PSA - if your AC unit stops working

[Quagmire 2,147]

Replace the capacitor first before you call your AC guy out.
 
I’ve fixed 2 units for 15 bucks each doing this . If you turn your ac unit on and the compressor won’t start or starts then stops shortly after it’s probably the capacitor. Usually when they blow they look like a coke can that’s been dropped on the ground .
 
Takes about 10 minutes to replace and usually just 3 wire clips to attach.
 
First time it was my home ac unit, compressor fan would start then stop , replaced capacitor and all was good. I had already called ac guy that day but called him back and cancelled the trip before he got there. Could tell he was kinda pissed when I told him I fixed it .
 
I bet it’s 300 bucks at least for them to do it.
 
Last week my pool heater stopped working, it’s a heat pump so functions essentially the same as an ac unit . Replaced capacitor and back in business again.
 
 
Figured I’d share to hopefully save someone from getting bent over (giggity)

[William_Cannon 86]

Where do you find the cap locally?

[Quagmire 2,147]

Grainger sells them locally here . Or amazon if you want to shop online

[ROFL BOX 6,649]

Doesn't it mean something a bit deeper if your capacitor keeps blowing?

[phdhorn 6,224]

Some capacitors can easily be swapped, others not so.  Trust me on this.

[William_Cannon 86]

Doesn't it mean something a bit deeper if your capacitor keeps blowing?

Maybe. Maybe not. It means Cheap Chinese electronics are in your AC unit. When I had my ac unit replaced I asked to add an American made Cadillac line capacitor to the order. My buddy who did the install laughed at me. They do not exist.

Hmmm that’s why dad always kept caps on hand.

[dingleberryswitzer 2,724]

Is there a way to safely make sure it is discharged?  I'd really worry about just dropping it in the trash can.

[Jkwellborn 6,783]

Insulated screw driver between the terminals. Don’t touch the terminals on one until it’s discharged, they’ll fuck you up. They’re an easy swap. Take a picture of the top and put the wires back on like they came off.

[RPM 26,381]

4 minutes ago, dingleberryswitzer said:

Is there a way to safely make sure it is discharged?  I'd really worry about just dropping it in the trash can.

Just stick it to your tongue like a 9V battery to see if it's discharged. Oh, wait. You said safely...

[ROFL BOX 6,649]

4 minutes ago, RPM said:

Just stick it to your tongue like a 9V battery to see if it's discharged. Oh, wait. You said safely...

You're trying to eliminate career fields for sooners, aren't you?

[Rougarou 594]

Less than a year old unit this happened. It was under warranty so the company replaced it and just explained that sometimes it's just a failure of the part from the factory like anything else that needs quality control and relies on electronics. 

[Foggy Notion 1,202]

Also, it can take a few minutes for a new capacitor to charge up and power on the A/C unit after a swap. I learned that the hard way.

My A/C went out at the end of last summer. I researched and read it could be the cap. Located the cap on the outside unit. It was swollen so I bought a new one and installed it myself. Turned on the A/C and nothing happened. Fan still wasn't blowing.

I was afraid I was about to burn up the whole unit, so I turned it off quickly and called an A/C company. They sent out a guy on a Saturday (extra fee). He came out, tested it, looked confused and said he thought I needed a new fan motor. He put in the new motor, turned on the unit and nothing happened, just like when I had turned it on after putting in the new cap. A/C guy says "Sometimes it takes a few minutes to power back up." He left it on, and sure enough, a couple minutes later it powered up and started blowing.

Looking back, I'm almost positive I fixed it with the $12 capacitor, but unnecessarily paid for a new $500 fan motor because I didn't let the cap charge up long enough. 

[1978horn 896]

Had to replace mine twice 7 years apart and different homes and used the same local AC company. Both times he tried to tell me my fan was bad and wanted 650 to do it. Told him no thanks. It is weird though...the unit still works even though I didn’t replace it?!?

I only used him the 2nd time because it was a Friday afternoon and was the only person who had the capacitor I needed in stock and he wouldn’t sell it to me for DIY. I called at least 5 different places.

[1978horn 896]

Also, it can take a few minutes for a new capacitor to charge up and power on the A/C unit after a swap. I learned that the hard way.
My A/C went out at the end of last summer. I researched and read it could be the cap. Located the cap on the outside unit. It was swollen so I bought a new one and installed it myself. Turned on the A/C and nothing happened. Fan still wasn't blowing.
I was afraid I was about to burn up the whole unit, so I turned it off quickly and called an A/C company. They sent out a guy on a Saturday (extra fee). He came out, tested it, looked confused and said he thought I needed a new fan motor. He put in the new motor, turned on the unit and nothing happened, just like when I had turned it on after putting in the new cap. A/C guy says "Sometimes it takes a few minutes to power back up." He left it on, and sure enough, a couple minutes later it powered up and started blowing.
Looking back, I'm almost positive I fixed it with the $12 capacitor, but unnecessarily paid for a new $500 fan motor because I didn't let the cap charge up long enough. 

Wondering if we had the same company.

[Quagmire 2,147]

Doesn't it mean something a bit deeper if your capacitor keeps blowing?

Perhaps , although they seem to give up the ghost after about 7-8 years.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,536]

From being a homeowner for 15 years and willing to attempt to repair thinks myself, I believe most DIY projects should be under $50. The key is whether you can wait for parts to come in or find the time to do the repairs.  As in go without AC or a washing machine for a few days.

I’ve repaired every appliance now and never spent more than $30. And by repair, it’s usually just replacing a hard to reach fuse or part.

Csb alert. A buddy’s ac went out. He immediately took the >$10k new unit because his wife wasn’t going to spend one night without AC. I told him to send her to her sisters or even a hotel for the night and get more info. It might be a $15 repair. He didn’t listen.

 

[ROFL BOX 6,649]

2 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Csb alert. A buddy’s ac went out. He immediately took the >$10k new unit

 

Please pass my info along if hail comes near him.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,536]

2 minutes ago, ROFL BOX said:

Please pass my info along if hail comes near him.

ha. I like him as a friend but he's a sucker. He's the guy that signs up for the "free" inspection services and always buys what they're selling.  He always falls for the line that buying ______ increases the home value.  Even when he's not planning to sell for 5-10 years.

[ROFL BOX 6,649]

5 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

ha. I like him as a friend but he's a sucker. He's the guy that signs up for the "free" inspection services and always buys what they're selling.  He always falls for the line that buying ______ increases the home value.  Even when he's not planning to sell for 5-10 years.

So, um... would he by any chance be interested in an investment in gold?  Guaranteed* return of 18% or more.

[Quagmire 2,147]

Shit if your ac unit is more than a few years old I’d take the panel back and see what kinda of capacitor it has an order one anyway.
Nice to have one on hand because you know the shit will break at the wrong time

[ROFL BOX 6,649]

Where in the Austin area can an average plebe such as I go for AC specific parts?

Will the counter sales people tolerate stupid questions from the masses while they sell us a $ 20.00 item?  Can they test the stuff to see what our problem actually is?

[gsoda3 3,284]

3 minutes ago, ROFL BOX said:

Where in the Austin area can an average plebe such as I go for AC specific parts?

Will the counter sales people tolerate stupid questions from the masses while they sell us a $ 20.00 item?  Can they test the stuff to see what our problem actually is?

hamilton electric on lamar was somewhat ok with me acting the n00b.  they won't test stuff though.  at least they couldn't/wouldn't with mine.  

[Nice Guy Eddie 13,536]

1 hour ago, ROFL BOX said:

Where in the Austin area can an average plebe such as I go for AC specific parts?

Will the counter sales people tolerate stupid questions from the masses while they sell us a $ 20.00 item?  Can they test the stuff to see what our problem actually is?

youtube is your friend with home repairs.

[ROFL BOX 6,649]

2 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

youtube is your friend with home repairs.

Absolutely.  But that doesn't answer my question about where we would go to get parts ( @gsoda3 did respond with an option) & if they would assist a dork @ the counter.

[ztejas 43,608]

https://www.google.com/search?q=air+conditioner+capacitor&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS822US822&source=lnms&tbm=shop&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwixnJ-18P3hAhUKA6wKHX9EBjsQ_AUIDigB&biw=1745&bih=852&dpr=1.1

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3,868]

On 5/1/2019 at 10:01 PM, William_Cannon said:

Maybe. Maybe not. It means Cheap Chinese electronics are in your AC unit. When I had my ac unit replaced I asked to add an American made Cadillac line capacitor to the order. My buddy who did the install laughed at me. They do not exist.
 

Huge consolation in the HVAC industry over the last decade or so. Regardless of the name on the outside everything on the inside is from one of two Chinese manufacturers these days  

When replacing, shop price and installer’s warranty. 

Edited May 3, 2019 by ShaggyBevo RIP

[Jkwellborn 6,783]

Huge consolation in the HVAC industry over the last decade or so. Regardless of the name on the outside everything on the inside is from one of two Chinese manufacturers these days  
When replacing, shop price and installer’s warranty. 

You’re wrong and you should feel bad.

[immamac 43,390]

This has happened to me before, still should go through an HVAC person as it'll be warrantied. 

[Okie State 3,848]

This has happened to me before, still should go through an HVAC person as it'll be warrantied. 

If it truly is only a $15 capacitor, who cares about a warranty? Would take a huge number of warranty claims to cover the cost of a service call.

Anyway, good idea on ordering one as a spare. Think I'll do that this weekend.

[52-80 19,275]

You just ruined the house secrets of those shaggy millionaires who own 7-8 HVAC businesses

[gsoda3 3,284]

19 minutes ago, Okie State said:

If it truly is only a $15 capacitor, who cares about a warranty? Would take a huge number of warranty claims to cover the cost of a service call.

Anyway, good idea on ordering one as a spare. Think I'll do that this weekend.

yeah, typical charge for a capacitor fix is ~ $150.  it's a racket.

[Jkwellborn 6,783]

This has happened to me before, still should go through an HVAC person as it'll be warrantied. 

Lol fuck no. Capacitor might carry a one year warranty if a tech installs it. You’ll pay a couple of hundred bucks for a service call and diagnostic fee for just one person, more if a helper comes out.

If the capacitor stops blowing out pretty regular, then call someone because your shit has aids.

[BearSchlong 8,134]

I can vouch for https://www.repairclinic.com.

Very easy to do business with them, good customer service.

I've lost condenser fan motors over the past few years on the POS AC that the home warranty company installed in my FILs house that I rent from him, now I have a spare laying around to ensure that the last one I installed will work fine for years.

 

[Foggy Notion 1,202]

22 hours ago, ROFL BOX said:

Where in the Austin area can an average plebe such as I go for AC specific parts?

Will the counter sales people tolerate stupid questions from the masses while they sell us a $ 20.00 item?  Can they test the stuff to see what our problem actually is?

I believe I bought a replacement capacitor at Johnstone Supply on Todd Lane. Some of the other places I called would only sell to licensed HVAC guys. They were helpful but I didn't ask them to test anything so not sure about that part. 

[immortal13 4,059]

On 5/1/2019 at 9:00 PM, phdhorn said:

Some capacitors can easily be swapped, others not so.  Trust me on this.

Yeah, especially those flux capacitors. I don't recommend fucking with those bad boys.

[phdhorn 6,224]

41 minutes ago, immortal13 said:

Yeah, especially those flux capacitors. I don't recommend fucking with those bad boys.

Anything that takes beer to work is ok with me.

Edited May 4, 2019 by phdhorn

[Jkwellborn 6,783]

Yeah, especially those flux capacitors. I don't recommend fucking with those bad boys.

Yeah, they store like 1.21 gigawatts

[deadshank 24,653]

18 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

yeah, typical charge for a capacitor fix is ~ $150.  it's a racket.

You're crying about a $150 service call?  Really?  

[Texas_Rocks 347]

A few years beck we had this issue. I watched the A/C guy pop off a small panel and immediately identify the problem. He made sure it was discharged and handed it to me and said “you might want to keep this for reference if it happens again”. I have much appreciation for guys like that.

You just never know with some people. Was waiting at the counter a local outdoor power business the other day when this guy walks in with a nearly new Stihl chainsaw and says it’s locked up. Counter guy informs him of the shop rate and starts to write up a service ticket.

Me- Hey, you check the chain brake?

Customer- Ummm, no.

Yep, the shop was about to charge this cat 60+ dollars to flip the chain brake off whenever they got to it. Counter guy was not exactly happy even though he tried to play it off as if he was.

[deadshank 24,653]

5 minutes ago, Texas_Rocks said:

A few years beck we had this issue. I watched the A/C guy pop off a small panel and immediately identify the problem. He made sure it was discharged and handed it to me and said “you might want to keep this for reference if it happens again”. I have much appreciation for guys like that.

You just never know with some people. Was waiting at the counter a local outdoor power business the other day when this guy walks in with a nearly new Stihl chainsaw and says it’s locked up. Counter guy informs him of the shop rate and starts to write up a service ticket.

Me- Hey, you check the chain brake?

Customer- Ummm, no.

Yep, the shop was about to charge this cat 60+ dollars to flip the chain brake off whenever they got to it. Counter guy was not exactly happy even though he tried to play it off as if he was.

There are scammers everywhere.  Mechanical service companies have a poor rep. 

[Quagmire 2,147]

You're crying about a $150 service call?  Really?  

For a 15 dollar part that takes 2 minutes to swap? Sure

[horn4life 3,784]

When your AC goes out suddenly it's nearly always the capacitor or the fan motor on the outside unit.  Sometimes it's the blower fan, which I have replaced a couple times over the years but usually it's the outside unit. Capacitor is super easy fix I learned years ago, but they do NOT always look like a swollen can.  The capacitor is basically the electrical mechanism that gets the fan or compressor started.  Think about trying to pus a car. It takes a big push to get it rolling, but not near the effort to keep it moving. Capacitor builds up charge to get the big parts moving.

 

Here is the greatest survival hint if you go outside and see your fan motor outside not turning after turning the unit on.  First off turn off the unit for a few minutes because often times the compressor is hot as shit as it has been working without any air transfer to cool it.  But NOBODY likes to sweat waiting for the repairman.  If the outside fan is not working after you let the unit's compressor cool down (20 minutes), get a stick or paint stir that will fit between the grid. Then give the fan a spin to get it going. Basically you are now the "capacitor" giving the fan the jolt needed to get it started.  The regular electricity will keep it running unti the unit shuts off again.  Then you have to hand start the fan again.  It's a life saver to keep the wife happy overnight it you can run it long enough to cool the place down again.  it's a band aid but will get you through a night.

And yes Grainger nearly always has what you need here with capacitor or fan motors.  I have also used Hamilton electric works on Airport to test pulled fans and replace fans.  They usually have most of the fan motors you might need, Grainger is often on day away on the fans.  

 

PS the capicitors MUST be discharged as has been said by placing insulated screw driver across poles.  You can shock yourself in a dangerous way, as the charge on the capacitor is more than your 110 jolt you might have gotten before

Edited May 4, 2019 by horn4life

[ROFL BOX 6,649]

BTW, for anyone that does want an onsite service call, I have a guy that is licensed; he used to run a roofing crew for me & around 8 years ago he went to trade school for a year in the AC biz.

His bunch did Dallas houses for Baboso, B & a few others that I cannot recall.  Locally, they did BriskeTexan's prior house off Northland.

Anyhow, he's been working for others since then & is wanting to 100% get his own gig moving along - I have had him out for 2 people over the last 9 months or so & he's done good work for them.  Send me a PM if you want some info.

[deadshank 24,653]

2 hours ago, Quagmire said:

For a 15 dollar part that takes 2 minutes to swap? Sure

So, a/c service contractor should drive out to prospect's house (time and fuel), figure out the problem (time), hope he has the right part (go get it if he doesn't have it and drive back to job-site (potentially more time and fuel)), install (time) and warranty the work (potential time, fuel and parts) for how much?  $30? $50? $75?

What would suit you?  Free?  What is the value you place on  your comfort?  

I own a roofing and sheet metal company.  Minimum charge for work performed is $225.  Period.  I can't count how many times we've gone out to ID a problem (usually a " roof leak" and many times not a roof leak but a plumbing or HVAC issue) and give the HO a price only to hear "that's too much, thanks for letting me know what the problem is, I'll try to fix it myself" or "thanks for letting me know what the problem is,  I'm glad it's not a roof leak, I'll call a plumber...hey,  uh, do  you know one I can call?"  We hand them a $75  invoice for our time  driving out, fuel, crawling around in their hot attic or on the roof  to ID the problem and....."I'm not going to pay that!  You didn't do anything." 

Really?  We didn't?

 

 

[Jkwellborn 6,783]

If you know an HVAC that doesn’t carry a fuck ton of capacitors around with him and several of the most common contacts in the service vehicle, I wouldn’t ask him what time it was. He’s obviously a dumb ass or a crook.

 

[ROFL BOX 6,649]

2 hours ago, Jkwellborn said:

If you know an HVAC that doesn’t carry a fuck ton of capacitors around with him and several of the most common contacts in the service vehicle, I wouldn’t ask him what time it was. He’s obviously a dumb ass or a crook.

 

You're right, if the svc tech hits your stop the last on a 5 stop day, he should have planned ahead & kept 20 of the same product sitting in his truck.  If not, then he's obviously stupid.

[Jkwellborn 6,783]

You're right, if the svc tech hits your stop the last on a 5 stop day, he should have planned ahead & kept 20 of the same product sitting in his truck.  If not, then he's obviously stupid.

Hate to break it to you, but if he only had 5 on the truck during the summer, he’s a fool. A decent company will find out ahead of time what is going on so they’ll have an idea.

 

They don’t take up a ton of room. Hell, we used to keep one bin that was full of common capacitors and contacts.

[Quagmire 2,147]

So, a/c service contractor should drive out to prospect's house (time and fuel), figure out the problem (time), hope he has the right part (go get it if he doesn't have it and drive back to job-site (potentially more time and fuel)), install (time) and warranty the work (potential time, fuel and parts) for how much?  $30? $50? $75? What would suit you?  Free?  What is the value you place on  your comfort?   I own a roofing and sheet metal company.  Minimum charge for work performed is $225.  Period.  I can't count how many times we've gone out to ID a problem (usually a " roof leak" and many times not a roof leak but a plumbing or HVAC issue) and give the HO a price only to hear "that's too much, thanks for letting me know what the problem is, I'll try to fix it myself" or "thanks for letting me know what the problem is,  I'm glad it's not a roof leak, I'll call a plumber...hey,  uh, do  you know one I can call?"  We hand them a $75  invoice for our time  driving out, fuel, crawling around in their hot attic or on the roof  to ID the problem and....."I'm not going to pay that!  You didn't do anything." 

Really?  We didn't?

 

 

 

 

There’s plenty of those assholes that over charge people for replacing parts that aren’t needed and up selling people , so no I don’t have sympathy for those types.  

Plus his 150 estimate is probably low these days . More like 250-300

 

 

I see tons of those roofer dudes driving around in 70k platinum lifted 4x4 f350s Just to carry around a ladder and give you an estimate. Think they are doing just fine.

 

[Knoxtnhorn 6,073]

Don't forget the overflow switch.  A couple of folks on the old site saved us a lot of money with that advice.  I believe the condensation line had clogged, leading to the drip pan to fill, causing the overflow switch to kill power to the AC.  It took about 10 mins with a wet/dry vac (for the line) and a few scoops of water (from the tray) to fix.  

[El Diablo 4,232]

I've seen it happen that fire ants will get up in the electric business parts of an AC unit and fuck up the capacitor, basically shorting across it with their "home". If it gives out and you find a bunch of dirt and ants in there you might as well treat for them while you're replacing the cap because they'll be back up in there eventually. Something about an electrical field that they like being around.