No Cooling

[James-W]

Last night we turned on the central air and it didn't work. I know capacitors do go bad quite often in central air units, but I wasn't sure that was the problem in our case. Also, we have a 10 year parts warranty on it and it is only 7 years old.

Anyway, this morning I talked with the dealer where we bought it from, they also installed it. They had a repair guy and his helper in our area this morning, so they called him and he stopped by. The two guys checked it out, determined it was the capacitor, they had one in their truck and replaced it. Works good again which is great because it is supposed to be hot and rain all weekend.

I could have replaced the capacitor myself, but I wasn't sure that was the problem. Also, if I have to order it I won't have it until after the weekend. Besides that, the parts were covered under warranty so all we have to pay is the labor which will be a little less than $100.

There are a lot of things I will tackle myself, but things like air-conditioning I don't feel qualified to work on. I was wondering if you guys/gals work on your central air units, or do you call someone to fix it for you?

 

[threeputt]

Pay the price and let them worry with it. I live where it gets hot and humid in the summer. I also like to stay cool.

 

[yeldogt]

I have found that the installing dealers are typically fair when it comes to this type of repair .. even something as simple as the cap or caps is worth having them out.. There may be changes made ... etc. They take a look ... what are you actually saving?

My only caution .... If the unit was working perfectly (ice cold) ... I always discuss the possibility of the Schrader valve leaking with the service guy should he need to attach gauges to the old valves .... I have never had one disagree and they always replace for a much reduced price. It's a very quick and easy operation ..

 

[rjacobs]

Buy another cap to have. Next time it goes out, you will be out of warranty.

5-7 years seems to be about it on the caps these days.

If the inside unit kicks on, but the outside unit does not, its typically the capacitor.

You can troubleshoot with a multimeter. There are quite a few youtube videos on it.

My parents went out last summer while the wife and I were up visiting. My dad, who is usually a DIY person, is getting a bit older and said "oh just call the service company" and I said "nah, let me grab a multi-meter and check things out". Outside unit fan motor had continuity and was free spinning so I figured it was good. Checked the capacitor via instructions from a youtube video...it tested bad. Had to wait until the next morning when the electrical supply opened, but 30 bucks later and all was good. Guessing that would have been at least a 150 dollar service call if not $200. I had him buy a second one. He had already replaced this one once(5-7 years earlier).

 

[nadogail]

I have lived pretty well doing somethings that any reasonably competent home owner should have learned while growing up.

I'm 81 now and almost am completely retired.

 

[kaffine]

I have installed 4 mini splits and replaced the furnace and split AC system at my parents house.

I thought about hiring out the replacement however I wanted it done a certain way to make it easier to work on in the future so decided to do it myself. I did run into issues as my original plan didn't work so I had to adapt some. The big thing is I wanted the lineset ran inside not outside on the roof. I sleeved the lineset with conduit my original plan had a 90º bend in it and the lineset wasn't going to make the bend.

I did have a local shop make the sheet metal ductwork. I thought about making it myself but I don't have a brake. I did the measurements and drawing and install though.

 

[fitter30]

The contractor treated you fairly for the labor. Some companies are charging by flat rate and it's a license to steal.

Sent from my KFDOWI using Tapatalk

 

[Bert_]

The electrical part can be diagnosed and fixed by anyone who knows how to use a meter. Beyond that it does take some special tools.

If you have access to the tools the rest isn't to bad either. I don't have central air in my house but I did just replace the compressor in my car a week ago. I think the parts cost about $130 so it ended up being a pretty inexpensive repair.

 

[Showkey]

Same boat ........unit is 23 years old. On borrowed time........

First run of the AC. Ran fine for couple of hours. Later found the compressor off, furnace fan on.

Shut the unit down........in the night.

This morning compressor would not start.
Found mouse nest in the control box. No damage other than one wire eaten but still intact.

CAP top swollen.
Had multi tap CAP on the shelf.
Installed CAP with jumper settings........unit starts and runs.



Fingers still crossed ........still on borrowed time.

 

[Git]

I will always try to troubleshoot something if I can. When it comes to AC's - it is a pretty well-known problem with the capacitors and that is about as far as I can go. Simple to remove a metal panel and just look at the cap and see if it is bulging. Usually, a replacement is less than $25

 

[yeldogt]

For years I installed mid line Carrier equipment -- they came with upgraded stuff ... not the same as the builder line. Never had one go. One of my neighbors had a York builder grade unit installed when he added on .... it has a tiny cap for both compressor and fan ... it been replaced twice in about 7 years.

My old York units had two huge caps inside ....

 

[rjacobs]

Beyond that it does take some special tools.

To change a start cap?

Yea a 7mm(or maybe 8mm) socket to get the screws out of the hold down...

 

[Bert_]

To change a start cap?

Yea a 7mm(or maybe 8mm) socket to get the screws out of the hold down...

Maybe if you read the whole post it will be clear...

The electrical part can be diagnosed and fixed by anyone who knows how to use a meter. Beyond that it does take some special tools.

If you have access to the tools the rest isn't to bad either. I don't have central air in my house but I did just replace the compressor in my car a week ago. I think the parts cost about $130 so it ended up being a pretty inexpensive repair.

Electrical = common tools and a meter.

Other problems = special tools for refrigeration.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

The contractor treated you fairly for the labor. Some companies are charging by flat rate and it's a license to steal.

Sent from my KFDOWI using Tapatalk

I will say for some things the flat rate charges with some companies are good, but I quit working for one company shortly after they went flat rate. I hated charging some of the prices they listed in the book and sometimes the pricing structure was just ridiculous. The following numbers are just to show an example. The book stated "Leak Checking- $10.00 per joint checked with soap bubbles. $20.00 per joint checked with electronic leak detector." I asked the boss why so much more to use the electronic leak detector and was told, "It's an expensive tool". My response was, "I know. I bought it. I'm going to use it when I want always charge for soap bubbles". I think I lasted about a week after that.

Tommy

 

[yeldogt]

I will say for some things the flat rate charges with some companies are good, but I quit working for one company shortly after they went flat rate. I hated charging some of the prices they listed in the book and sometimes the pricing structure was just ridiculous. The following numbers are just to show an example. The book stated "Leak Checking- $10.00 per joint checked with soap bubbles. $20.00 per joint checked with electronic leak detector." I asked the boss why so much more to use the electronic leak detector and was told, "It's an expensive tool". My response was, "I know. I bought it. I'm going to use it when I want always charge for soap bubbles". I think I lasted about a week after that.

Tommy

I get all the "trade"magazines -- contractor/plumbing/HVAC. Almost every issue for at least 15 years has some kind of "corporate speak" from 30+ years ago .. trying/ attempting to get the local contractor to stop thinking "small" and bump up his business to the next level. It's mostly BS ... you also get into the bait and switch IMO.

My goal in business has always been --- he is expensive but we never have any problems. I expect to be paid .. but, you get what you paid for.

 

[Dkramer]

I do all the work on my heating and A/C unit. I'm a HVAC service tech.

 

[Wrench97]

To change a start cap?

Yea a 7mm(or maybe 8mm) socket to get the screws out of the hold down...

And the pliers to pull the wires off.........................

 

[danski0224]

The contractor treated you fairly for the labor. Some companies are charging by flat rate and it's a license to steal.

The "flat rate" price can be modified/created by the contractor.

One thing that flat rate helps to eliminate is the whole line of discussion and problems when something like a small part is listed for "$75.00" and then the customer states that "I can get the part on Ebay for $3.00".

If a shop is charging a service labor rate of $150 an hour, it could easily be $350 in parts, diagnostic and labor for the service call that makes a profit for this task.

The shop that's charging $150 to dispatch a tech to the site to do the same thing is losing money on the service call.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

My goal in business has always been --- he is expensive but we never have any problems. I expect to be paid .. but, you get what you paid for.

That is a philosophy I have absolutely zero problems with.

Tommy

 

[Jim greengo]

I get all the "trade"magazines -- contractor/plumbing/HVAC. Almost every issue for at least 15 years has some kind of "corporate speak" from 30+ years ago .. trying/ attempting to get the local contractor to stop thinking "small" and bump up his business to the next level. It's mostly BS ... your also get into the bait and switch.

My goal in business has always been --- he is expensive but we never have any problems. I expect to be paid .. but, you get what you paid for.

Exactly.

 

[Jim greengo]

And the pliers to pull the wires off.........................

A 6n1 screw driver with a 1/4" and 5/16" end a pair of wire strippers solves most problems in an ac.

 

[Rusty Fords]

I ran my own Service and Repair business for 8 years and only reason why I decided to go work for someone else was I was working 6-7 days and 14-16 hours each day. Sundays when I wasn't work out at a customers house I was doing proposals.
I never did new construction only repairs and change outs. Got to the point where it was put another person on or start telling people no. Cross that bridge and you loos customers due to they called your company for you...Didn't feel right about raising my rates. Problem with a small shop You can't afford to carry a employee through the hard times and if I was going to put someone on and help them feed their family it was a weight on my shoulders I didn't want.

Oh ya and the stress!!!

 

[yeldogt]

I ran my own Service and Repair business for 8 years and only reason why I decided to go work for someone else was I was working 6-7 days and 14-16 hours each day. Sundays when I wasn't work out at a customers house I was doing proposals.
I never did new construction only repairs and change outs. Got to the point where it was put another person on or start telling people no. Cross that bridge and you loos customers due to they called your company for you...Didn't feel right about raising my rates. Problem with a small shop You can't afford to carry a employee through the hard times and if I was going to put someone on and help them feed their family it was a weight on my shoulders I didn't want.

Oh ya and the stress!!!

There is a sweet spot .... bigger is great until it's not. It's common in business for people to grow themselves into the ground. You need enough employees so as to not be doing all the work ... but, you can get to the point where you are doing twice the business and not making any more money.

Sometimes running a successful business requires firing some customers. That's hard for some to do. It's necessary ...

Some customers always want a deal ... or they only send you the difficult cases and expect no problem (problems that I have no control over).

It gets back to the OP's situation ... a good company takes care of customers. I may be able to clear something up in 10 min with a phone call .. no charge. I'm on the phone for an hour .. That's full charge.

My other rule ..... If a good customer screws up. I try and charge them as little as possible (or even eat it) ... customer for life.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

A 6n1 screw driver with a 1/4" and 5/16" end a pair of wire strippers solves most problems in an ac.

Sometimes you might need your meter...

Tommy