I was 3,500 miles away in S. America last week when my cat sitter
reported that my air conditioning condenser outside wasn't running.

I have an American Home Shield warranty and got my neighbour to meet
the repair guy at the house. The repair guy told me the condenser fan
bearings were shot and the motor needed replacing. Okay, it's 28 years
old as far as I know.

Then he tells me he's going to tell American Home Shield that the motor
failed due to improper maintainence because one surface of the
condenser coils were dirty. He said the heat made the motor fail.

I asked him how heat build up could take out the bearings in a motor.
He just said that's what happened then promptly called AHS and got my
coverage denied. Then he told me he'd charge me $750 for a new motor,
fan and coil cleaning. Being on the other side of the planet I had no
choice but to let him rape me if I wanted a working AC when I got home.

So, my question is this: Is there anyway possible that dirty coils
could stop a fan motor from running? (I doubt very much that the motor
was thermal protected.)



--
Dallas

On Thu, 12 Sep 2019 20:12:38 -0000 (UTC), "Dallas"
wrote:


I was 3,500 miles away in S. America last week when my cat sitter
reported that my air conditioning condenser outside wasn't running.

I have an American Home Shield warranty and got my neighbour to meet
the repair guy at the house. The repair guy told me the condenser fan
bearings were shot and the motor needed replacing. Okay, it's 28 years
old as far as I know.

Then he tells me he's going to tell American Home Shield that the motor
failed due to improper maintainence because one surface of the
condenser coils were dirty. He said the heat made the motor fail.

I asked him how heat build up could take out the bearings in a motor.
He just said that's what happened then promptly called AHS and got my
coverage denied. Then he told me he'd charge me $750 for a new motor,
fan and coil cleaning. Being on the other side of the planet I had no
choice but to let him rape me if I wanted a working AC when I got home.

So, my question is this: Is there anyway possible that dirty coils
could stop a fan motor from running? (I doubt very much that the motor
was thermal protected.)
No dice on the dirty condenser causing the motor bearings to fail. It
was just age. And $750 for motor, fan and cleaning is way over priced.
I would contest the bill. Maybe you can get an estimate from the motor
installer's competitors to compare. You can be sure that AHS wouldn't
have paid $750 for that repair. Ask them how much they would have
paid.
Eric

On Thursday, September 12, 2019 at 4:12:41 PM UTC-4, Dallas wrote:
I was 3,500 miles away in S. America last week when my cat sitter
reported that my air conditioning condenser outside wasn't running.

I have an American Home Shield warranty and got my neighbour to meet
the repair guy at the house. The repair guy told me the condenser fan
bearings were shot and the motor needed replacing. Okay, it's 28 years
old as far as I know.

Then he tells me he's going to tell American Home Shield that the motor
failed due to improper maintainence because one surface of the
condenser coils were dirty. He said the heat made the motor fail.

I asked him how heat build up could take out the bearings in a motor.
He just said that's what happened then promptly called AHS and got my
coverage denied. Then he told me he'd charge me $750 for a new motor,
fan and coil cleaning. Being on the other side of the planet I had no
choice but to let him rape me if I wanted a working AC when I got home.

So, my question is this: Is there anyway possible that dirty coils
could stop a fan motor from running? (I doubt very much that the motor
was thermal protected.)



--
Dallas


Very few professional repairers will provide service for these aftermarket warranty companies because they don't pay anywhere near the going rate. I still get calls from these companies and I had to threaten one to stop calling.

Around these parts, we call these warranty "technicians" trunk monkeys, because they often don't even have a truck but work out of their car. When they're not doing warranty work they pick up bottles and cans on the roadside - it's about the same pay they make doing the warranty work.

So what happened is that the thief the warranty company sent out to look at your AC figured he'd get $750 out of you instead of the $225 that they would pay him.

To make sure, he threw you under the bus.

I don't know if your state has a board that oversees licensing, but you should make a formal complaint.

The first thing you should do is cancel the warranty. You should also go on social media and blast both the thief and the warranty provider. I'm sure folks will be thrilled to hear how this thief told the warranty company it was your fault.

If you do, post it here and I'll share it.

John-Del wrote:

So what happened is that the thief the warranty company sent out to
look at your AC figured he'd get $750 out of you instead of the $225
that they would pay him.



Yep, it would have come down differently if I had been here. I would
have told him to get back in his truck and buzz off. A few of AHS's
contractors are actually honest and I would have tried to get one of
those for a "second opinion".

--
Dallas

On Thu, 12 Sep 2019 20:12:38 -0000 (UTC), "Dallas"
wrote:

Then he tells me he's going to tell American Home Shield that the motor
failed due to improper maintainence because one surface of the
condenser coils were dirty. He said the heat made the motor fail.
(...)
So, my question is this: Is there anyway possible that dirty coils
could stop a fan motor from running? (I doubt very much that the motor
was thermal protected.)

The type or maker/model of the A/C would be helpful.

The fan motor has another purpose besides blowing air through the
cooling coils.
https://www.partselect.com/Repair/Air-Conditioner/Unusual-Noise/
Some air conditioner models use the condenser fan
blade to transfer excess drain water onto the condenser coils;
if the drain port becomes clogged, the excess water can cause
the unusual noise as the fan blades slosh through it. Drain
the excess water and make sure the port is no longer plugged
to clear up this problem.
(...)
The fan motor bearings and/or bushings can become worn
over time and cause the unusual noise. They can also become
worn if the blower wheel is unbalanced, which happens when
there is a buildup of dirt because the air filter has not been
changed. When the fan motor becomes noisy on a window
air conditioner unit, it means it needs to be replaced.

Note the comment about the unbalanced fan and dirty filter.

If the drain is clogged, the fan will splatter water all over the
insides of the air conditioner causing any unprotected steel to
eventually rust. I personally haven't seen a clogged drain hole ruin
a bearing, but I can see how it might be possible.

I didn't see any mention that the air conditioner was making (bearing)
noises. In my limited experiences with motors, they always announce
impending failure through vibration, noises, smoke, and eventually
trip the overload protector. Because, it was not mentioned, I'll
assume that there was no vibration, noise, or smog prior to the motor
"failure". If the fan had been unbalanced by excessive and
unsymmetrical dirt buildup, it certainly would have vibrated and/or
made noises. Because the condenser coils are not moving, some dirt on
the condenser coils is unlikely to cause a motor unbalance. However,
some dirt on the fan might cause an unbalance. If the A/C or motor
had a thermal breaker, it would have tripped long before any
overheating would cause a bearing failure.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=air+conditioner+clean+condens er

Do you do this regularly?
"Cleaning Air Conditioner Coils (How To Video)"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sWHd4n-AuE

If there was no vibration, noise or smoke, my guess(tm) is all that
happened was the A/C tripped an over current breaker. Since it
happened while you were away, I'll further speculate that the
noiseless "failure" was either caused by a change in the way the A/C
was operated by the cat sitter, or a power surge delivered the
electric utility. I'm a little suspicious why it would fail while you
were out of the area.

If the repairman specified that dirt on the condenser coils caused a
bearing failure, I suspect he's a crook and should be treated as such.
However, if he indicated that dirt on the fan blades caused the motor
failure, he might be correct. Since there was no mention of
vibration, noise, or smoke, I suspect the former, and a complaint
should be filed with AHS.

Also, please note that in California, repair shops are required to
"offer" the old parts to the customer. You might want to ask the
repair guy for the old motor so you could have a motor shop inspect
the bearing. If he balks or provides creative excuses, you will have
a good clue as to his honesty.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Saturday, September 14, 2019 at 11:43:07 PM UTC-4, Jeff Liebermann wrote:


I didn't see any mention that the air conditioner was making (bearing)
noises. In my limited experiences with motors, they always announce
impending failure through vibration, noises, smoke, and eventually
trip the overload protector.

I changed the fan motor on my first floor compressor unit last summer and did so about 10 years on the second floor unit - both being 26 years old now.. Both would sometimes fail to start. I would go outside and give them a push with a screwdriver threw the top vents and they would run happily and quietly until the next cycle. They are Heil units.

http://gomp3.co/wp-content/uploads/2...rs-ratings.jpg