A/C died last night......but I fixed it!

[DeafSmith]

July in Texas - hotter than hell. We're under a heat advisory - highs about 100 with high humidity - heat index about 105.....and my !@#$ air conditioner craps out yesterday evening! Compressor and compressor fan not running. Too close to dark to work on it - thought I was going to have to shell out some big bucks to get it fixed or replaced. Pulled off the access panel this morning and saw the motor start capacitor was all bulged up on top with a funny bump on one edge. Bingo! New motor start cap- $20. Problem solved! About time I got lucky at something. Anyway I just wanted to post this FYI for anyone else who might have a A/C problem - check that capacitor before calling the service company.
Note - be careful when disconnecting it - those big capacitors can retain a hefty electric charge.

 

[TxBrew]

Our AC went out in the middle of the Summer and I had to redo all the plumbing at midnight. Apparently the installer from the previous owner did it wrong and it created this swirl in the pan, can't recall the technical name, so the water would not drain.

 

[DeafSmith]

Our AC went out in the middle of the Summer and I had to redo all the plumbing at midnight. Apparently the installer from the previous owner did it wrong and it created this swirl in the pan, can't recall the technical name, so the water would not drain.

Well, that doesn't sound like any fun. I previously had a problem with the evaporator (inside coil unit) - was leaking water. No lines were clogged up and the drip wasn't coming from where the drain lines connect to the coil box. Turned out there is a baffle on the downwind side of the coils which is meant to catch any water that gets blown off the coils and guide it down to the drip pan. That baffle is not welded on my unit (Goodman), just clipped on - it had come loose (or was installed that way) and was leaning up against the coils, guiding water running down the coils to the outside of the drip pan. None of this was visible without taking apart that side of the box, so it took awhile to solve that problem.

 

[john727]

Yipes...I don't even want to imagine a summer day in Texas with no AC. (shudders)

Glad it was an easy fix! I remember I had a drainage problem once with mine a few years back.

 

[DeafSmith]

Yipes...I don't even want to imagine a summer day in Texas with no AC. (shudders)

A day? How about a whole summer? I remember back in the "olden days" (early 50's) when no one had AC - of course I just a kid then and didn't even think about it - it's just the way things were. But better than that, the summer of '67 I was a college student in Houston, working at a summer job between school years, and living in an old rat trap of a house with no AC. Even worse, my job was "graveyard" shift (11 PM to 7 AM) so I was sleeping during the day. I had my bed about two feet from the window with a big square box fan in the window running full blast right on me. I guess you can put up with pretty much anything when you're 21 years old - I'd die if I tried that now. :cross:

 

[Mermaid]

A day? How about a whole summer? I remember back in the "olden days" (early 50's) when no one had AC - of course I just a kid then and didn't even think about it - it's just the way things were. But better than that, the summer of '67 I was a college student in Houston, working at a summer job between school years, and living in an old rat trap of a house with no AC. Even worse, my job was "graveyard" shift (11 PM to 7 AM) so I was sleeping during the day. I had my bed about two feet from the window with a big square box fan in the window running full blast right on me. I guess you can put up with pretty much anything when you're 21 years old - I'd die if I tried that now. :cross:

eeeew. I suppose with the box fan blowing on you.. you were your very own swamp cooler

I've spent a few summers without A/C. I can't imagine doing that in Texas.

 

[john727]

A day? How about a whole summer? I remember back in the "olden days" (early 50's) when no one had AC - of course I just a kid then and didn't even think about it - it's just the way things were. But better than that, the summer of '67 I was a college student in Houston, working at a summer job between school years, and living in an old rat trap of a house with no AC. Even worse, my job was "graveyard" shift (11 PM to 7 AM) so I was sleeping during the day. I had my bed about two feet from the window with a big square box fan in the window running full blast right on me. I guess you can put up with pretty much anything when you're 21 years old - I'd die if I tried that now. :cross:

Yipes...I've also spent a few summers without AC...but no where even remotely closer to TX, or even the south in any capacity.