It sounds stuck. It happens, just replace it



"Jack" wrote in message
...
OK, this is going to sound nuts...The contactor was not clicking on. Out
of frustration, I banged the side of the unit (like whacking the side of a
TV), and the unit kicked on. Holy smokes...there seem to be no loose
wires, so my thinking is the contactor is bad. I think I will replace it.
Any other ideas? I don't have a magic touch.

"RBM" rbm2(remove wrote in message
...
If you have someone turn the thermostat up and down, you will hear the
contactor click in and drop out. It operates on 24 volts which it gets
from the blower unit. Near the condenser should be a disconnect. open the
disconnect and find the two terminals marked "line". If you touch the
terminals of a meter across these two terminals you should get 240 volts.
If not, check the breaker feeding the condenser



"Jack" wrote in message
...
Hello,
Before I call the pros, I am going to do some basic troubleshooting on
my central AC. The fan and compressor are not coming on. I can hear a
low-voltage hum. I will start with a meter to make sure 220v is getting
to the contactor and also 220v is coming out of the contactor.
.
Since I don't have any experience with 220v, I would prefer to not belt
myself. Out of the wall is a pink and black wire to the contactor.
Where do I put the meter leads to test it? Any danger moving the leads
from terminal to terminal as long as I don't hold the leads by the metal
end (just kidding). Also, when the unit comes on, should I see the
contactor move, or click, or what?? I didn't see anything like that, so
I am thinking 220v is not getting to the unit.
.
Thanks for your time.
-jack