On Sunday, September 7, 2014 7:33:52 AM UTC-4, Stormin Mormon wrote:
On 9/7/2014 4:13 AM, Todd wrote:



Hi All,



To reprise:



Symptom: insufficient or no cooling.



Tests so far:



0) my wife informed me we purchased the unit in late

November 2001



1) found the Condense Fan motor leaking oil and replaced it:

no symptom change



2) all fans are operating normally



3) cleaned out the dust from the coils under the bottom front

left (my left) and any I missed from the back. Went fishing.

No symptom change.



4) whipped the back off again:



A) removed the relay from the condenser. Ohm'ed out

the three pins:

bottom to bottom: ~14 ohms

bottom left to upper: ~10 ohms

upper to lower right: ~9 ohms



B) measured the voltage on the connector that I removed

from the relay: ~115 VAC



5) while fishing, I asked my wife, who has every sound that

goes "bump in the night" cataloged, what the compressor sounded

like when it fired up: "A snap, followed by a motor whoosh".

She also said she hasn't heard it for the last few days.



6) Listened to about two hours of videos on troubleshooting

relays and condensers. Got to listen to the sounds that

Stormin' asked me about on You Tube.



A) the compressor is hot to the touch. (You can leave

your hand on it for a few minutes.)



B) there is no sound coming from it whatsoever. No rattle.

No clunk. Absolutely nothing.



7) figured out that the welding, cleaning out of tubes, and recharging

are over my head when it comes to changing a compressor.





Game plan submitted for you guys approval.



1) change the relay (get some dry ice on the way back

from the parts store).



2) if that does not help, call a repairman.





Just an aside. No one around here carries parts. I have

to drive to Reno to their supplier if I want a part. Go

figure.



If the repairman I call doesn't have a condenser and/or that

weenie tube to the side, I will just have to go get them

myself.



Thank you all for the help.

-T



I'd go with a replacement relay on the compressor.

I've had good results with a Supco universal hard

start.



http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUPCO-RCO410...em4adbba 74b3



Most of the time, this bring a compressor back to life.

You want the one that says 1/4 to 1/3 HP.




Spending another $13 into a DIY attempt may be a good idea.
But before I did that, I think he should go back and reinvestigate
where that oil was that he says came from the small condensor fan motor.
We agree that small motors like that don't have oil in them, so where
did it come from? I'm wondering if it actually came from a hole in
refrigerant system and it's leaking compressor oil. If so, it's game
over.