Have a Trane central system installed in 88. Model T V030 A140A0 About
a year ago the compressor stopped compressing. I replaced the old
compressor capacitor and it ran fine until at some point today. This
morning it was fine, now it's now. Fan is running, compressor isn't.
Contact switch is working. Light on the circuit board is lighting.

I noticed the compressor unit is very hot to the touch. Takes it some
time to get cool after shutting it off. Is that what you'd expect from
a compressor that had been running?

Any way for me to tell on a DIY basis if the compressor is fried? The
cap is only a year old, I'm guessing it's a low level likelihood that
it's gone bad again? The old one had obvious "puking" from the seam at
the top. No such visible signs on this one.

Thanks.

"muzician21" wrote in message
...
Have a Trane central system installed in 88. Model T V030 A140A0 About
a year ago the compressor stopped compressing. I replaced the old
compressor capacitor and it ran fine until at some point today. This
morning it was fine, now it's now. Fan is running, compressor isn't.
Contact switch is working. Light on the circuit board is lighting.

I noticed the compressor unit is very hot to the touch. Takes it some
time to get cool after shutting it off. Is that what you'd expect from
a compressor that had been running?

Any way for me to tell on a DIY basis if the compressor is fried? The
cap is only a year old, I'm guessing it's a low level likelihood that
it's gone bad again? The old one had obvious "puking" from the seam at
the top. No such visible signs on this one.

Thanks.

Its 23 years old... they don't last forever.

FWIW, a new system will cut your heating and cooling bills 30 - 50%

On Jun 23, 8:52*pm, "Steve" wrote:

FWIW, a new system will cut your heating and cooling bills 30 - 50%


Hasn't been a big issue - the highest bill I've ever had was about
$130. Not bad considering it's around $60 - 70 in a month when the A/C
unit is never fired up.

Sounds like you need someone to do some testing, and
troubleshooting. Find out what's the bad part.

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


"muzician21" wrote in message
...
Have a Trane central system installed in 88. Model T V030
A140A0 About
a year ago the compressor stopped compressing. I replaced
the old
compressor capacitor and it ran fine until at some point
today. This
morning it was fine, now it's now. Fan is running,
compressor isn't.
Contact switch is working. Light on the circuit board is
lighting.

I noticed the compressor unit is very hot to the touch.
Takes it some
time to get cool after shutting it off. Is that what you'd
expect from
a compressor that had been running?

Any way for me to tell on a DIY basis if the compressor is
fried? The
cap is only a year old, I'm guessing it's a low level
likelihood that
it's gone bad again? The old one had obvious "puking" from
the seam at
the top. No such visible signs on this one.

Thanks.

On Jun 23, 8:28*pm, muzician21 wrote:
Have a Trane central system installed in 88. Model T V030 A140A0 About
a year ago the compressor stopped compressing. I replaced the old
compressor capacitor and it ran fine until at some point today. This
morning it was fine, now it's now. Fan is running, compressor isn't.
Contact switch is working. Light on the circuit board is lighting.

I noticed the compressor unit is very hot to the touch. Takes it some
time to get cool after shutting it off. Is that what you'd expect from
a compressor that had been running?

Any way for me to tell on a DIY basis if the compressor is fried? The
cap is only a year old, I'm guessing it's a low level likelihood that
it's gone bad again? The old one had obvious "puking" from the seam at
the top. No such visible signs on this one.

Thanks.

It is normal for them to be pretty hot when running.

Does it even attempt to start when the contactor is closed? Normally
you can hear the compressor trying to start. If you are not certain
disconnect the fan, that will make it easier to hear. The simplest
test for a bad capacitor is to try another one. The troubleshooting
you can do is limited without the various test gear that a pro will
have.

Do you think the system was evacuated properly when the compressor was
replaced? In some cases when a compressor goes bad it leavs a lot of
residue in the refrigerant lines and coils. That's bad for the new
compressor. Frankly I'm surprised that anyone recommended replacing a
compressor on a system that old. It's past it's life expectancy and
replacing the compressor is an expensive job.

On Jun 24, 8:19*am, jamesgangnc wrote:
On Jun 23, 8:28*pm, muzician21 wrote:





Have a Trane central system installed in 88. Model T V030 A140A0 About
a year ago the compressor stopped compressing. I replaced the old
compressor capacitor and it ran fine until at some point today. This
morning it was fine, now it's now. Fan is running, compressor isn't.
Contact switch is working. Light on the circuit board is lighting.

I noticed the compressor unit is very hot to the touch. Takes it some
time to get cool after shutting it off. Is that what you'd expect from
a compressor that had been running?

Any way for me to tell on a DIY basis if the compressor is fried? The
cap is only a year old, I'm guessing it's a low level likelihood that
it's gone bad again? The old one had obvious "puking" from the seam at
the top. No such visible signs on this one.

Thanks.

It is normal for them to be pretty hot when running.

Does it even attempt to start when the contactor is closed? *Normally
you can hear the compressor trying to start. *If you are not certain
disconnect the fan, that will make it easier to hear. *The simplest
test for a bad capacitor is to try another one. *The troubleshooting
you can do is limited without the various test gear that a pro will
have.

Do you think the system was evacuated properly when the compressor was
replaced? *In some cases when a compressor goes bad it leavs a lot of
residue in the refrigerant lines and coils. *That's bad for the new
compressor. *Frankly I'm surprised that anyone recommended replacing a
compressor on a system that old. *It's past it's life expectancy and
replacing the compressor is an expensive job.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Did I miss something? I didn't see him saying the compressor
was replaced, only that he replaced the cap last year. Like you
said, unless it's the cap, it's time for a service call. And like
someone else posted, if it's the compressor, time for a new
system. There are frequently tax credits and/or utility rebates for
new systems that meet certain standards, depending on where
he lives that can help. I would not put more than a couple
hundred into a system that old.

On Jun 24, 9:01*am, "
wrote:
On Jun 24, 8:19*am, jamesgangnc wrote:





On Jun 23, 8:28*pm, muzician21 wrote:

Have a Trane central system installed in 88. Model T V030 A140A0 About
a year ago the compressor stopped compressing. I replaced the old
compressor capacitor and it ran fine until at some point today. This
morning it was fine, now it's now. Fan is running, compressor isn't.
Contact switch is working. Light on the circuit board is lighting.

I noticed the compressor unit is very hot to the touch. Takes it some
time to get cool after shutting it off. Is that what you'd expect from
a compressor that had been running?

Any way for me to tell on a DIY basis if the compressor is fried? The
cap is only a year old, I'm guessing it's a low level likelihood that
it's gone bad again? The old one had obvious "puking" from the seam at
the top. No such visible signs on this one.

Thanks.

It is normal for them to be pretty hot when running.

Does it even attempt to start when the contactor is closed? *Normally
you can hear the compressor trying to start. *If you are not certain
disconnect the fan, that will make it easier to hear. *The simplest
test for a bad capacitor is to try another one. *The troubleshooting
you can do is limited without the various test gear that a pro will
have.

Do you think the system was evacuated properly when the compressor was
replaced? *In some cases when a compressor goes bad it leavs a lot of
residue in the refrigerant lines and coils. *That's bad for the new
compressor. *Frankly I'm surprised that anyone recommended replacing a
compressor on a system that old. *It's past it's life expectancy and
replacing the compressor is an expensive job.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Did I miss something? * I didn't see him saying the compressor
was replaced, only that he replaced the cap last year. *Like you
said, unless it's the cap, it's time for a service call. *And like
someone else posted, if it's the compressor, time for a new
system. * There are frequently tax credits and/or utility rebates for
new systems that meet certain standards, depending on where
he lives that can help. * I would not put more than a couple
hundred into a system that old.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

My bad.

On Jun 23, 9:00*pm, muzician21 wrote:
On Jun 23, 8:52*pm, "Steve" wrote:

FWIW, a new system will cut your heating and cooling bills 30 - 50%

Hasn't been a big issue - the highest bill I've ever had was about
$130. Not bad considering it's around $60 - 70 in a month when the A/C
unit is never fired up.

I don't notice any difference in cost in the summer on mine. I do have
a small house, but I know it's pretty efficient.it's only drawing
about 1800 watts. 5 years old.

Greg

On Jun 24, 9:01*am, "
wrote:

Did I miss something? * I didn't see him saying the compressor
was replaced, only that he replaced the cap last year. *Like you
said, unless it's the cap,



It was the cap. Though it was a little more than a year old it tested
weak and was bulging a bit. $10 for another cap, back in business.

You'e not allowed to apologize on usenet!

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


"jamesgangnc" wrote in message
...


Did I miss something? I didn't see him saying the
compressor
was replaced, only that he replaced the cap last year.
Like you

My bad.

You SURE you aren't going to pay a pro large ammounts of
money to come out and charge you for a service call?

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


"muzician21" wrote in message
...

It was the cap. Though it was a little more than a year old
it tested
weak and was bulging a bit. $10 for another cap, back in
business.

On Jun 23, 7:28*pm, muzician21 wrote:
Have a Trane central system installed in 88. Model T V030 A140A0 About
a year ago the compressor stopped compressing. I replaced the old
compressor capacitor and it ran fine until at some point today. This
morning it was fine, now it's now. Fan is running, compressor isn't.
Contact switch is working. Light on the circuit board is lighting.

I noticed the compressor unit is very hot to the touch. Takes it some
time to get cool after shutting it off. Is that what you'd expect from
a compressor that had been running?

Any way for me to tell on a DIY basis if the compressor is fried? The
cap is only a year old, I'm guessing it's a low level likelihood that
it's gone bad again? The old one had obvious "puking" from the seam at
the top. No such visible signs on this one.

Thanks.



It sounds like a possible stalled condition where the rotor of the
compressor motor wont turn ; that would cause the compressor to be
very hot after awhile. You could try a hard start kit but I dont
feel comfortable telling you how to install it as you could get hurt
badly . Call a Tech .

On Jun 24, 4:40*pm, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
You SURE you aren't going to pay a pro large ammounts of
money to come out and charge you for a service call?


Actually part of me is half-tempted to call out a tech with the bad
cap in place and see if he makes an honest assessment or gives me a
load of crap but I'm too leery of someone deliberately damaging the
unit to sell me on a new one. Too many horror stories about that kind
of thing happening. Of course, if they did give it to me straight I'd
know they were an honest company I could go to if ever need be.

But it does raise a question - do you know of any dysfunctionality
with the a/c system that could cause a cap to go bad prematurely or is
it likely just manuf defect? The guy at the parts house said current
fluctuations can be hard on caps and Florida is famous for this. It
was his assertion that once upon a time similar value caps were much
larger and more bulletproof. The original factory cap lasted over 20
years, though unknown how long it had been in diminished condition -
apparently they'll continue to work up to a certain threshold? The
brand on this one is BestTech. Is there a brand you prefer?

"muzician21" wrote in message
...
On Jun 24, 4:40 pm, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
You SURE you aren't going to pay a pro large ammounts of
money to come out and charge you for a service call?


Actually part of me is half-tempted to call out a tech with the bad
cap in place and see if he makes an honest assessment or gives me a
load of crap but I'm too leery of someone deliberately damaging the
unit to sell me on a new one. Too many horror stories about that kind
of thing happening. Of course, if they did give it to me straight I'd
know they were an honest company I could go to if ever need be.

But it does raise a question - do you know of any dysfunctionality
with the a/c system that could cause a cap to go bad prematurely or is
it likely just manuf defect? The guy at the parts house said current
fluctuations can be hard on caps and Florida is famous for this. It
was his assertion that once upon a time similar value caps were much
larger and more bulletproof. The original factory cap lasted over 20
years, though unknown how long it had been in diminished condition -
apparently they'll continue to work up to a certain threshold? The
brand on this one is BestTech. Is there a brand you prefer?

I prefer one that is rated for 440v and is *NOT* made in China. The ones
from Pakistan I have used have all worked well with *maybe* a 1% failure
rate after 5 - 8 years. The cheap ones from China are junk.

wrote in message
...
On Fri, 24 Jun 2011 20:11:39 -0500, "Steve"
wrote:


"muzician21" wrote in message
...
On Jun 24, 4:40 pm, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
You SURE you aren't going to pay a pro large ammounts of
money to come out and charge you for a service call?


Actually part of me is half-tempted to call out a tech with the bad
cap in place and see if he makes an honest assessment or gives me a
load of crap but I'm too leery of someone deliberately damaging the
unit to sell me on a new one. Too many horror stories about that kind
of thing happening. Of course, if they did give it to me straight I'd
know they were an honest company I could go to if ever need be.

But it does raise a question - do you know of any dysfunctionality
with the a/c system that could cause a cap to go bad prematurely or is
it likely just manuf defect? The guy at the parts house said current
fluctuations can be hard on caps and Florida is famous for this. It
was his assertion that once upon a time similar value caps were much
larger and more bulletproof. The original factory cap lasted over 20
years, though unknown how long it had been in diminished condition -
apparently they'll continue to work up to a certain threshold? The
brand on this one is BestTech. Is there a brand you prefer?

I prefer one that is rated for 440v and is *NOT* made in China. The ones
from Pakistan I have used have all worked well

Yeh, but they have a nasty habit of telling the unit next
door you're coming.

Nahhhh ...... I was just breathing hard ;-)

On 6/24/2011 7:59 PM, muzician21 wrote:
On Jun 24, 4:40 pm, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
You SURE you aren't going to pay a pro large ammounts of
money to come out and charge you for a service call?


Actually part of me is half-tempted to call out a tech with the bad
cap in place and see if he makes an honest assessment or gives me a
load of crap but I'm too leery of someone deliberately damaging the
unit to sell me on a new one. Too many horror stories about that kind
of thing happening. Of course, if they did give it to me straight I'd
know they were an honest company I could go to if ever need be.

What happens if he decides that something else caused that Capacitor to
fail? That is a Possibility. You did indicate that Capacitor was only a
year old with just average usage.

But it does raise a question - do you know of any dysfunctionality
with the a/c system that could cause a cap to go bad prematurely or is
it likely just manuf defect? The guy at the parts house said current
fluctuations can be hard on caps and Florida is famous for this. It
was his assertion that once upon a time similar value caps were much
larger and more bulletproof. The original factory cap lasted over 20
years, though unknown how long it had been in diminished condition -
apparently they'll continue to work up to a certain threshold? The
brand on this one is BestTech. Is there a brand you prefer?


--
It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard
the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all
ages who mean to govern well, but *They mean to govern*. They promise to
be good masters, *but they mean to be masters*. Daniel Webster

On 6/24/2011 8:11 PM, Steve wrote:
wrote in message
...
On Jun 24, 4:40 pm, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
You SURE you aren't going to pay a pro large ammounts of
money to come out and charge you for a service call?


Actually part of me is half-tempted to call out a tech with the bad
cap in place and see if he makes an honest assessment or gives me a
load of crap but I'm too leery of someone deliberately damaging the
unit to sell me on a new one. Too many horror stories about that kind
of thing happening. Of course, if they did give it to me straight I'd
know they were an honest company I could go to if ever need be.

But it does raise a question - do you know of any dysfunctionality
with the a/c system that could cause a cap to go bad prematurely or is
it likely just manuf defect? The guy at the parts house said current
fluctuations can be hard on caps and Florida is famous for this. It
was his assertion that once upon a time similar value caps were much
larger and more bulletproof. The original factory cap lasted over 20
years, though unknown how long it had been in diminished condition -
apparently they'll continue to work up to a certain threshold? The
brand on this one is BestTech. Is there a brand you prefer?

I prefer one that is rated for 440v and is *NOT* made in China. The ones
from Pakistan I have used have all worked well with *maybe* a 1% failure
rate after 5 - 8 years. The cheap ones from China are junk.

Don'tcha just love those plastic Mexican ones that crash and burn
tossing hot oil all over and some even start a real fire.




--
It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard
the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all
ages who mean to govern well, but *They mean to govern*. They promise to
be good masters, *but they mean to be masters*. Daniel Webster

"Steve" wrote in message
...

"muzician21" wrote in message
...
Actually part of me is half-tempted to call out a tech with the bad
cap in place and see if he makes an honest assessment or gives me a
load of crap but I'm too leery of someone deliberately damaging the
unit to sell me on a new one. Too many horror stories about that kind
of thing happening. Of course, if they did give it to me straight I'd
know they were an honest company I could go to if ever need be.

Not a good idea, every time the comp fails to start and trips the
overload/overheat thermal cutout it causes some damage to the windings and
the cutout itself. Sometimes after repeated use the cutout will weld the
contacts instead of tripping and turn your comp windings into crispy
critters, after all the cutout is designed to only trip once or twice a year
due to things like power blinks that stall the comp and make it try to
restart against full head pressure.

But it does raise a question - do you know of any dysfunctionality
with the a/c system that could cause a cap to go bad prematurely or is
it likely just manuf defect?

Could be a defect but low line voltage takes out run caps sometimes. My
aunt put in a small windowshaker and plugged it in to a cheap 16awg
extension cord, it didn't last 30 minutes before the cap shorted.

The guy at the parts house said current
fluctuations can be hard on caps and Florida is famous for this.

True, actually I would clean and retorque and reseat every electrical
connection going all the way back to the main service panel (including the
disconnect pullout blades) as bad connections can cause this too.

It was his assertion that once upon a time similar value caps were much
larger and more bulletproof. The original factory cap lasted over 20
years, though unknown how long it had been in diminished condition -
apparently they'll continue to work up to a certain threshold? The
brand on this one is BestTech. Is there a brand you prefer?

I prefer one that is rated for 440v and is *NOT* made in China. The ones
from Pakistan I have used have all worked well with *maybe* a 1% failure
rate after 5 - 8 years. The cheap ones from China are junk.


Me too, 440 over 370 any day of the week.

"Daniel who wants to know" wrote in message
...
"Steve" wrote in message

True, actually I would clean and retorque and reseat every electrical
connection going all the way back to the main service panel (including the
disconnect pullout blades) as bad connections can cause this too.


Forgot to mention, if the condenser coil hasn't been cleaned lately do that
too, anything that puts extra load on the comp and slows it down like low
voltage or high head pressure puts more stress on the run cap too.

I'm not sure any brand is good, in this modern era. I've
heard some brands have a higher failure rate. Going to a
higher voltage rating may help. Hope you bought a spare.

Yes, it's fun to "test" repair guys like that. I'd promptly
find a bad cap, for sure. Years ago, I saw a TV news sting,
they did find several techs who did damage to make more
items to sell up.

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


"muzician21" wrote in message
...
On Jun 24, 4:40 pm, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
You SURE you aren't going to pay a pro large ammounts of
money to come out and charge you for a service call?


Actually part of me is half-tempted to call out a tech with
the bad
cap in place and see if he makes an honest assessment or
gives me a
load of crap but I'm too leery of someone deliberately
damaging the
unit to sell me on a new one. Too many horror stories about
that kind
of thing happening. Of course, if they did give it to me
straight I'd
know they were an honest company I could go to if ever need
be.

But it does raise a question - do you know of any
dysfunctionality
with the a/c system that could cause a cap to go bad
prematurely or is
it likely just manuf defect? The guy at the parts house said
current
fluctuations can be hard on caps and Florida is famous for
this. It
was his assertion that once upon a time similar value caps
were much
larger and more bulletproof. The original factory cap lasted
over 20
years, though unknown how long it had been in diminished
condition -
apparently they'll continue to work up to a certain
threshold? The
brand on this one is BestTech. Is there a brand you prefer?