The fan on our outside unit only made noise -enough to wake the dead- after hours and at the start of three day weekends. Ran fine when the Techs came out they didn't want to sell me something I didn't need. Finally caught it with a cell phone Video and they replaced it.
Tell me man, my everyday is hearing customers tell me when I arrive you’re not going to believe it but it’s working now, and my company is harsh on recalls... I work for a manufacturer...
After the thorough visual inspection then the vibration test (hammer) while it's operating. If that fails to find the problem then it's waiting for a callback or start replacing some likely parts as preventive service & hope you got all the intermittent faults.
I design variable frequency drives and vfd panels for many segments including HVAC for a major VFD company. It’s really eye opening to see these units installed in the field and what happens after years of service. In our factory all the wiring is clean and perfect wired to UL508A standards. I think all design engineers need to see units like this to know what the real environmental factors are. I wonder what we could design differently to make troubleshooting and service easier? I love your channel and learn so much from you about troubleshooting! Thanks!
go find the one with the blown-up VFD. it looked like some filter caps in a switch-mode driver exploded. I don't think it's design engineers who are the problem--it's "value engineering" accountants who save a nickel by shaving parts ratings--putting in a 377V capacitor where a 450V would last four times as long.
Be nice to use touch safe terminals. I hate new equipment with non finger safe contacts. These hvac units look terrible compared to industrial control panels with wire ducts and din rail mounting.
From a UI perspective, some of these units drive me nuts. I have no part in the HVAC industry, but seeing an interface that uses DIP switches to request function / mode changes just seems nutty. Why not a row of buttons instead? IMO, DIP switches are ideal for setting a configuration that might need to be changed once every five years. The other thing is, definitely, some thought to cable management. Specifically, serviceable cable management. Things like cable clips or combs or something like that along the chassis, which can bundle up the wiring and keep it neat and out of the way. Easily manipulated, where you don't necessarily need to clip and reinstall zip ties just to pull a wire out -- especially temporarily. When I see wires just draping all over the place, and coiled up next to panels... that's just abrasion waiting to happen.
Always loved those customers that made it sound like an emergency and it hadn't been used in months. "Lack of planning on your part does NOT constitute an emergency on my part" was my favorite saying to tell them!
i'm working on a building that is being renovated, and the building owner called it "move-in ready". about a year ago, we informed the owner that two air handlers weren't working, and that they needed to fix them before we finished the renovation. the company leasing the space is almost ready to move in, and the AHUs have barely been touched. the owner ignored it until it became an emergency.
Yep i saw that too lol. I see things in my own videos i missed during editing or watching it back. You'd be surprised at what you miss during the job sometimes.
Had a customer find an intermittent short, the only way he found it was a night and saw the arch flash. Also wondering why the ground wire would be the one sparking
@@PeterParker-tb7ce whole blower housing is likely dirty and electrically isolated, the wire laying loose later in video was shorted to the housing and it found ground back through it. seems the low voltage wasn't tied to common ground or he had it unhooked or that is how the unit is wired, not relying on the housing or case for low voltage common grounding tie
Being OCD myself I totally love the fact that you feel the need to fix stuff correctly, and that you tell the customers the hard truth and that YOU need to be doing the pm work so they can get back to normal versus hack.
I’ve enjoyed your videos. You remind me of my electrician father. He also fixed other’s problems, and expressed frustration with badly maintained equipment left in messy, badly installed condition. I never followed his footsteps directly, but as a child assisted him to complete his 5th, 6th and 7th National apprenticeships (he didn’t speak English that well. The skills he taught me have allowed me to to be professionally employed in a variety of industries. The primary skills he expected me to to display was the practice of working clean, restoring to industry standard, and the if necessary going back to first principles to remedy factory design failures, but only after user and technician failures had been eliminated. Your explanation off fault finding and the logic of repair is very well presented. Not overly explained, but in language most of your clients could also grasp. I suspect none of your clients ever refuse payment of your invoices. In this instance, you might have up-sold the preventative maintenance if you had pointed to lower AC power bills, and higher unit efficiencies.
Not an HVAC guy but spent most of my life repairing various types of machinery and equipment. The worst case scenario is always when someone else worked on it first...
Man, I have zero experience and don't even live in the state, but I'd love to train for a job like this under people like you. Do the job RIGHT! Tired of jobs where you're trained to scheme your way into making sales for the boss's boss's boss's next mansion.
I'll bet someone stood on top of it for some reason and crushed the top in, and then did their best to straighten it back out without the proper tools or experience. It would explain the strange state of that top-center seam, as well as the insulation being down inside.
Intermittent problems are the most difficult to troubleshoot. By definition, those type of problems exist, then go away, then come back in a cycle we, as technicians, are frustrated by because there is no known time intervals for the sequencing of the problem manifesting itself to when it goes away, then comes back, etc.. If you are the technician working on resolvimg the issue(s) during the time that the problem has gone away, the unit runs properly. As a technician, you have to be working on the system during the time that the problem has manifested yet again and hope it remains throughout the entirety of the troubleshooting process. Great work!
You have to come up with a way to find out which leg of the circuit has the intermittent short. I've used AGC type fuse holders with low amp fuses installed in each leg of the troublesome circuit. You can usually find fuse holders, fuses and insulated spade connectors on Ebay fairly cheap. The blown fuse tells you which leg to focus on. If only the manufacturers fused each leg when they build equipment.
@@tiredoldmechanic1791 Ok. That sounds reasonable. I'm just not sure if that would isolate the problem effectively when the intermittent problem is in its "gone away" phase while the system is being troubleshot. I can see your method working so long as the intermittent problem is in its "back again" phase.
@@Artisan.HVACR1 I have used a 24 volt light bulb with a pig tail one going to the transformer secondary and to the case ground that will light up in the event of a short. That will eliminate using a bunch of fuses and not resetting the transformer circuit breaker that seems to fail after several resets. I have also used this in 12 volt dc to find shorts in vehicles as well. Kind of old school, but works.
It's in a way good that you didn't just replace it. Now, if tou ever see this issue, you know where to look for.. I ran I to this issue too.. great video Chris.
Good luck on finding that technician! Too bad I can't say I'm experienced to your standards and expectations, despite doing this a couple of years. Haha. Reminds me of what literally happened to one of my junior technician co-workers just this past Friday. He spent quite a bit of time chasing a no cooling problem thinking that there was an electrical problem on an residential Lennox AC unit. Three hours is what he told me. I ended up showing up on the Saturday the next day, checking what he looked at, looking at other things he may have not checked, finding out that the unit locked itself out on low pressure and the trip condition on the diagnostic module was actually doing what it was supposeded to do. I felt sorry for him, since it took me 20 minutes to verify it after hooking gauges up and getting 0 psi on low and high side, all while the customer watching me. I ended up calling him up to explain my thought process, and he wanted to know what he may have missed that night. Good kid, and still learning. Shoot, I consider myself stupid too and still learning. Thanks Chris, for beating on that "big picture diagnosis." Still saving me from causing callbacks from jobs I do, and saving face for the company I currently work for by just looking at everything, and UNDERSTANDING how they play together.
I had a similar experience years ago when I first started. I thought the unit was going out on high head pressure because the condenser fans weren’t running. After checking capacitors and jumping out the fan cycle control, come to find out it was low on charge and didn’t build up enough pressure to bring the fans on. I laugh when I think about it now but come on, I didn’t put my gauges on to check right away and didn’t even feel the liquid line to see if it was very hot. Now a days I can walk up to a situation like that and know what’s happening just from looking and listening to it.
Everybody start to zero. Good for you that u r senior and try to educate him. Im working in this kind of job more than 10 years and i know what u feel. You get angry cause this is the basic thing for checking. He got low knowledge about refrigeration job. It takes time before he adopt it.
I just came across your videos. You are doing a great job. I am now retired from HVAC/ACR. I still consult for two small companies from time to time. I was going to post on this video as you were having some issues tracing the short, but you found the short. I will say this I once found a spider behind the main control board causing a intermittent short. That one made me work hard as I was following behind 4 other companies that had changed out many components that would get it going for a day then shut down would occur on a 100 ton cooling unit. Basics of troubleshooting. Remember to always trace out every low voltage circuit on the circuit diagram. Many manufacturers to save money loop (or keep online on cooling circiut) the heating limits into the control circuit for cooling less relays and less functions on the circuit boards. Again great job best of luck on finding a well rounded employee for HVAC/ACR
The Inland Empire sounds like a good name for a business... Or a house in a fantasy novel. _Dude walks into the Kings Throne room. The court Marshall calls out, "And from the Inland Empire, his High Emperor Coolant of House HVAC_
You had a no load short to ground on the limit switch where the wire was touching the sheet metal. That's not something you would normally look for with your transformer circuit breaker tripping, especially when you had the wrong transformer, relays missing, condenser fan motors wired to the wrong relays and all the wiring issues. Then, add the fact that you were coming behind another company made this call way out of the ordinary. You're right. All of your time was billable because of the cluster**** you had to deal with before you could even start troubleshooting. Another awesome fix, man. You have high standards and a work ethic beyond reproach, and customers should be thanking you for the attention to detail you bring to the table. Technicians should be beating a path to your door wanting to work for/with you.
Agreed. If I were in SoCal I'd apply to work for you and company. Impeccable attention to detail and customer oriented service/attitude is hard to teach. You just have to have that integrity and professionalism to maintain a reputable company mission. With 42 years experience with all forms of HVACR, I have seen a whole spectrum of technicians and the companies that employ reputable to shady and inexperienced techs. Sometimes I feel like a bobblehead at shaking my head of discovering half-assed and shoddy work. Great video btw.
This is my favorite Lennox troubleshooting video, great work staying focused despite being called back to that gem! I appreciate the time and effort you put toward sharing your knowledge THANKS FOR SHARING!
Sometimes the NTE limit restricts technicians from spending the time needed. Worked at a local truck stop recently with an NTE of 500.00. RTU AC was not working. Found low r22 charge {almost flat} which of course means need to find and repair leak which i found but could not repair due to NTE. Also there was a make up air unit down due to static pressure switch tripped because of dirty evaporator. Call them to get NTE raised. Now they want a quote for everything. How do you quote for "everything" when the 500.00 did not cover finding "everything'. All the while store manager is getting really mad at me because he will have to wait a few days while all this gets approved and his office is 80+.
Regarding crummy NTE amounts. Some companies generate a standard NTE on every call. Your call out person needs to immediately get on the phone to the person directly responsible for raising that NTE for work at that site, and that person will send message to the place the NTE was made and raise it. (Walmart, McDonald's, supermarket, chains, malls) . Your call out or dispatch needs to be aware of likely hood of costly repairs and ask for limit increase ahead of work starting. My dispatch would automatically call, get the NTE raised to $1500..... eventually we had a contract that said "do not call us anymore if the fix looks like it's going to be under $2K 😃" with a major customer.
Also on quoting after reaching NTE restrictions. I would count my travel time, set up time, breaks, materials for the repair you expect, more time for the leak search, and if you do not find the leak at least put in dye for ease of future searching, and then r22 replacement of course.... let's say in your leak search you find the culprit was a belt has ripped a distributor line out.... you then use remaining original quoted time to re-quote new repair parameters and loose no time..... then as needed any remaining time on the NTE your working under you can prep your site or look at that other MUA quickly... alow g for a more in depth look. Well that's how I use the system they give me so I am not screwed and not somehow eating time because the system terrible (for us).
Documentation such as this video may help the customer to recover some money back from the prior company. That Lennox looks like a Trane Voyager. Wires, wires, every where. That vibration in the air handler can be a back breaker. That unit needs a bath. Good job on cleaning the birds nest.
Nah that’s a chain restaurant. I am betting it’s a Chili’s or a Mac Grill or something like that. The managers don’t want to spend money because it effects their bonus. I changed a compressor out on a Chili’s once. Handed the manager an invoice for 900 or so. He told me it wasn’t enough. He told me to make it over 1k so corporate would pay for it. SMH
Best guess for removing the top, degreasing/cleaning the evaporator due to the heavy grease load in the return air the filters don't stop it all (especially if they are missing because they were plugged), is also why the roof insulation was hanging down (poorly or un-trained apprentice). Second guess, roofers chasing a roof leak, likely due to a plugged condensate drain (roofers can really mess up a unit, even tar seal condenser section access panels). I've had a chinese restaurant where the return air was in the kitchen by the exhaust hood, grabbing all that super greasy air which plugged the evaporator every few years. We also had to add a sheet metal shield to the kitchen exhaust fan which was just 2 feet away from the rooftop unit's condenser intake. It all helped, but really the kitchen/hvac wasn't designed & built correctly for a kitchen. no one would shoulder the bill to do it correctly (landlord or restaurant).
Be careful calling yourself an AH to work for, you might scare off good mechanics. High expectations is not being an AH. Good work habits are very necessary in this trade to avoid call backs that cost the company money. Can't work for free to often. Good Video on a hard to find short.
I have a plumber friend who owns his own business... he's an AH to work for, finally gave up trying to have responsible employees and just accepted he's going to have to limit what jobs he takes.
Condenser Fan 1 running at 1.8A could be as a result of a capacitor oversized for the job. You can see there are three capacitors that look OEM / standard, and the first one to the left is physically larger, leads me to believe it is a larger capacity.
At the school I teach hvac at has same units serviced by Christian brothers had the same run cap problem. Out of 10 rtus about 21 caps were wrong size. Found 7.5, 10(reading as low as 6.4) and multiple 15mfd. Guess techs now days don't look at the motor specs or just use what they have on hand..I won't even get into wires, relays, massive different belts on same blower.
maybe the motor was swapped with some universal wound differently. you know how the field goes, use whats on the truck or nearest parts house. just seen "all the same motors", so probably that one different capacitor or different fan blade, BUT all the other capacitors could be low and failing, so those three motors are over-current for the current blade load. need's more testing :)
@@throttlebottle5906 No they were the correct motors from Lennox, just tech swapped out wrong caps. I also swapped out 5 CFM on different units and don't know if the techs from CB feel like me but i don't want to cut wires and rewire CFM cause i don't want to get the proper motor. Having cut plugs and rewired motors ten to make other techs come out and start putting in wrong RPM's and also a new spot you would have to trouble shoot if you cut wires. ( hate cut wires with wire nuts and tape ) just my option
Great troubleshooting skills. An old timer taught me how to diagnose a bad contactor. Check the resistance across the coil. On a 24v coil, a bad contactor will be under 10. Compare to a good one.(2 pole contactor).
Just want to thank you for all your videos. I started going to school this year for HVACR, and I watch your videos daily to keep my knowledge growing. Thanks for all the cool info.
Buddy, if I lived out there I’d apply. But I’m in Oklahoma and I’m not interested in living in Cali. It’s the whole conceal carry thing. But if I was I would. Also, interesting info, when I worked as a draftsman, I probably drew that schematic. I did a lot of side jobs to pay for college for mechanical engineering. I did stuff for Lennox, Aaon, trane, carrier rooftop units. Now, I think, we’ll, almost positive, they do it in-house but back in the day, early to late 90’s AutoCad was not a common place. But I’m sure that dwg is newer. But originally, it’d have my initials on it.
I don't know anything about HVACR units or plan to learn, but I do enjoy your videos. your production of them is very good. you seem very good at your job and it looks like that you really enjoy your work...
Brand new to the channel, been binge Watching for a few days and honestly this channel is a breath of fresh air for a guy like me . Residential hvac tech of 26yr here and I think these videos should be mandatory viewing for any tech, new or experienced so everyone can watch how a tech should conduct themselves thoughtfully on any job. Especially with LV issues like here in this video. Guys get off in the woods real quick trying to troubleshoot issues like this. You're doing a great job brother and keep up the great work, you're settling a Supreme example for field technicians.
nice video again, time and pacience, with this units, every time someone else is trying to figure it out, trying to fix the unit, you need to go trough every pi ece of the unit, i learned it thr HARD way.
It is very funny to me that when you ask the customers: hey, do you have the previous invoice to see what they wrote? They never know anything about previous invoices. How do they keep track of their expenses, taxes and the management of the place? I have never gotten a previous invoice when I have asked for it. Thank you again for this video. Low voltage troubleshooting is challenging and fun at the same time.
I’m a service manager from the uk. Did 10 years on the tools as an engineer / technician. Many years spent in cinemas and restaurants working on RTUs and walk ins. Would love the opportunity to come out to California and work with you!
Nice job, shorts can drive a person insane. One of my biggest issues when I was younger not listening to my gut. I found when I second guess myself when I had most problems.
They probably removed the top for evap coil leak. Had a couple that leaked on the backside of the coil. How they mangled the top dunno. The usual suspect for the transformer tripping is the wire to the bottom freeze stat.
I was a "cleaner" For a HVAC company for 20 years and I feel your pain what you go through on these calls is not unusual for me. I am glad I dont have to do it anymore
my late friend Tom who for many years installed and repaired background music/PA system, many for restaurants, had a long mental list of places where he would never eat. He did his own HVAC repair and helped friends as needed. He was not above calling the HVAC company manager who recommended a new high side with an "ear full" when an $8.00 run cap solved the problem
Hope you manage to find a good worker. The problem with good people is that, as long as they are happy with their current employer, pay and conditions, they stick to them like barnacles. Second rate people are a dime a dozen.
If you look at the top of the wiring diagram it picks up the low voltage to those limits. They are to the left of on the diagram which is going into the heating section of the diagram. I have had that same short twice and both times it ate my lunch. I was like it’s the limits and when you said those limits look like crap your ears had to be burning. Lol That was a great video!!! Wish I lived closer to you would love to work for like minded boss! H- Town here
Another great video! Wish I could work with someone like you. I have been furloughed recently from my HVAC/R job in central Florida and am looking. Good luck finding the right guy out there!!
I wish that some of my former employers in various fields were like you. I wish they could understand why I would take an extra 20 minutes to do a proper diagnosis and touch up the small details required to really do a job right. From the customer side who understands where attention to detail and minor things like cleaning and double checking can be the difference between a short term repair and a long term relationship, I feel that service providers like yourself are way too few and far between. Unfortunately, I am neither interested in working in the HVACR field at this time, nor am I interested in relocating from California to Florida. I watch your videos to get a better understanding of the fundamentals of HVACR and to pick up on customer service principals that span multiple fields.
Chris, your statement about customers and doing it right could not be more true about my computer repair business. I wish more businesses operated like yours. :)
Great job 👍 I am 58, been at this for awhile and you are helping me ALOT ,applying your knowledge and methods to my job. Mini-Splits drive not only me crazy but my boss/A-tech.
Great video! As a facilities director I periodically do sight inspections and being in the refrigeration field for twenty years prior I see this type of thing at times. If only we could share pictures in the comments I could show you some nightmares. Love your videos as they give me the exact fix I need from not being in the field much anymore.
I would have done the same thing I think. The visible stuff should be replaced /rewired. Then check past that. The main thing is to keep your train of thought. I have had to go back on other employees repairs that really didn't work. So frustrating. Good call. Maybe they thought a frost detection thermostat wire had rubbed out across the blower like on a Carrier.
I've watched a few videos of yours and I'm impressed. I'm retired cnc maintenance I too like a neat setup and no lose wires. I too always took the time to fix everything not just to get it running. Keep up the good work, your customers hopefully realize that you do a good job.
Every guy in the world doesn’t say that at all. Look at his stores and look at this unit that he doesn’t service. Keeping everything as it should be and keeping it tidy is something people normally don’t do. I’m ocd af and will say that I like how this man takes pride in his work. He isn’t cocky he’s meticulous and that’s a great trait.
The condenser fan motor running low amps looks like the blade needs to be moved up a little to draw more air. Maybe all could be. That we ould increase amp draw and help lower head pressure.
Thank you for the class bro, I am on the residential hvac but enjoy a lot your videos and ways to troubleshoot equipment,attention details is key,great job 👍🏽🛠
Found similar issue on a York. Unit would lock out due to an open safety in heat section. When I questioned tech support on relevance of the safety during cooling he stated you want to know if a safety is open regardless of the season and not when its 30 °f. Which makes perfect sense 😀
Excellent work. Being on call can suck especially out there in Cali where every little trip is at least an hour drive, that is where the frustration comes in. Knowing your headed 2 hours out on a 1 hour call and being able to cover the actual 5 hour cost. And even worse you get there and the unit looks like that. Man you have every right to be a little upset. I know I would be dropping F bombs all over the place. On a normal day I would love to get my hands on that cluster F and get it running perfect.
Wish I could work with you! We are two pees in a pod my man! And I love California. Got my own company to run though and it’s way too busy to leave for anybody worth a damn to run it for me. Much love to your company though. Keep up the great work!!!!
I wish I were a HVAC Tech. Any tech working with you would learn a lot. So many times I've worked for different places they always just cut you lose without proper training which ends up with frustrated employes that end up quitting and customers looking for another company to do business with.
Very interesting case. Did you turn back on the gas heating? No mention made of that. Yes, front limit switch, I did see one cable was disconnected/broken off.
I watch a lot of HVAC videos on utube and by far you are the best. There are tech's that just fix the problem and go and there are tech's that actually care for there Customers and fix future problems when noticed. It's like a tech that notices a blower belt in bad shape but still working with no spare and to lazy to get another from the truck. I wish I had the brain cells for Commercial HVAC just barely enough for Residential, O-well maybe in the next life :)
You are absolutely correct about repairing and going, but There is companies and a lot of them don’t react the way Chris is doing in his business. Either the techs don’t care and you’ve just seen on Chris’s video or they do care, the company they work for don’t want them spending to much time because they have a boat load of calls for him to run, and in the back of his mind he thinks, I need to get home sometime today, so guess what happens?? Big picture is Great but only works when you have a owner that backs you up on it or work for yourself.
If I ever move back to LA I’ll be sure to let you know before hand. I do exactly the same thing you guys do. I live in Utah work with stepdad at his business doing hvac mostly commercial. Servicing restaurants, installing hoods, exhausts etc. after work I watch your videos lol the trip is all the equipment you use we have as well. Small and larger lift for anything big ass help to avoid paying crane money. Thanks for your videos it takes people like you guys with honestly and I admire that as well. 👍
I've seen units that have one section of the condenser coil dirtier than other sections and that causes that specific fan motor to run at a lower amperage because it is moving less air. Amp draw is directly proportional to work. Once I cleaned the coil it allowed for better air flow and the condenser fan motor amp draw was much closer to nameplate.
Suggestion? i've found when a condenser fan pulls less amps than the others to test the voltage going to the fan, i've often found a voltage drop (hence the low amps) and often is caused by a bad spade or a bad relay
Those low voltage short are a pain in the butt, I currently have one on a trane Voyager I have to come back, I removed the ground from the common on the transformer, checked everything to ground, put one load at the time and it was not tripping, thought it was the transformer, replaced it run for a few hours, next day same call. I'm going back Wednesday.
Hi! I'm a Software Developer, so as far away from HVAC-Repair as one might get, but still we are using the exact same approaches when it comes to diagnosing and debugging. Take away what you are not sure of, analyze the remainders step by step, listen to your gut feeling when it points you towards a probable cause but always verify that you are right. Fix the system, not symptom. I really appreciate to see, that these guidelines are kind of universal and one can use them to debug nearly anything - including software and HVAC-Systems ;)
Yep! That sets off my OCD. I dont know why techs make it more difficult for themselves when trying to diagnose a short. I see this all the time and the only conclusion that I can come up with is that they really dont know what they are doing! And too stubborn or stupid to as for help! Nice catch Chris! Great trouble shooting and video, thanks!
I have been though this type of situation before as an electrician. It can go fully "benny hill" if you just start doing random things to try and figure out the problem.
Watched a few videos of yours, and those Lennox units seem to be a mess direct out of the factory, and that usually doesn't help the next guy trying to fix something. Technically, an HVAC is only a small machine, so it doesn't qualify much for a bus system instead of direct wiring because of the short runs, but so is a CNC machine, and those profit intensely from that. Especially seeing how much one could save on maintenance over a lifespan of 10 or even 20 years, when most time is spent on diagnosing errors. I'm used to cables on which the ends light up when there's 24V applied, so you can see what actuator is active and which is not.
I’ve been doing this since 92 yeah I’m old lol. But short still get me I’ll just refined my way of finding them. I have a process. Lennox are carriers are the worse for shorts. Great vid though thanks 😃👍🏼🔥🇺🇸🥃
Intermittents are the bane of anyone who does repairs. HVAC, automotive, electronics, doesn't matter. It's hard to fix something that's working.
“It does it once a month and it’s doing it again” best piece of advise I’ve heard, “if it’s working, try something”
The fan on our outside unit only made noise -enough to wake the dead- after hours and at the start of three day weekends. Ran fine when the Techs came out they didn't want to sell me something I didn't need. Finally caught it with a cell phone Video and they replaced it.
Tell me man, my everyday is hearing customers tell me when I arrive you’re not going to believe it but it’s working now, and my company is harsh on recalls... I work for a manufacturer...
If bob leans on it, it works perfectly! have you considered a cinder block and a 2x4 then?
After the thorough visual inspection then the vibration test (hammer) while it's operating. If that fails to find the problem then it's waiting for a callback or start replacing some likely parts as preventive service & hope you got all the intermittent faults.
I design variable frequency drives and vfd panels for many segments including HVAC for a major VFD company. It’s really eye opening to see these units installed in the field and what happens after years of service. In our factory all the wiring is clean and perfect wired to UL508A standards. I think all design engineers need to see units like this to know what the real environmental factors are. I wonder what we could design differently to make troubleshooting and service easier? I love your channel and learn so much from you about troubleshooting! Thanks!
go find the one with the blown-up VFD. it looked like some filter caps in a switch-mode driver exploded. I don't think it's design engineers who are the problem--it's "value engineering" accountants who save a nickel by shaving parts ratings--putting in a 377V capacitor where a 450V would last four times as long.
You use cable trays (or what it is called)? Like the plastic ones to put wiring in.
Be nice to use touch safe terminals. I hate new equipment with non finger safe contacts. These hvac units look terrible compared to industrial control panels with wire ducts and din rail mounting.
From a UI perspective, some of these units drive me nuts. I have no part in the HVAC industry, but seeing an interface that uses DIP switches to request function / mode changes just seems nutty. Why not a row of buttons instead? IMO, DIP switches are ideal for setting a configuration that might need to be changed once every five years.
The other thing is, definitely, some thought to cable management. Specifically, serviceable cable management. Things like cable clips or combs or something like that along the chassis, which can bundle up the wiring and keep it neat and out of the way. Easily manipulated, where you don't necessarily need to clip and reinstall zip ties just to pull a wire out -- especially temporarily. When I see wires just draping all over the place, and coiled up next to panels... that's just abrasion waiting to happen.
I learn a lot too. Thank you for posting your videos.
You are not an ass, you're honest. Most people can't tell the difference.
The worst part is they always call on a Friday night or Saturday saying we have to have it death die or emergency. Yet it hasn’t worked for a year.
Always loved those customers that made it sound like an emergency and it hadn't been used in months. "Lack of planning on your part does NOT constitute an emergency on my part" was my favorite saying to tell them!
YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP.... Every.Fucking.Time. LOL
😂 “well when did it stop cooling?” ...”last fall but we were going into winter so we just left it”...
i'm working on a building that is being renovated, and the building owner called it "move-in ready". about a year ago, we informed the owner that two air handlers weren't working, and that they needed to fix them before we finished the renovation. the company leasing the space is almost ready to move in, and the AHUs have barely been touched. the owner ignored it until it became an emergency.
Low voltage shorts are my absolute favorite calls, especially after multiple companies failed to resolve the issue
Me too its like porn for me lol
27:45 you can see a spark on the ground wire when you tap the base with the handle of the screw driver.
Blink and miss, really good catch!
Yep i saw that too lol. I see things in my own videos i missed during editing or watching it back. You'd be surprised at what you miss during the job sometimes.
Absolutely we all miss stuff just part of the job. Great video I like the ones that make you think for a bit lol
Had a customer find an intermittent short, the only way he found it was a night and saw the arch flash.
Also wondering why the ground wire would be the one sparking
@@PeterParker-tb7ce whole blower housing is likely dirty and electrically isolated, the wire laying loose later in video was shorted to the housing and it found ground back through it.
seems the low voltage wasn't tied to common ground or he had it unhooked or that is how the unit is wired, not relying on the housing or case for low voltage common grounding tie
I hope you find yourself a great technician. Your company does top-notch work.
Being OCD myself I totally love the fact that you feel the need to fix stuff correctly, and that you tell the customers the hard truth and that YOU need to be doing the pm work so they can get back to normal versus hack.
Good job diagnosing the problem. I used to take care of 100 or so of them old Lennox Units.
I’ve enjoyed your videos. You remind me of my electrician father. He also fixed other’s problems, and expressed frustration with badly maintained equipment left in messy, badly installed condition. I never followed his footsteps directly, but as a child assisted him to complete his 5th, 6th and 7th National apprenticeships (he didn’t speak English that well. The skills he taught me have allowed me to to be professionally employed in a variety of industries. The primary skills he expected me to to display was the practice of working clean, restoring to industry standard, and the if necessary going back to first principles to remedy factory design failures, but only after user and technician failures had been eliminated.
Your explanation off fault finding and the logic of repair is very well presented. Not overly explained, but in language most of your clients could also grasp. I suspect none of your clients ever refuse payment of your invoices.
In this instance, you might have up-sold the preventative maintenance if you had pointed to lower AC power bills, and higher unit efficiencies.
Thanks for making the gas safe when safety disconnected. Intresting they removed the heating relay, so close to the problem and a miss.
Not an HVAC guy but spent most of my life repairing various types of machinery and equipment. The worst case scenario is always when someone else worked on it first...
Man, I have zero experience and don't even live in the state, but I'd love to train for a job like this under people like you. Do the job RIGHT! Tired of jobs where you're trained to scheme your way into making sales for the boss's boss's boss's next mansion.
same
Always check safety's first, as check safety switches, limit, torque, carbon, valves, etc. You're good.
Watching this from Texas and I just like to say that there are so many bad companies in the Dallas area.
I'll bet someone stood on top of it for some reason and crushed the top in, and then did their best to straighten it back out without the proper tools or experience. It would explain the strange state of that top-center seam, as well as the insulation being down inside.
Yessssss that's were they had their lunch lol
NO BIll second time around Your the number one on the JOB.
I was really wondering how could a company who previously work on this, hired 87 technicians that puts a thumbs down.?
I could sleep to the sound of all 3 stages on that thing running. Scroll compressors sound awesome
I feel the same way about semi hermetic compressors, especially the Carlyle 06 series you find on older Carriers. I love that sound.
Intermittent problems are the most difficult to troubleshoot. By definition, those type of problems exist, then go away, then come back in a cycle we, as technicians, are frustrated by because there is no known time intervals for the sequencing of the problem manifesting itself to when it goes away, then comes back, etc.. If you are the technician working on resolvimg the issue(s) during the time that the problem has gone away, the unit runs properly. As a technician, you have to be working on the system during the time that the problem has manifested yet again and hope it remains throughout the entirety of the troubleshooting process. Great work!
You have to come up with a way to find out which leg of the circuit has the intermittent short. I've used AGC type fuse holders with low amp fuses installed in each leg of the troublesome circuit. You can usually find fuse holders, fuses and insulated spade connectors on Ebay fairly cheap. The blown fuse tells you which leg to focus on. If only the manufacturers fused each leg when they build equipment.
@@tiredoldmechanic1791 Ok. That sounds reasonable. I'm just not sure if that would isolate the problem effectively when the intermittent problem is in its "gone away" phase while the system is being troubleshot. I can see your method working so long as the intermittent problem is in its "back again" phase.
@@Artisan.HVACR1 I have used a 24 volt light bulb with a pig tail one going to the transformer secondary and to the case ground that will light up in the event of a short. That will eliminate using a bunch of fuses and not resetting the transformer circuit breaker that seems to fail after several resets. I have also used this in 12 volt dc to find shorts in vehicles as well. Kind of old school, but works.
Who else wants to start cutting wires like your a bomb technician?😂
Do not cut the black wire!
It's in a way good that you didn't just replace it. Now, if tou ever see this issue, you know where to look for.. I ran I to this issue too.. great video Chris.
Good luck on finding that technician! Too bad I can't say I'm experienced to your standards and expectations, despite doing this a couple of years. Haha.
Reminds me of what literally happened to one of my junior technician co-workers just this past Friday. He spent quite a bit of time chasing a no cooling problem thinking that there was an electrical problem on an residential Lennox AC unit. Three hours is what he told me. I ended up showing up on the Saturday the next day, checking what he looked at, looking at other things he may have not checked, finding out that the unit locked itself out on low pressure and the trip condition on the diagnostic module was actually doing what it was supposeded to do. I felt sorry for him, since it took me 20 minutes to verify it after hooking gauges up and getting 0 psi on low and high side, all while the customer watching me.
I ended up calling him up to explain my thought process, and he wanted to know what he may have missed that night. Good kid, and still learning. Shoot, I consider myself stupid too and still learning.
Thanks Chris, for beating on that "big picture diagnosis." Still saving me from causing callbacks from jobs I do, and saving face for the company I currently work for by just looking at everything, and UNDERSTANDING how they play together.
I had a similar experience years ago when I first started. I thought the unit was going out on high head pressure because the condenser fans weren’t running. After checking capacitors and jumping out the fan cycle control, come to find out it was low on charge and didn’t build up enough pressure to bring the fans on. I laugh when I think about it now but come on, I didn’t put my gauges on to check right away and didn’t even feel the liquid line to see if it was very hot. Now a days I can walk up to a situation like that and know what’s happening just from looking and listening to it.
Everybody start to zero. Good for you that u r senior and try to educate him. Im working in this kind of job more than 10 years and i know what u feel. You get angry cause this is the basic thing for checking. He got low knowledge about refrigeration job. It takes time before he adopt it.
I just came across your videos. You are doing a great job. I am now retired from HVAC/ACR. I still consult for two small companies from time to time. I was going to post on this video as you were having some issues tracing the short, but you found the short. I will say this I once found a spider behind the main control board causing a intermittent short. That one made me work hard as I was following behind 4 other companies that had changed out many components that would get it going for a day then shut down would occur on a 100 ton cooling unit. Basics of troubleshooting. Remember to always trace out every low voltage circuit on the circuit diagram. Many manufacturers to save money loop (or keep online on cooling circiut) the heating limits into the control circuit for cooling less relays and less functions on the circuit boards. Again great job best of luck on finding a well rounded employee for HVAC/ACR
Dude, I wouldn’t be reaching in to that unit without gloves!
The Inland Empire sounds like a good name for a business...
Or a house in a fantasy novel.
_Dude walks into the Kings Throne room. The court Marshall calls out, "And from the Inland Empire, his High Emperor Coolant of House HVAC_
You had a no load short to ground on the limit switch where the wire was touching the sheet metal. That's not something you would normally look for with your transformer circuit breaker tripping, especially when you had the wrong transformer, relays missing, condenser fan motors wired to the wrong relays and all the wiring issues. Then, add the fact that you were coming behind another company made this call way out of the ordinary.
You're right. All of your time was billable because of the cluster**** you had to deal with before you could even start troubleshooting. Another awesome fix, man. You have high standards and a work ethic beyond reproach, and customers should be thanking you for the attention to detail you bring to the table. Technicians should be beating a path to your door wanting to work for/with you.
Agreed. If I were in SoCal I'd apply to work for you and company. Impeccable attention to detail and customer oriented service/attitude is hard to teach. You just have to have that integrity and professionalism to maintain a reputable company mission. With 42 years experience with all forms of HVACR, I have seen a whole spectrum of technicians and the companies that employ reputable to shady and inexperienced techs. Sometimes I feel like a bobblehead at shaking my head of discovering half-assed and shoddy work. Great video btw.
True enough... problem, the good ones are working for themselves already!
This is my favorite Lennox troubleshooting video, great work staying focused despite being called back to that gem! I appreciate the time and effort you put toward sharing your knowledge THANKS FOR SHARING!
Sometimes the NTE limit restricts technicians from spending the time needed. Worked at a local truck stop recently with an NTE of 500.00. RTU AC was not working. Found low r22 charge {almost flat} which of course means need to find and repair leak which i found but could not repair due to NTE. Also there was a make up air unit down due to static pressure switch tripped because of dirty evaporator. Call them to get NTE raised. Now they want a quote for everything. How do you quote for "everything" when the 500.00 did not cover finding "everything'. All the while store manager is getting really mad at me because he will have to wait a few days while all this gets approved and his office is 80+.
Regarding crummy NTE amounts. Some companies generate a standard NTE on every call. Your call out person needs to immediately get on the phone to the person directly responsible for raising that NTE for work at that site, and that person will send message to the place the NTE was made and raise it. (Walmart, McDonald's, supermarket, chains, malls) . Your call out or dispatch needs to be aware of likely hood of costly repairs and ask for limit increase ahead of work starting. My dispatch would automatically call, get the NTE raised to $1500..... eventually we had a contract that said "do not call us anymore if the fix looks like it's going to be under $2K 😃" with a major customer.
Also on quoting after reaching NTE restrictions. I would count my travel time, set up time, breaks, materials for the repair you expect, more time for the leak search, and if you do not find the leak at least put in dye for ease of future searching, and then r22 replacement of course.... let's say in your leak search you find the culprit was a belt has ripped a distributor line out.... you then use remaining original quoted time to re-quote new repair parameters and loose no time..... then as needed any remaining time on the NTE your working under you can prep your site or look at that other MUA quickly... alow g for a more in depth look. Well that's how I use the system they give me so I am not screwed and not somehow eating time because the system terrible (for us).
@@i.p.freely2501 Agree 100%
Documentation such as this video may help the customer to recover some money back from the prior company. That Lennox looks like a Trane Voyager. Wires, wires, every where. That vibration in the air handler can be a back breaker. That unit needs a bath. Good job on cleaning the birds nest.
Thank you, I enjoyed your video. I used to trouble shoot laboratory instruments. It's a challenge.
Again, thanks.
This isn't another company's work. This is restaurant owner.
who would take the top off the unit? you have to give a little bit of credit to other companies. :-)
Nah that’s a chain restaurant. I am betting it’s a Chili’s or a Mac Grill or something like that. The managers don’t want to spend money because it effects their bonus. I changed a compressor out on a Chili’s once. Handed the manager an invoice for 900 or so. He told me it wasn’t enough. He told me to make it over 1k so corporate would pay for it. SMH
@@scottdickinson613 i see. well, manager should have watched a youtube video before trying to replace the filter by opening up the top... haha.
Manager change filters? Has never happened. Then they wonder why the unit is freezing up. 😂
You did a good job of troubleshooting, but working in the rain is definitely a no-no.
Best guess for removing the top, degreasing/cleaning the evaporator due to the heavy grease load in the return air the filters don't stop it all (especially if they are missing because they were plugged), is also why the roof insulation was hanging down (poorly or un-trained apprentice). Second guess, roofers chasing a roof leak, likely due to a plugged condensate drain (roofers can really mess up a unit, even tar seal condenser section access panels). I've had a chinese restaurant where the return air was in the kitchen by the exhaust hood, grabbing all that super greasy air which plugged the evaporator every few years. We also had to add a sheet metal shield to the kitchen exhaust fan which was just 2 feet away from the rooftop unit's condenser intake. It all helped, but really the kitchen/hvac wasn't designed & built correctly for a kitchen. no one would shoulder the bill to do it correctly (landlord or restaurant).
Keep the trouble shooting vids coming!!! I’m a newer tech (3 years) and I love watching these. Definitely helps me in my every day troubleshooting.
Be careful calling yourself an AH to work for, you might scare off good mechanics. High expectations is not being an AH. Good work habits are very necessary in this trade to avoid call backs that cost the company money. Can't work for free to often. Good Video on a hard to find short.
I have a plumber friend who owns his own business... he's an AH to work for, finally gave up trying to have responsible employees and just accepted he's going to have to limit what jobs he takes.
Condenser Fan 1 running at 1.8A could be as a result of a capacitor oversized for the job. You can see there are three capacitors that look OEM / standard, and the first one to the left is physically larger, leads me to believe it is a larger capacity.
That seems to be it.
At the school I teach hvac at has same units serviced by Christian brothers had the same run cap problem. Out of 10 rtus about 21 caps were wrong size. Found 7.5, 10(reading as low as 6.4) and multiple 15mfd. Guess techs now days don't look at the motor specs or just use what they have on hand..I won't even get into wires, relays, massive different belts on same blower.
maybe the motor was swapped with some universal wound differently. you know how the field goes, use whats on the truck or nearest parts house.
just seen "all the same motors", so probably that one different capacitor or different fan blade, BUT all the other capacitors could be low and failing, so those three motors are over-current for the current blade load. need's more testing :)
@@throttlebottle5906 No they were the correct motors from Lennox, just tech swapped out wrong caps. I also swapped out 5 CFM on different units and don't know if the techs from CB feel like me but i don't want to cut wires and rewire CFM cause i don't want to get the proper motor. Having cut plugs and rewired motors ten to make other techs come out and start putting in wrong RPM's and also a new spot you would have to trouble shoot if you cut wires. ( hate cut wires with wire nuts and tape ) just my option
Great troubleshooting skills. An old timer taught me how to diagnose a bad contactor. Check the resistance across the coil. On a 24v coil, a bad contactor will be under 10. Compare to a good one.(2 pole contactor).
Just want to thank you for all your videos. I started going to school this year for HVACR, and I watch your videos daily to keep my knowledge growing. Thanks for all the cool info.
Buddy, if I lived out there I’d apply. But I’m in Oklahoma and I’m not interested in living in Cali. It’s the whole conceal carry thing. But if I was I would. Also, interesting info, when I worked as a draftsman, I probably drew that schematic. I did a lot of side jobs to pay for college for mechanical engineering. I did stuff for Lennox, Aaon, trane, carrier rooftop units. Now, I think, we’ll, almost positive, they do it in-house but back in the day, early to late 90’s AutoCad was not a common place. But I’m sure that dwg is newer. But originally, it’d have my initials on it.
I don't know anything about HVACR units or plan to learn, but I do enjoy your videos. your production of them is very good. you seem very good at your job and it looks like that you really enjoy your work...
Brand new to the channel, been binge Watching for a few days and honestly this channel is a breath of fresh air for a guy like me . Residential hvac tech of 26yr here and I think these videos should be mandatory viewing for any tech, new or experienced so everyone can watch how a tech should conduct themselves thoughtfully on any job. Especially with LV issues like here in this video. Guys get off in the woods real quick trying to troubleshoot issues like this.
You're doing a great job brother and keep up the great work, you're settling a Supreme example for field technicians.
Thanks for the nice words bud
nice video again, time and pacience, with this units, every time someone else is trying to figure it out, trying to fix the unit, you need to go trough every pi ece of the unit, i learned it thr HARD way.
It is very funny to me that when you ask the customers: hey, do you have the previous invoice to see what they wrote? They never know anything about previous invoices. How do they keep track of their expenses, taxes and the management of the place? I have never gotten a previous invoice when I have asked for it. Thank you again for this video. Low voltage troubleshooting is challenging and fun at the same time.
I’m a service manager from the uk. Did 10 years on the tools as an engineer / technician. Many years spent in cinemas and restaurants working on RTUs and walk ins. Would love the opportunity to come out to California and work with you!
Nice job, shorts can drive a person insane. One of my biggest issues when I was younger not listening to my gut. I found when I second guess myself when I had most problems.
If they don’t use your PM service, it is their lose.
They probably removed the top for evap coil leak. Had a couple that leaked on the backside of the coil. How they mangled the top dunno. The usual suspect for the transformer tripping is the wire to the bottom freeze stat.
You should charge double for fixing a mess someone else made.
I was a "cleaner" For a HVAC company for 20 years and I feel your pain what you go through on these calls is not unusual for me. I am glad I dont have to do it anymore
my late friend Tom who for many years installed and repaired background music/PA system, many for restaurants, had a long mental list
of places where he would never eat. He did his own HVAC repair and helped friends as needed. He was not above calling the HVAC company manager who recommended a new high side with an "ear full" when an $8.00 run cap solved the problem
Hope you manage to find a good worker. The problem with good people is that, as long as they are happy with their current employer, pay and conditions, they stick to them like barnacles. Second rate people are a dime a dozen.
James Bowie no such a thing as a good tech being out of work in any field..
@@gnuclur8952 if only that were true....living in a small town with a buddy-buddy system SUCKS.
If you look at the top of the wiring diagram it picks up the low voltage to those limits. They are to the left of on the diagram which is going into the heating section of the diagram.
I have had that same short twice and both times it ate my lunch.
I was like it’s the limits and when you said those limits look like crap your ears had to be burning. Lol
That was a great video!!!
Wish I lived closer to you would love to work for like minded boss!
H- Town here
I've been doing Technical support with Computers for more years than I like to recall and that big picture is what so many people miss.
Another fine diagnostic job! I really like you stick-to-it mentality and your care for the customer! Keep it up!
Great troubleshooting, Chris.. sometimes it’s just better to come back fresh next time!
Another great video! Wish I could work with someone like you. I have been furloughed recently from my HVAC/R job in central Florida and am looking. Good luck finding the right guy out there!!
I wish that some of my former employers in various fields were like you. I wish they could understand why I would take an extra 20 minutes to do a proper diagnosis and touch up the small details required to really do a job right. From the customer side who understands where attention to detail and minor things like cleaning and double checking can be the difference between a short term repair and a long term relationship, I feel that service providers like yourself are way too few and far between.
Unfortunately, I am neither interested in working in the HVACR field at this time, nor am I interested in relocating from California to Florida. I watch your videos to get a better understanding of the fundamentals of HVACR and to pick up on customer service principals that span multiple fields.
Chris, your statement about customers and doing it right could not be more true about my computer repair business. I wish more businesses operated like yours. :)
Great job 👍 I am 58, been at this for awhile and you are helping me ALOT ,applying your knowledge and methods to my job. Mini-Splits drive not only me crazy but my boss/A-tech.
Great video! As a facilities director I periodically do sight inspections and being in the refrigeration field for twenty years prior I see this type of thing at times. If only we could share pictures in the comments I could show you some nightmares.
Love your videos as they give me the exact fix I need from not being in the field much anymore.
So grateful for these videos! Helps me to learn this type of work to help the people in my area!!
Love it ! What a call! I hate those calls but definitely enjoy seeing you fix it and putting the customer first .
I would have done the same thing I think. The visible stuff should be replaced /rewired. Then check past that. The main thing is to keep your train of thought. I have had to go back on other employees repairs that really didn't work. So frustrating. Good call. Maybe they thought a frost detection thermostat wire had rubbed out across the blower like on a Carrier.
I've watched a few videos of yours and I'm impressed. I'm retired cnc maintenance I too like a neat setup and no lose wires. I too always took the time to fix everything not just to get it running. Keep up the good work, your customers hopefully realize that you do a good job.
And I thought troubleshooting electric forklifts was bad. Amazing troubleshooting skills keep up the good work!!!
I watched three videos and now im inundated with your vids. How are you taking over youtube bro.
Ha yeah I dont know youtube has been pushing them hard
Well the other company isn't as good as yours. Im assuming
Every good company always has a few butchers
Every guy in the world doesn’t say that at all. Look at his stores and look at this unit that he doesn’t service. Keeping everything as it should be and keeping it tidy is something people normally don’t do. I’m ocd af and will say that I like how this man takes pride in his work. He isn’t cocky he’s meticulous and that’s a great trait.
The condenser fan motor running low amps looks like the blade needs to be moved up a little to draw more air. Maybe all could be. That we ould increase amp draw and help lower head pressure.
Thank you for the class bro, I am on the residential hvac but enjoy a lot your videos and ways to troubleshoot equipment,attention details is key,great job 👍🏽🛠
Found similar issue on a York. Unit would lock out due to an open safety in heat section. When I questioned tech support on relevance of the safety during cooling he stated you want to know if a safety is open regardless of the season and not when its 30 °f. Which makes perfect sense 😀
Excellent work. Being on call can suck especially out there in Cali where every little trip is at least an hour drive, that is where the frustration comes in. Knowing your headed 2 hours out on a 1 hour call and being able to cover the actual 5 hour cost. And even worse you get there and the unit looks like that. Man you have every right to be a little upset. I know I would be dropping F bombs all over the place. On a normal day I would love to get my hands on that cluster F and get it running perfect.
thank you for another video! thank you for showing the good,bad and down right ugly of this business! learning new things every video!
Dodgy Bros HAVC strikes again. I guess they are bottom feeders -- 'gas and go' types. No invoices? Sounds like Dodgy Bros is a cash-in-hand operator.
i call them fuse and go lol. "well there's yer problem" 5 minutes later - BOOM
Wow, great diagnosing, acknowledging, and educating. Love it.👍👍👍👍👍😁
Wish I could work with you! We are two pees in a pod my man! And I love California. Got my own company to run though and it’s way too busy to leave for anybody worth a damn to run it for me. Much love to your company though. Keep up the great work!!!!
Man I’m a residential guy and come across some shit. This takes it to a whole new level for me 😂😂
Another great video showing the big picture diagnosis. Keep up the good work :)
Yet another big picture diagnosis. Great to see the troubleshooting process 👍
I wish I were a HVAC Tech. Any tech working with you would learn a lot. So many times I've worked for different places they always just cut you lose without proper training which ends up with frustrated employes that end up quitting and customers looking for another company to do business with.
Very interesting case. Did you turn back on the gas heating? No mention made of that. Yes, front limit switch, I did see one cable was disconnected/broken off.
Love your wire safety and organization makes life so much easier .
I watch a lot of HVAC videos on utube and by far you are the best. There are tech's that just fix the problem and go and there are tech's that actually care for there Customers and fix future problems when noticed. It's like a tech that notices a blower belt in bad shape but still working with no spare and to lazy to get another from the truck. I wish I had the brain cells for Commercial HVAC just barely enough for Residential, O-well maybe in the next life :)
You are absolutely correct about repairing and going, but There is companies and a lot of them don’t react the way Chris is doing in his business. Either the techs don’t care and you’ve just seen on Chris’s video or they do care, the company they work for don’t want them spending to much time because they have a boat load of calls for him to run, and in the back of his mind he thinks, I need to get home sometime today, so guess what happens?? Big picture is Great but only works when you have a owner that backs you up on it or work for yourself.
If I ever move back to LA I’ll be sure to let you know before hand. I do exactly the same thing you guys do. I live in Utah work with stepdad at his business doing hvac mostly commercial. Servicing restaurants, installing hoods, exhausts etc. after work I watch your videos lol the trip is all the equipment you use we have as well. Small and larger lift for anything big ass help to avoid paying crane money. Thanks for your videos it takes people like you guys with honestly and I admire that as well. 👍
I've seen units that have one section of the condenser coil dirtier than other sections and that causes that specific fan motor to run at a lower amperage because it is moving less air. Amp draw is directly proportional to work. Once I cleaned the coil it allowed for better air flow and the condenser fan motor amp draw was much closer to nameplate.
Oh man I couldn't make it past 14:04 I started getting ulcers and PTSD. I hate fixing stuff like this, your the real hero man.
Suggestion? i've found when a condenser fan pulls less amps than the others to test the voltage going to the fan, i've often found a voltage drop (hence the low amps) and often is caused by a bad spade or a bad relay
Those low voltage short are a pain in the butt, I currently have one on a trane Voyager I have to come back, I removed the ground from the common on the transformer, checked everything to ground, put one load at the time and it was not tripping, thought it was the transformer, replaced it run for a few hours, next day same call. I'm going back Wednesday.
Hi! I'm a Software Developer, so as far away from HVAC-Repair as one might get, but still we are using the exact same approaches when it comes to diagnosing and debugging. Take away what you are not sure of, analyze the remainders step by step, listen to your gut feeling when it points you towards a probable cause but always verify that you are right. Fix the system, not symptom. I really appreciate to see, that these guidelines are kind of universal and one can use them to debug nearly anything - including software and HVAC-Systems ;)
Yep! That sets off my OCD. I dont know why techs make it more difficult for themselves when trying to diagnose a short. I see this all the time and the only conclusion that I can come up with is that they really dont know what they are doing! And too stubborn or stupid to as for help!
Nice catch Chris! Great trouble shooting and video, thanks!
You're not an asshole, just thorough! I would love to move to CA, have in laws in CA,... 38 total, thinking about it. Love the Show-Tech...
I have been though this type of situation before as an electrician. It can go fully "benny hill" if you just start doing random things to try and figure out the problem.
I honestly watched this and hoped immensely that you would replace all of the wiring and organized it with fresh parts and filters.
I'm guessing thieves trying to break into the restaurant through the unit.
Binge watching your videos, im a ac tech. Here in the Philippines.
I wish i could have seen this six months ago! I would of love working with you! I'm in Perris
Difficult job, well worked out. Thanks for posting.
Watched a few videos of yours, and those Lennox units seem to be a mess direct out of the factory, and that usually doesn't help the next guy trying to fix something. Technically, an HVAC is only a small machine, so it doesn't qualify much for a bus system instead of direct wiring because of the short runs, but so is a CNC machine, and those profit intensely from that. Especially seeing how much one could save on maintenance over a lifespan of 10 or even 20 years, when most time is spent on diagnosing errors. I'm used to cables on which the ends light up when there's 24V applied, so you can see what actuator is active and which is not.
I’ve been doing this since 92 yeah I’m old lol. But short still get me I’ll just refined my way of finding them. I have a process. Lennox are carriers are the worse for shorts. Great vid though thanks 😃👍🏼🔥🇺🇸🥃
I really appreciate your videos. This one particularly was very helpful to me. Thank you brother for explaining things so clearly.