Air Conditioning

[WormWiggler]

My vintage air conditioner is being a pain in the ass. Replacing is not an option at this time. It is an old GE, GE sold the line to Trane, so far my internet skillz can't find jack other than it is obsolete.

The motor that runs the fan (i assume it also runs the compresser) doesn't start. If I give it a shove with a twig then it runs. If i understand electric crap (and that is just well enough not to die) there is a part that acts like a kind of battery, power goes in... builds "voltage or something" and discharges to start the motor.

I have seen "capacitor" in the google universe and think that is the part..

I am pretty sure if I knew which part was the thingy mcf'er, i could fix it for cheap and make it thru the summer and be able to buy little timmy the gi joe with the kung fu grip for Christmas

Any advise or random bashing would be appreciated

 

[bowcarp]

if you can get the fan to run with a push good chance it it the capacitor with a older GE chances are there are 2 capacitors in the unit 1 for the compressor 1 for the fan motor , if its swelled up like a tick its bad , disconnect power mark your wires , motor shop or heating/cooling shop should be able to test it , if it is bad try to get the replacement with a 440 volt rating , if it is a dual capacitor with 3 sets of terminals on the top do the same kill power mark wires get it checked , is the compressor running but not the fan ?

 

[deleted member]

Even though it's obsolete, a air conditioning repair man should be able to diagnose and fix it for $200 or so.

 

[Captain Ahab]

Put a toggle switch on it and hire some cheap labor to flip it on when the compressor kicks in;-) Honestly, you could probably just set the fan to run continuously all day and shut the whole system down late in the evening until morning.

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More seriously, your fan motor could just be going out. When electric motors start to go out, they often stick a bit on startup.

I just had my aerator pump go out in my boat. The motor finally gave up after 16 years. For a while you could work the switch or tap on the pump to get it to go.

 

[Mort]

if you describe right..that you need to give the fan a spin to get it going, means the electrical field isn't strong enough to get the motor going, could be capacitor like said above or the motor itself going bad. Sometimes a capacitor is bad, even tho it not swelled, needs to be check with a capacitor checker.

 

[Hookin8easy]

Yup check that capacitor, pretty sure that's your issue, should be able to find one for under$20

 

[WormWiggler]

Even though it's obsolete, a air conditioning repair man should be able to diagnose and fix it for $200 or so.

well aren't you just mad of money. lol.. I want to replace the furnace too and hoping to make it last until I got the bank to do it all

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I basically start it by hand after the house starts getting around 78 or so. with thermostat on 73 it will run pretty much past midnight to catch up. I don't want it to try and start on its own for fear it will burn out the motor.

A weird thing about it is the fan seems to turn either direction....

i was down there and had someone turn it on and that time it started on its own... but not the direction i spun it... since then I have tried both directions and seems to work the same.

 

[BrokenBackJack]

WW,
I got a Goodman 2.5 ton central air unit sitting outside that you can have if you want it. I replaced it with a new 3 ton and more efficient. Don't know if the parts will interchange or just use the whole unit. I don't have the A coil for it though.

 

[Biglunch]

Had a friend with same issue last summer. Pulled the capacitor and got info off the tag and matched one out of the granger book less than $100

 

[Hookin8easy]

Well I wouldn't find one through grainger then, most motor shops it would run 10-15, they can run backwards with a bad cap, when you start it just do it the right direction(up flow) so the head pressures aren't so high to where they'll strain the compressor

 

[Davy Crockett]

If it starts when you give it a shove with a twig it ain't broke bad Just twist the thermostat wires together so it doesn't shut down and put on a long sleeve shirt. Chances are you could find a new capacitor for $ 20 or even measure the motor frame and match it up with one from your local scrap iron pile. If I was closer I'm pretty sure I could get you going from my goodie piles. Look on YouTube , I'd bet there are a few vids that will walk you through this.

 

[WormWiggler]

thanks for the heads up, hookn.... I think I have been doing it wrong, but now I know

 

[red eyed devil]

listen to hookin he is dead on balls. he has saved my ass a thousand times

 

[svnmag]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEOjo0imqKE

 

[johnr]

I know a guy in dickinson ww, if everything else fails give me a pm, he will fix your shit up for pretty much cost

 

[svnmag]

I had to edit to get my point across.

 

[Sum1]

I see a lot of white privileges getting taken advantage of on this thread. Air conditioning??? White people don't need no stinking air conditioning. Your evil and should use a fan.