget to replace your test leads, and get extra ones!
And some #33 electrical tape, a few rolls.
Get some small alligator clip jumpers to test pins that are way down there like that. You could even put clips on that old set of leads rather than throw them away.
Good job as always Curtis. I enjoy watchin your vids
Glad you like them!
I feel like you and I are twins everything that happens to your tools happens to mine 😂
If you manually set the range on your meter to a low ohms range, you won't have to wait while it auto-ranges. It helps a bunch in situations where you can't reliably hold the leads on something for long. Also, that Kaiweets kit probably had an alligator clip option, which you could've attached to ground or common so you only had to manually fiddle with one lead.
Great work Curtis.
Thanks!
This guy knows his stuff learned something today thanks
Excellent diagnosis 👍👍
Thanks
Excellent diagnosis!
You might find it easier to install an alligator clip on the negative lead. I have found it good to have one hand free and hold the other positive lead with a hand. Also, the gator clip can often punch thru oxidation on a terminal and get a better reading.
tip for ohming those compressors - Get a Compressor lead kit and push it on the compressor terminals that gives you about 6" of wire on each terminal to do what u need to do.
Great diagnostics. Enjoyed
I have had a few pressure switches rubout in those condensers under the spinefin coil
I wish companies would go back to those designs where there is a compartment to easily access the compressor.
Great work curtis 👍
Thanks 👍
Those tweezers probes are really handy if you ever do any electronic repairs…
After watching about a dozen videos. I thought, with how you jam probes onto test points, how long before it breaks lol
Hey Curtis, I believe you got a Shorty crank case heater it’s next thing out of check cause it would definitely cause a breaker to trip for sure you checked out everything else and everything looks good for the compressor and the fan motor so I’d say it’s the current case here Tallahassee, Fred Fred
Wow that's a weird one in that 14 to 18 kilo-ohms should not draw that many amps but maybe under load the resistance drops down???? Great find and great that you were able to help the customer out and save them some money at least for now. Thanks for taking us along.
I worked on an electrical job today,and found myself saying the word "lovely" several times.🤣
Good troubleshooting my guy
Thanks
I finally used a magnet with a mirror to look into those boxes. So I could use my hand with the meter.
Alligator clips
There should of being a set with his meter
Even in fl, even for cooling, you should have that crankcase heater working due to how recip compressors work.
🤣🤣the magnetic tray. I have one and always forget to use it just like you
Enjoy the longer videos.
Glad you like them
Was the loud noise from the from the condenser fan motor?. It sounded like a military helicopter! lol
Got to love it when yr hang out in the bushes.
I switched from residential to commercial a few months ago, I don't miss working in jungles like this or the yappy dogs at all. Can't seem to escape mini splits though
It's a jungle out there.😂
I’ve found it easier to use alligator clamps on the probes to test the duration compressors. But, no matter what you use it is difficult to test them
Get yourself some alligator clips it’s much easier.
Please get you some circuit breaker locks to keep someone from resetting a breaker on you. It is OSHA required and could save your life. They are inexpensive.
I did ask to see if you had any blooper videos or something since the videos seem to go smoothly always and this time your lead broke on your probe.
I almost feel sorry for the yung guy that misdiagnosed that compressor. Sounds like he needs alot more training, but in his defense I can see how he could have missed it on that one.
It's my understanding the crankcase heater should remain energized during compressor off cycles. Your thoughts?
Yes
👍👍👍
It's almost pointless to check sub cooling or superheat on a r22 system these days. You have no clue if r421a, MO99, or any other retrofit refrigerant has been added. Change your gauges to r421a and see what happens to sub cooling and superheat.
Nice one brother... 🧐
Thanks ✌️
That fan doesn’t sound good, think it might be rubbing on the housing.
Its a shame that some people just make a quick diagnosis without thorougly checking. That fan motor doesn't seem long for this world.. sounded really terrible and loud.
Nice! That was a fine display of detective work!
Thanks!
Thanks for using the magnetic tray Curtis.
we're all going to chip in and get you a small hammer for Christmas!
Curtis you need to cut a plug off a old broken A/c unit so you put the plug into the compressor to be check it out.
When I run across one of these units and it trips the breaker. The first thing I check is the crank case heater. Also there is a spring that hold the crank case heater in place. But yes they can get stuck in there. The 2 means it is R-22. 4 means it is R-410 not the T
Meter says short to ground, you want to turn on the power? MUMM!
Evap starving with high Subcooling & high CTOA. I was thinking restriction?
Seems like it would have been a whole lot easier to ohm compressor starting at the wiring in the control box rather than right at the compressor terminals. Also wonder about metering device - piston or TXV?
Why high subcooling AND high superheat?
"technician thinks its the compressor so we are going to send out the service manager" sounds more like the tech didn't know how to fix it and the manager wanted to pressure the customer into buying a new system without proper diagnosis.
Good troubleshooting job. Nicely done.
Thanks 👍
You do tend to apply a lot of PSI on your meter leads from what I've noticed.....
Access to the compressor terminals is terrible I never use trane over priced
You can take a Phillips head screwdriver and drive out the old crankcase heater.
That took way too long if your a seasoned service Tech but hey at least you found the issue.
I’m exhausted
Did anyone else notice the chupacabra slinking by at 15:45?
👍
Listen I was that other tech…
Shorted crankcase heater?
Yes
Whats the name of that multi bit screwdriver you were using on that contactor. Was it a Klein?
Yes
@HVACGUY I can't seem to find a similar one. Do you remember the model of it?
@@HVACGUY Did you slide the rubber grip down the handle some? I don't see any other kleins with the grip so close to the base.
we like the flinstones to..hmm hmm hm hm hmm hum
A good tech always has 65 pairs of spare probes ❤😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂Couldn’t you just ohm them through the compressor leads?
What's the pink tank used for? I was told it's a replacement for R22.
Different refrigerant
@@HVACGUY thank you.
What is the test lead kit you are using?
great diagnosis bro. you should check out the appion core depressor tool for the liquid side. and the appion low loss charging T for suction. u dont have to take joblink probes of to charge. its a game changer
I’m not a technician and am just a curious observer. In the beginning of the video you pulled the disconnect and a bit later you determined the breaker in the house for the outside unit was tripped. I’m curious as to what was powering the small green blinking light in the outdoor unit that was visible when the access cover was removed?
Low voltage
Low voltage is sent by air handler, separate circuit
@@HVACGUYThanks for the reply.
@@davidb2438Thanks for the reply
That sucks. Those leads aren't cheap.
When you are testing continuity, which I assume is what you are doing on that condenser... won't the current go through your body and show a reading if you are touching the probes? (not sure if you were, hard to see)
Yes, if you were touching both ends. He wasn't on the ground side where he sanded the copper. Even if he was though, in the case of measuring very low resistance windings, the meg ohms through your body would not make a difference. It would though if measuring for ohms to ground.
@@khx73 I think at one point he had both probes where I couldn't see them, and I assume using his fingers to find the pins and keep them connected. But, sure, probably a minor reading difference. Depends on how sweaty he was.
I have been watching your videos for a while , and wanted to ask the question do you run your own HVAC company , or do you work for someone else ???
@@theantichrist4267 he works for himself, he sometimes hires help for new installs.
He's a one man operation except for installs.
The damn microphones these days pick up every little tink bink dink clink sound there is! Drives me nuts!!
Why do you not clean up your area I.e inside the air handler and around the outside of the condenser or heat pump when it has pine straw and Vines around the unit
Might be a young buck sent out without proper training.
Worked for trane dealer for 17 years called out for second opinion on bad compressor found out it was a bad crank case heater about 80 percent of the time
Humm, I find that strange, 90 percent of the time I find a Trane kicking the breaker is because of the potential relay. I have been the second guy out on at least 20 Tranes where the previous company took the start capacitor set-up off or put some type of aftermarket hard start on it..then it keeps kicking the breaker and the other company says bad compressor. Trane is picky. If you don't use the exact cut in and cut out voltage potential relay, it will kick the breaker randomly. The one in the video didn't have the start capacitor set-up
@@Bryan-Hensleyinteresting you say
trane wont even offer technical support
if im not trane certified even though i work for a company
Thanks, I just crossed Trane off my list. My current Carrier is 30 years old.
I hope you rechecked your wiring for a new crankcase heater, Crankcase heaters are to be wired 240 volts and on continuously, your video showed your wiring will not work.