IS AC working.....

How long should I let the AC run to see if it is actually working.. it is in the high 80's to mid 90's here... I feel air blowing, but I didnt know how long to let it run, so I turned it off after about 5 minutes... I know that wasnt long enough.. but I didnt want to hurt it before I even get moved over there.... any help would be appreciated......

thanks in advance

Let it run until you feel cold air from the vents. If you're going to "hurt it", do it now before you move so you have a chance to fix it before you get there and have a meltdown.

Square Eye said:

Let it run until you feel cold air from the vents. If you're going to "hurt it", do it now before you move so you have a chance to fix it before you get there and have a meltdown.

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are we talking like 30 minutes.... I am already having a personal meltdown... I was supposed to close tomorrow but my Loan officer quit his job to become a broker... and left me hanging.... so.. .the ac is the least of my worries... I just didnt want to burn it out leaving it on too long

Hello Shan:
Leaving the AC on will not hurt it; whatever is going to burn out probably already has. When you turn it on there should be a heavy hum like a car motor running; that's the compressor. If the compressor isn't kiking on the air will never get cool. I don't know whether we are talking about a window unit or a split system s the same for either one. Open the inspection panel on the unit and find a contactor ( there is a wiring diagram printed inside that will help you find it). The contactor has an electromagnet that pulls it in to make the electricity contact the compressor. In the center of the contactor there is a plastic part you can push in with a screwdriver which should make the compressor begin running. If it doesn't run like that, turn off the power and look for wires that may be burned off, they are usually easy to see because they blacken the area around the burn. It may be necessary to pop the plastic cover off the compressor to check the wires connected to it.
If it is not a burned wire, post back for the next step.
Glenn

glennjanie said:

Hello Shan:
Leaving the AC on will not hurt it; whatever is going to burn out probably already has. When you turn it on there should be a heavy hum like a car motor running; that's the compressor. If the compressor isn't kiking on the air will never get cool. I don't know whether we are talking about a window unit or a split system s the same for either one. Open the inspection panel on the unit and find a contactor ( there is a wiring diagram printed inside that will help you find it). The contactor has an electromagnet that pulls it in to make the electricity contact the compressor. In the center of the contactor there is a plastic part you can push in with a screwdriver which should make the compressor begin running. If it doesn't run like that, turn off the power and look for wires that may be burned off, they are usually easy to see because they blacken the area around the burn. It may be necessary to pop the plastic cover off the compressor to check the wires connected to it.
If it is not a burned wire, post back for the next step.
Glenn

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Thanks for the info... I will do that this weekend..... you are so kind and helpful

my compacitor was bad.... it is supposed to be installed tomorrow..... so i will let you know how that goes!!!!

another update... fan motor was bad also.... but... with the exception of me needing to crawl under the house and fix a vent.. the AC is fine now~~~

Will one vent being disconnected from system cause the entire house to not cool off ? Today is the first day that I have turned the system on for more than just a few minutes..... I let it run for about an hour or so... and the thermostat never moved.... Now... I am already aggravated and this isnt helping... but there is one vent that needs to be reconnected... and I would like some opinions before I call the People that worked on it.... so... I am hoping that the answer is yes... this is the problem... cause I can do that myself....


(I should add that it was about 88 today... 80 in the house without AC and still 80 after an hour of it being on.

Hello Shan:
I haven't been able to get on for quite a while but I still want to help.
No, one (room) vent being off will not keep the house from cooling down. If it is the only return air vent it will keep it from cooling down because it is trying to cool all the air that comes into the house. It must be able to recirculate the air to cool it; each pass through the cooling coil should squeeze more heat out of the air.
Turn the A/C on and go to the outside unit; by the time you can walk out there the large line on the outside unit should be nice and cool to the touch and the small line should be very warm. If that is not the case, the A/C is not working at all. I'll be watching for your next post.
Glenn

update:
Ok... so the system is a gooman heatpump ph018-24 I believe... and I think that I actually fixed the problem.... it is a multistage ( or maybe just auxillary heat actually) anyways, the breaker was on and just for giggles myself I turned the breaker off, and it started cooling down.... now.... I dont find that this makes sense... but.. instead of a heatpump thermostat it has just a regular thermostat..... so I went today and bought a honeywell rth3100c. I have not installed it yet, nor have I taken off more than the faceplate as I have had to move into the house this weekend. (it took 15 solid nonstop hours to pack my 3 story apt into trucks and drive 3 miles away), it is cooling now. I am not going to put this new thermostat on if it doesnt have all the correct wires, I dont want to waste the 450 I just spent fixing it.... but I will post when I get to that point and if I have questions..... I cant begin to tell you guys how much your help means... this really is a dream come true for me.... (ok.. maybe a nap come true until I get things fixed)
ONto the original though.... since turning off that breaker, the air out of the vent is much much cooler, so, could that really have been the problem?

If your heating element (auxillary heat) was on, then yes turning that breaker off should make a major difference.
As far as I know it does take a thermostat with auxillary heat options to control a heat pump with auxillary heat.
Thermostats are not always simple to replace. You may need to call the service guys back to install it.

Square Eye said:

If your heating element (auxillary heat) was on, then yes turning that breaker off should make a major difference.
As far as I know it does take a thermostat with auxillary heat options to control a heat pump with auxillary heat.
Thermostats are not always simple to replace. You may need to call the service guys back to install it.

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I have replaced a thermostat before, for a regular central heat and air unit... and I know that I have to label everything.... I have just read some posts where people have changed from a mercury thermostat to the honeywell I bought and it worked for a week and then quit..... I just dont want to mess something up..... so... if all the wires are present that are needed, I will go ahead and do it myself......... I am glad that my thinking was correct..... would it be running just becuase the breaker was on (and the correct thermostat wasnt being used?)

They may have wired it to come on with the fan. That way in the summer, when the A/C was being used, all they had to do was turn the breaker off exactly as you have done.
There ought to be a law that when people do things out of the ordinary, they have to document it and leave the log with the property

Hello Shan:

Have you resolved your A/C problem now? I have been off the Forum for an extended period and lost track. If you still need help, please post back and let us know where you stand now.

Glenn

Glenn:
The AC is working fine... so is the new thermostat... I still have the AUX breaker switched off, although it is correctly wired now and I could turn it on..... thanks for checking back in.... I havent been on myself as I fell at work last month and that has brought a screeching halt to anything that I was doing.....

OOPS! Sorry about the fall. Your signature bothers me, what kind of nurse are you? I do like the attitude of giving it a try though.
Glenn

I am a cardiac nurse. (and sometimes my doitmyselfness bothers me also) I do enjoy figuring out how to do things, while I am a nurse, I have three kids and a mom that I take care of so the money is tight, so I like to do things myself as much as possible, and I am a pretty good student.... most of the time, show me once, and I can repeat what you did....... I do try to do alot of research if I can on what I am doing, and I have recently bought some books. I have a new problem with the hvac now.... my ductwork is coming apart under the house..... ac runs, no air comes out of vents, crawl space is an icecube.... so, I am now thinking of running flexible lines under the house, but I will have to do research....... any suggestions?