A couple weeks ago I went on vacation to my mother's winter house in
Naples, FL. Their house has two A/C systems, one for the master
bedroom suite and one for the rest of the house. The bedroom system
worked fine, but the main system didn't seem to be blowing air out. I
found the air handlers in the garage attached to the ceiling. The
condenser units were outside of the garage. The main condenser had ice
built up on the insulated freon line. I went inside and turned off the
system and let it defrost over the next few hours.

I called my mother and let her know what was happening. She had me
call the HVAC contractor which had installed the system 8 years ago.
The technician showed up that evening and diagnosed it as a blown fan
motor. Cost of repair $1200 for a universal motor. Yes, it was out of
warranty. This was a Trane system, although I don't know the model.

Considering the system is barely used 6 months out of the year, this
seems rather poor longevity for a blower motor. It also seems rather
expensive.

Any thoughts?