Trane central air unit quit doing its thing (recently made another
post about it) and I finally cracked open the housing.

Here are some pics - front and rear of a capacitor and a pano of the
electronics. Am I mistaken or is the cap leaking stuff out that it's
not supposed to be leaking? If so, under what heading in the yellow
pages should I be looking for replacement pieces?

http://www.fileden.com/files/2010/3/.../cap_front.jpg

http://www.fileden.com/files/2010/3/...4/cap_rear.jpg

http://www.fileden.com/files/2010/3/...lectronics.jpg


Anything else you see that stands out as being obviously bad or
suspicious? I can take closeups of anything you want a better look at.

Thanks for all input.

"brassplyer" wrote in message
...
Trane central air unit quit doing its thing (recently made another
post about it) and I finally cracked open the housing.

Here are some pics - front and rear of a capacitor and a pano of the
electronics. Am I mistaken or is the cap leaking stuff out that it's
not supposed to be leaking? If so, under what heading in the yellow
pages should I be looking for replacement pieces?

http://www.fileden.com/files/2010/3/.../cap_front.jpg

http://www.fileden.com/files/2010/3/...4/cap_rear.jpg

http://www.fileden.com/files/2010/3/...lectronics.jpg


Anything else you see that stands out as being obviously bad or
suspicious? I can take closeups of anything you want a better look at.

Thanks for all input.

Look under electric motor repairs ww

5/370 should be the cap for the fan. Looks like the
terminals are pretty badly rusted. GE had a bunch of bad
caps. I'd be wanting to test that one for farads, and then
replace it regardless of the reading.

I notice you have a big round cap (can't tell if it's double
value, but at the moment it doesn't look like it) to the
left.

You likely won't find replacement AC caps sold at retail.
Might try "capacitors" in the yellow pages.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"brassplyer" wrote in message
...
Trane central air unit quit doing its thing (recently made
another
post about it) and I finally cracked open the housing.

Here are some pics - front and rear of a capacitor and a
pano of the
electronics. Am I mistaken or is the cap leaking stuff out
that it's
not supposed to be leaking? If so, under what heading in the
yellow
pages should I be looking for replacement pieces?

http://www.fileden.com/files/2010/3/.../cap_front.jpg

http://www.fileden.com/files/2010/3/...4/cap_rear.jpg

http://www.fileden.com/files/2010/3/...lectronics.jpg


Anything else you see that stands out as being obviously bad
or
suspicious? I can take closeups of anything you want a
better look at.

Thanks for all input.

brassplyer wrote:
Trane central air unit quit doing its thing (recently made another
post about it) and I finally cracked open the housing.

Here are some pics - front and rear of a capacitor and a pano of the
electronics. Am I mistaken or is the cap leaking stuff out that it's
not supposed to be leaking? If so, under what heading in the yellow
pages should I be looking for replacement pieces?


Yellow pages? How quaint!

Enter "air conditioning capacitor" + {name of your town} in Google.

Take the presumed defective one with you. Say "Gimme one of these" to the
guy at the counter.

How do you know it's the cap? You have to start with the basics first.
When you turn down your t-stat to turn on the A/C, the contactor
should click closed. If it doesn't, you have to look at that first.

Guy at counter will ask for tax license, and proof of being
in the trade.

Yellow pages may be retro, but they still work. Even when
the power is out.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"HeyBub" wrote in message
m...


Yellow pages? How quaint!

Enter "air conditioning capacitor" + {name of your town} in
Google.

Take the presumed defective one with you. Say "Gimme one of
these" to the
guy at the counter.

On May 3, 10:38*pm, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
5/370 should be the cap for the fan.


Actually the big horizontal fan at the top runs, the basic problem is
the compressor isn't engaging. First noticed due to no "quish-quish-
gurgle" in the freon line inside going into the air handler as should
be happening. A few months ago when it was last fired up it was doing
fine.


Looks like the
terminals are pretty badly rusted.



They are.

I did find a couple of dessicated dead lizards hung up in the
electronics.

Stormin Mormon wrote:
Guy at counter will ask for tax license, and proof of being
in the trade.

Yellow pages may be retro, but they still work. Even when
the power is out.

Thats crap..Just send me $100 in cash and I will send you one.

On Mon, 3 May 2010 20:07:37 -0700 (PDT), brassplyer
wrote:

On May 3, 10:38*pm, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
5/370 should be the cap for the fan.


Actually the big horizontal fan at the top runs, the basic problem is
the compressor isn't engaging. First noticed due to no "quish-quish-

Don't they both use one capacitor?

gurgle" in the freon line inside going into the air handler as should
be happening. A few months ago when it was last fired up it was doing
fine.


Looks like the
terminals are pretty badly rusted.

They are.

I did find a couple of dessicated dead lizards hung up in the
electronics.

Those are there to increase the joule value. Don't remove them.

On Mon, 3 May 2010 20:35:41 -0600, "WW"
wrote:


Thanks for all input.

Look under electric motor repairs ww

Yes, this is the place, assuming it it the cap.

brassplyer wrote:
Trane central air unit quit doing its thing (recently made another
post about it) and I finally cracked open the housing.

Here are some pics - front and rear of a capacitor and a pano of the
electronics. Am I mistaken or is the cap leaking stuff out that it's
not supposed to be leaking? If so, under what heading in the yellow
pages should I be looking for replacement pieces?

http://www.fileden.com/files/2010/3/.../cap_front.jpg

http://www.fileden.com/files/2010/3/...4/cap_rear.jpg

http://www.fileden.com/files/2010/3/...lectronics.jpg


Anything else you see that stands out as being obviously bad or
suspicious? I can take closeups of anything you want a better look at.

Thanks for all input.

That fan run capacitor looks like the crimp on the top is damaged
and leaking. Those things cost less than $10 around here. The start
capacitor terminals and top looks burned from what I can see in the
picture. That capacitor is less than $20 in this area. If you found
critters in the control box, the circuit board could have been damaged
and that's the most expensive item $60-$100. If you can't get an HVAC
supply house to sell to you, try an electric motor sales and rewind
company. Either supply houses will have a capacitor tester and most
will be glad to test the capacitor for you. Dress like a working man
and you may get away with it. If you show up wearing an Izod knit
shirt, white shorts and deck shoes, the city sales crew might get
suspicious. *snicker*

TDD

I'll send one for $95.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Alexander" wrote in message
...
Stormin Mormon wrote:
Guy at counter will ask for tax license, and proof of
being
in the trade.

Yellow pages may be retro, but they still work. Even when
the power is out.

Thats crap..Just send me $100 in cash and I will send you
one.

Some units use a dual value cap, but this one appears to be
separate caps.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"mm" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 3 May 2010 20:07:37 -0700 (PDT), brassplyer
wrote:

On May 3, 10:38 pm, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
5/370 should be the cap for the fan.


Actually the big horizontal fan at the top runs, the basic
problem is
the compressor isn't engaging. First noticed due to no
"quish-quish-

Don't they both use one capacitor?

gurgle" in the freon line inside going into the air handler
as should
be happening. A few months ago when it was last fired up it
was doing
fine.


Looks like the
terminals are pretty badly rusted.

They are.

I did find a couple of dessicated dead lizards hung up in
the
electronics.

Those are there to increase the joule value. Don't remove
them.

Stormin Mormon wrote:
Guy at counter will ask for tax license, and proof of being
in the trade.

Yellow pages may be retro, but they still work. Even when
the power is out.

1. So, wait for the next customer. Approach him and say: "I'll give you
$5.00 cash if you buy one of these for me."

2. The Yellow Pages DOES work if the power is out - but only half the time.
It doesn't work, for example, during the night.

But, of course, the internet doesn't work at all during a power outage.

This latter can be overcome by a portable generator and WiFi.

On May 3, 10:13*pm, brassplyer wrote:
Trane central air unit quit doing its thing (recently made another
post about it) and I finally cracked open the housing.

Here are some pics - front and rear of a capacitor and a pano of the
electronics. Am I mistaken or is the cap leaking stuff out that it's
not supposed to be leaking? If so, under what heading in the yellow
pages should I be looking for replacement pieces?

http://www.fileden.com/files/2010/3/.../cap_front.jpg

http://www.fileden.com/files/2010/3/...4/cap_rear.jpg

http://www.fileden.com/files/2010/3/...lectronics.jpg

Anything else you see that stands out as being obviously bad or
suspicious? I can take closeups of anything you want a better look at.

Thanks for all input.

Looks like a heat pump to me? Isn't that a defrost board?

Most hvac supply places won't give you much grief if you just show up
with a cap and ask for a new one. Don't start asking them
troubleshooting questions though. See if you have a johnstons, they
carry a lot of stuff.

I think that's the fan cap though so while it might be leaking a bit
it's not your main problem. Use a vom to check and make sure you have
240 vac on the downside of that contactor. You could try replacing
the compressor cap since it won't cost you much. You need to observe
it to see if it even tries to start. You can do that either by having
a helper turn it on while you are there or push the contactor in
yourself with an insulated screwdriver. It's ok to run the unit for
short periods without the fan on top. You can tell when a compressor
is trying to start as it will make noise for a few seconds and then
quit. Compressors have thermal overload switches inside them so they
cutoff after a bit if they can't start. It's a lot easier to tell
what it's doing or not doing with the fan removed. With out gauges
and other test equipment it can be difficult to fix hvac systems. You
can try simply replacing the cap on the compressor but after that then
you need to check the charge and possibly the current draw if it's
trying to start. A hard start kit might help too.

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
Guy at counter will ask for tax license, and proof of being
in the trade.

Don't know about trade shops in your neck of the world, but here, in this
economy, they don't care about who you are as long as you have money to pay
for the items. Regarding the tax, here it is a VAT tax and they collect it
from everybody, in or out the trade.

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
Guy at counter will ask for tax license, and proof of being
in the trade.


Come on Chris, not every one lives in New York. ww







Yellow pages may be retro, but they still work. Even when
the power is out.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.


"HeyBub" wrote in message
m...


Yellow pages? How quaint!

Enter "air conditioning capacitor" + {name of your town} in
Google.

Take the presumed defective one with you. Say "Gimme one of
these" to the
guy at the counter.

Here's what I've found so far. The spade connector contacts on both
the capacitors were highly corroded. I used a Dremel to grind off rust
to get a clean contact surface.

The electromagnetic contact switch works, definitely engages. I hooked
everything back up, put the top of the unit back on secured it with a
few of the screws.

The top fan works so apparently that capacitor isn't bad enough to
prevent that. As I was sitting by the unit after a few minutes I heard
a humming noise that sounded like the compressor had momentarily
kicked in but then stopped.

Further, on that circuit board there's a red LED that flashes while
the unit is running.

"brassplyer" wrote in message
...
Here's what I've found so far. The spade connector contacts on both
the capacitors were highly corroded. I used a Dremel to grind off rust
to get a clean contact surface.

The electromagnetic contact switch works, definitely engages. I hooked
everything back up, put the top of the unit back on secured it with a
few of the screws.

The top fan works so apparently that capacitor isn't bad enough to
prevent that. As I was sitting by the unit after a few minutes I heard
a humming noise that sounded like the compressor had momentarily
kicked in but then stopped.

Further, on that circuit board there's a red LED that flashes while
the unit is running.

Maybe if you were to take a crowbar to your wallet and called a *competent*,
licensed, insured, professionally trained tech??

On May 4, 2:50*pm, "Steve" wrote:

Maybe if you were to take a crowbar to your wallet and called a *competent*,
licensed, insured, professionally trained tech??


I may end up eventually doing that, but apparently it bothers you that
I'd like to learn something about the workings of the unit and be
somewhat informed and would also like to see if I get lucky and solve
the problem with the replacement of a relatively inexpensive part or
two.

Of course another issue is, in the Yellow Pages, they don't make a
clear distinction between "Honest, fairly priced genuinely competent
tech" and "bungling, meth-addict ripoff artist".

On May 4, 7:35*am, "Stormin Mormon"

Thats crap..Just send me $100 in cash and I will send you
one.


I'll e-mail the cash to you.

Thanks. Just printed it out.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"brassplyer" wrote in message
...
On May 4, 7:35 am, "Stormin Mormon"

Thats crap..Just send me $100 in cash and I will send you
one.


I'll e-mail the cash to you.

Replaced both the fan cap and compressor cap and it's runnin' like a
champ now. The guy at the parts place put a meter on them and said the
fan cap was on its way out and the compressor cap was kaput. The shape
on the compressor cap is different - this one is oval, the old one was
cylindrical about like an old car coil. However the ratings are the
same and it appears to work.

Apparently it doesn't matter which side the connectors get attached
to? I.e. there's not a "pos" and "neg"? It seems to be running fine.

One thing that makes me curious - I noticed that even with both the
breaker for the A/C compressor on the main panel and the exterior
breaker at the compressor turned off, when I turned on the air
handler, the compressor relay switch still activated. I thought if the
breakers are off, it interrupted the circuit to the compressor and
nothing should get to any part of the unit?

Thanks again.

Stormin Mormon wrote:
I'll send one for $95.

Yeah, but he will send in by Mormon mail and it will cost another $50.
Those mules are real slow too.

brassplyer wrote:
On May 4, 7:35 am, "Stormin Mormon"

Thats crap..Just send me $100 in cash and I will send you
one.


I'll e-mail the cash to you.

I will email the capacitor right away.

HeyBub wrote:
Stormin Mormon wrote:
Guy at counter will ask for tax license, and proof of being
in the trade.

Yellow pages may be retro, but they still work. Even when
the power is out.

1. So, wait for the next customer. Approach him and say: "I'll give you
$5.00 cash if you buy one of these for me."

$5 won't even buy a decent cup of Starbucks. Union rates indicate a
minimum of $120.00

2. The Yellow Pages DOES work if the power is out - but only half the time.
It doesn't work, for example, during the night.

But, of course, the internet doesn't work at all during a power outage.

This latter can be overcome by a portable generator and WiFi.

And a wind blowing over a block of ice.

EXT wrote:

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
Guy at counter will ask for tax license, and proof of being
in the trade.

Don't know about trade shops in your neck of the world, but here, in
this economy, they don't care about who you are as long as you have
money to pay for the items. Regarding the tax, here it is a VAT tax and
they collect it from everybody, in or out the trade.

Lets just say that the Contractors Association got a wind of that and 92
contractors blackballed the vendor. Who would you rather have as a
customer? 92 Contractors that each purchase from $50k to $500K and more
per year or some dipstick that purchases a $15 dollar item once every 10
years. Also many Vendors require Contractors to guarantee so much $$$$
business per year to cover price fluxuations and amount of on site
inventory. Can you imagine the ;awsuit if that contract was usurp by a
mook off the street. The on street customers are ours and not the
vendors. If you want the prices and availability..Put 8 years into
becoming a contractor. You forgot Contractors excise tax by the way.
You can't pay that to the state each month without a license and
you are now well into the quasi-felony stage. You chumps that squeak
when you walk are fun to poke with sharp sticks.

jamesgangnc wrote:
On May 3, 10:13 pm, brassplyer wrote:
Trane central air unit quit doing its thing (recently made another
post about it) and I finally cracked open the housing.

Here are some pics - front and rear of a capacitor and a pano of the
electronics. Am I mistaken or is the cap leaking stuff out that it's
not supposed to be leaking? If so, under what heading in the yellow
pages should I be looking for replacement pieces?

http://www.fileden.com/files/2010/3/.../cap_front.jpg

http://www.fileden.com/files/2010/3/...4/cap_rear.jpg

http://www.fileden.com/files/2010/3/...lectronics.jpg

Anything else you see that stands out as being obviously bad or
suspicious? I can take closeups of anything you want a better look at.

Thanks for all input.

Looks like a heat pump to me? Isn't that a defrost board?

Most hvac supply places won't give you much grief if you just show up
with a cap and ask for a new one. Don't start asking them
troubleshooting questions though. See if you have a johnstons, they
carry a lot of stuff.

Johnstones in Sioux Falls, SD, Appleton, Wisconsin, Fargo ND, and Sioux
City Iowa all have large commercial signs on the front entrance that
says Licensed and wholesale only. I assume those signs are nationwide
and are enforced. There is also a minimum purchase price and only to
account holders. Maybe your sister might be laying it out to a
counterman that can get it for you?

I think that's the fan cap though so while it might be leaking a bit
it's not your main problem. Use a vom to check and make sure you have
240 vac on the downside of that contactor. You could try replacing
the compressor cap since it won't cost you much. You need to observe
it to see if it even tries to start. You can do that either by having
a helper turn it on while you are there or push the contactor in
yourself with an insulated screwdriver. It's ok to run the unit for
short periods without the fan on top. You can tell when a compressor
is trying to start as it will make noise for a few seconds and then
quit. Compressors have thermal overload switches inside them so they
cutoff after a bit if they can't start. It's a lot easier to tell
what it's doing or not doing with the fan removed. With out gauges
and other test equipment it can be difficult to fix hvac systems. You
can try simply replacing the cap on the compressor but after that then
you need to check the charge and possibly the current draw if it's
trying to start. A hard start kit might help too.

brassplyer wrote:
Here's what I've found so far. The spade connector contacts on both
the capacitors were highly corroded. I used a Dremel to grind off rust
to get a clean contact surface.

The electromagnetic contact switch works, definitely engages. I hooked
everything back up, put the top of the unit back on secured it with a
few of the screws.

The top fan works so apparently that capacitor isn't bad enough to
prevent that. As I was sitting by the unit after a few minutes I heard
a humming noise that sounded like the compressor had momentarily
kicked in but then stopped.

Further, on that circuit board there's a red LED that flashes while
the unit is running.

Thats the countdown to self destruct. No Joke....

Steve wrote:
"brassplyer" wrote in message
...
Here's what I've found so far. The spade connector contacts on both
the capacitors were highly corroded. I used a Dremel to grind off rust
to get a clean contact surface.

The electromagnetic contact switch works, definitely engages. I hooked
everything back up, put the top of the unit back on secured it with a
few of the screws.

The top fan works so apparently that capacitor isn't bad enough to
prevent that. As I was sitting by the unit after a few minutes I heard
a humming noise that sounded like the compressor had momentarily
kicked in but then stopped.

Further, on that circuit board there's a red LED that flashes while
the unit is running.

Maybe if you were to take a crowbar to your wallet and called a *competent*,
licensed, insured, professionally trained tech??

Dammit...Stop that. We aren't done playing with him yet.

brassplyer wrote:
On May 4, 2:50 pm, "Steve" wrote:

Maybe if you were to take a crowbar to your wallet and called a *competent*,
licensed, insured, professionally trained tech??


I may end up eventually doing that, but apparently it bothers you that
I'd like to learn something about the workings of the unit and be
somewhat informed and would also like to see if I get lucky and solve
the problem with the replacement of a relatively inexpensive part or
two.

There are excellent 2 year training programs at your local VoTech school
that will get you accepted as an apprentice at graduation. I so hope you
have good liability, health and fire insurance until then.


Of course another issue is, in the Yellow Pages, they don't make a
clear distinction between "Honest, fairly priced genuinely competent
tech" and "bungling, meth-addict ripoff artist".

Try calling building Services at City Hall for a list of companies that
have survived a lot of city and federal Job inspections. They certainly
are not going to point you to a hack...If any should exist. I would
suppose that your first question would be who can I get that will work
at minimum wage or do you know any illegals that will do this?

brassplyer wrote:
Replaced both the fan cap and compressor cap and it's runnin' like a
champ now. The guy at the parts place put a meter on them and said the
fan cap was on its way out and the compressor cap was kaput. The shape
on the compressor cap is different - this one is oval, the old one was
cylindrical about like an old car coil. However the ratings are the
same and it appears to work.

Apparently it doesn't matter which side the connectors get attached
to? I.e. there's not a "pos" and "neg"? It seems to be running fine.

One thing that makes me curious - I noticed that even with both the
breaker for the A/C compressor on the main panel and the exterior
breaker at the compressor turned off, when I turned on the air
handler, the compressor relay switch still activated. I thought if the
breakers are off, it interrupted the circuit to the compressor and
nothing should get to any part of the unit?

Thanks again.

Looks like that is near Chicago.. Heavy Union country. Be interesting to
know who is superceding the service companies over there.

"brassplyer" wrote in message
...
Here's what I've found so far. The spade connector contacts on both
the capacitors were highly corroded. I used a Dremel to grind off rust
to get a clean contact surface.

The electromagnetic contact switch works, definitely engages. I hooked
everything back up, put the top of the unit back on secured it with a
few of the screws.

The top fan works so apparently that capacitor isn't bad enough to
prevent that. As I was sitting by the unit after a few minutes I heard
a humming noise that sounded like the compressor had momentarily
kicked in but then stopped.

Further, on that circuit board there's a red LED that flashes while
the unit is running.


That red LED means it is gonna blow in just a few more seconds. Pucker your
ass and run just as fast as you can.

"brassplyer" wrote in message
...
Replaced both the fan cap and compressor cap and it's runnin' like a
champ now. The guy at the parts place put a meter on them and said the
fan cap was on its way out and the compressor cap was kaput. The shape
on the compressor cap is different - this one is oval, the old one was
cylindrical about like an old car coil. However the ratings are the
same and it appears to work.

Apparently it doesn't matter which side the connectors get attached
to? I.e. there's not a "pos" and "neg"? It seems to be running fine.

One thing that makes me curious - I noticed that even with both the
breaker for the A/C compressor on the main panel and the exterior
breaker at the compressor turned off, when I turned on the air
handler, the compressor relay switch still activated. I thought if the
breakers are off, it interrupted the circuit to the compressor and
nothing should get to any part of the unit?

Thanks again.


You must have the "alternative power source" option on your unit. Most of
these were battery backups that help keep the polarity correct during
brownouts.

That's the kind of ignorance that gets people hurt. "but I
thought...."

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"brassplyer" wrote in message
...
Replaced both the fan cap and compressor cap and it's
runnin' like a
champ now. The guy at the parts place put a meter on them
and said the
fan cap was on its way out and the compressor cap was kaput.
The shape
on the compressor cap is different - this one is oval, the
old one was
cylindrical about like an old car coil. However the ratings
are the
same and it appears to work.

Apparently it doesn't matter which side the connectors get
attached
to? I.e. there's not a "pos" and "neg"? It seems to be
running fine.

One thing that makes me curious - I noticed that even with
both the
breaker for the A/C compressor on the main panel and the
exterior
breaker at the compressor turned off, when I turned on the
air
handler, the compressor relay switch still activated. I
thought if the
breakers are off, it interrupted the circuit to the
compressor and
nothing should get to any part of the unit?

Thanks again.

One thing that makes me curious - I noticed that even with both the
breaker for the A/C compressor on the main panel and the exterior
breaker at the compressor turned off, when I turned on the air
handler, the compressor relay switch still activated. I thought if the
breakers are off, it interrupted the circuit to the compressor and
nothing should get to any part of the unit?

Thanks again.

As the other poster said, the contactor is powered by the 24V from the
air handler inside your house. So even if you turned off the 240V, you
would still here the relay click.

Congrats on fixing the unit yourself despite the sarcastic remarks
some of these idiots made.

On May 4, 8:07*pm, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:

That's the kind of ignorance that gets people hurt. "but I
thought...."


Well, what doesn't kill us makes us more knowledgeable. I did know
enough to turn off all breakers including the one to the air handler
before monkeying with the outside unit so I wasn't in any danger.

Next I need to clean the internal coils. Just looked at 'em, they're
nasty. Obviously with as much suction as I'm getting plenty of air is
getting through but they definitely need cleaning.

I'm a professional idiot. Sarcastic comments are included in
my job description.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Mikepier" wrote in message
...

Congrats on fixing the unit yourself despite the sarcastic
remarks
some of these idiots made.

Will you be using a belt sander to clean the inside coils?
That's what professional idiots use. 60 grit open kote red
garnet is good.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"brassplyer" wrote in message
...
On May 4, 8:07 pm, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:

That's the kind of ignorance that gets people hurt. "but I
thought...."


Well, what doesn't kill us makes us more knowledgeable. I
did know
enough to turn off all breakers including the one to the air
handler
before monkeying with the outside unit so I wasn't in any
danger.

Next I need to clean the internal coils. Just looked at 'em,
they're
nasty. Obviously with as much suction as I'm getting plenty
of air is
getting through but they definitely need cleaning.

brassplyer wrote:
On May 4, 2:50 pm, "Steve" wrote:

Maybe if you were to take a crowbar to your wallet and called a *competent*,
licensed, insured, professionally trained tech??


I may end up eventually doing that, but apparently it bothers you that
I'd like to learn something about the workings of the unit and be
somewhat informed and would also like to see if I get lucky and solve
the problem with the replacement of a relatively inexpensive part or
two.

Of course another issue is, in the Yellow Pages, they don't make a
clear distinction between "Honest, fairly priced genuinely competent
tech" and "bungling, meth-addict ripoff artist".

Good for you trying to learn about the equipment that runs your
home. Here's a link to a site with a lot of information about
how your HVAC system works and repair procedures.

http://www.toad.net/~jsmeenen/

TDD