Reddy heater fan spins backwards.

[mirundle8370]

I recently was given a 100,000 btu reddy heater by my father in-law. I brought it home and plugged it in. it started well the first time. then the next day i plugged it in an the fan turned on but no ignition and i notice air was blowing out the backside of heater which it should not. I plugged it in again and the fan was stuck for a second then started spinning counter clockwise again. so i grabbed a small stick and plugged it in again, once again it was stuck for a second, I used the stick to get the fan blades spinning clockwise and the heater started right up and worked fine. I've done that the last few days and it works just fine after getting the blades spinning right way at start up. Is this a wiring issue? relay or transformer issue? thanks for the help.

 

[curiousB]

Probably something to do with the starter winding of the motor. Either the centrifugal switch (if it has one) the starter winding itself (burned out), or the capacitor used to create the phase shift in the starter winding from the main windings.

I'd visually inspect the centrifugal switch first. It you should hear it snap closed and open as the motor speeds up and slows down. Failing that check the starter capacitor.