Central AC won't shut off, runs continuously
16 years ago
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Comments (7)
- 16 years ago
- 16 years ago
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AC won't shut off with HW IAQ VisionPro T-stat
Comments (4)Does the thermostat say "Cool On"? You may want to have the installers set the thermostat to its less agressive temperature control setting (or they may have inadvertantly set it to the opposite). Perhaps it needs to run constantly to maintain temperature if its very warm outside. Will it shut off if you raise the temp?...See MoreCentral AC won't shut off, runs continuously
Comments (5)dave Is it just the outside condensing unit that continues to run or do both the outside unit and the attic air handler continnue to run? If only the outside unit then yes you probably do have a contactor that is stuck closed and will need to be replaced. You can test your contactor by removing the low voltage (24 volts) control wires from the base of the contactor then power back up and try the unit again, if the contactor is still pulled in (stuck closed) and the compressor and fan still run on the outside unit without the control wiring attached then yes the contactor is bad. Note you will need to cut the power off for the outside unit PLUS the attic air handler to shut off all the power. The attic air handler contains the 24 volt transformer and if you do not shut it down there could still be 24 volts coming to the outside unit thru the low voltage wiring. be careful out there people. I would never ever touch any electrical device unless it is proved to be off using a known good and correctly set voltage meter to check it. If you do not have a volatge tester and do not have some knowledge of how to use one please have someone else check the unit out....See Morecan a central AC run off a portable generator?
Comments (45)So, for the folks who are running their central AC on a small generator, there are some things to consider so you don’t damage your ac. Just because it’s working doesn’t mean it’s not harming your central ac. 1st you need to have a quick reading voltage meter your typical cheapie can’t read ms long voltage changes. What your looking for is when your ac starts what is the instantaneous voltage drop. If your seeing under 208V when starting your ac, your accelerating wear on your motor windings on the compressor. Your compressor takes a certain amount of wattage which varies depending on temperature. If your ac says 90lra at 208v you need 18,720 starting watts, to start the ac without a voltage drop. If your generator can’t supply the needed power, you’ll slow the engine down and bog the generator causing its output voltage to drop, and say it’s outputting only 185v starting the ac. That means your ac is now drawing 18720/185=101 amps, and for a longer period of time. at low voltage the ac will take longer to start, heating the motor winding on your ac significantly more, once the insulation degrade or the wiring melts in the ac your compressor is done, So it’s not that it can’t be done, but it will wear your compressor a lot more quickly. Also if your ac doesnt sound the same while running it’s because the motor is vibrating more due to a highly distorted ac wave form or high THD from the generator. This extra vibration will wear the compressor more quickly and if bad enough destroy the motor. So some things to keep in mind when running a central ac on a generator. something highly recommended for small generators is leave the ac running all the time to reduce starts which damage the motors and or install a soft start kit to reduce LRA. If the ac is noisy on generator power get a different generator with a low thd, make sure it’s grounded properly if needed and consider upgrading your ac run capacitor to a 440v. Real bottom line, a cheap generator can run a very expensive ac. But if it kills your ac you didn’t really save money by buying a cheap generator....See MoreAc wont shut off when thermostat reaches shut off temp.
Comments (23)Anything is possible Crystal so yes t-stats often go bad same as other components. You are asking us to solve things that someone couldn't solve while laying hands on it. Adding to the near impossible task,you aren't giving much information for us to go on. Statments like "My ac never froze up" and "copper pipes outside are cold and wet like they should be"are misleading at best,outright inaccurate at worst. I don't have time to win debates and aurguments in order to answer questions for you. Get a different tech to look at it....See More- 16 years ago
- 16 years ago
- 16 years ago
- 16 years ago
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