Hard Start Kit Installed, Run Cap and Compressor Failure...
6 years ago
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Comments (0)I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction... I have two Premier 2 AT045, two speed units that were installed in 2001 but not turned up until 2007 (long story)... for about 5 months I have noticed a very hard kick in on one of them... harder compressor start and sometimes a spark noticeable if looking at the relay. I have the 10 year extended warranty on the units... so I had a GeoPro Master authorized dealer come look at it 5 months ago... they said there was no problem and charged me $85 for the 15 minute visit. Now, 5 months later, I find it not cooling tonight... so I went to look at the unit and the TStat diag LEDs at the unit were on (Y1, Y2, O, G), and I could feel the water running (open loop; valves open) but no compressor on. I turned the power off... waited an hour, then turned it back on... went through normal startup sequence... Y1/Y2/O/G from TStat, fan on... water starts... relay kicks in... compressor does not start as normal, but instead makes a grrr noise, and after about 6-7 seconds of that, the relay cuts off. TStat signals are still there and water is still flowing... I have to power down the unit to close the valves. No Error lights on at all... except the flashing Status light that indicates the microprocessor is running properly. So, my questions are... does this sound like a compressor failure or may be just capacitor? Could this have been caused by the hard start and arcing the service techs said was not a problem? (I can only compare to the 2nd unit I have which has a loud relay click but the compressor starts without that hard hit and contact bounce sound that the trouble unit had). Do authorized service providers use Waterfurnace parts or just go out and throw in any compressor they have? I want to make sure I get the proper quality compressor comparable to the original in the Waterfurnace unit I have. Any advice would be greatly appreciated....See MoreHard start kit
Comments (8)The hard start kits come with a start capacitor and relay. You need both items in addition to the run capacitor. The capacitor in the kit is wired in parrallel with the run capacitor for the compressor. The relay disconnects the start capacitor once the compressor starts up. This is important since the start capacitor will not allow the compressor motor to run correctly once it is started. The 5-2-1 compressor saver is easier to install and seems to be popular with HVAC techs. Here is a link the web site. There is a good video explaining the installation and operation. Here is a link that might be useful: 5-2-1 compressor saver...See MoreHard start kit for air conditioner
Comments (7)Single phase motors have zero starting torque. To overcome this problem a start winding is added and start capacitors are used to produce some phase shift. The more capacitance present the closer to a 90 degree phase shift and the greater the starting torque (the inductance of the start winding itself cancels some of the phase shift form the start capacitor). At startup an induction motor pulls current limited by the resistance of the windings (very low) and the inductance at 60 Hz of the windings and iron present in the motor. The faster the motor can be brought up to operating speed the faster this excess current (and its heating effects) can be reduced the better for long term reliability. The typical hard start kit adds some additional start capacitance and a 'timer' to pull it out of the circuit. Just about anything that can reduce the starting current demand will improve long term reliability. many units come with hard start kits already installed, and just about all the rest recommend them if the run to the unit is long or prolonged starting is present. A larger start capacitance is never a problem. Capacitors are expensive, and the engineering around the selection of the cap value is to minimize the capacitance needed to save money....See MoreAC compressor takes several attempts to start - any ideas??
Comments (26)Extremely unlikely because as the guy said... eventually the unit starts and runs fine. Voltage drop = no run. "If voltage drop occurred while unit was running... it would not stay running." No where does OP say anything about unit cutting out while after starting and running. You have to know what you are talking about to come to such conclusions. LOL. Does a car keep running if there is no gas? Can a car be hard to start, but then run fine once started? Yeah ok, common sense. While a car is a poor comparison more people understand the operation of a car than anything else I could use as an example. voltage drops tend to stay, not magically disappear and reappear. But thanks for playing.... In over 22 years of diagnosing only 1 voltage drop problem... if you have a voltage drop you will know it quite easily. (More complex problems in regards to start up? Uh no. Guess again and again and again.) More common to drop a leg from the pole... while also rare that's happened about half dozen times in 22 years of running service. Central AC Unit won't start with only 120v available, that confuses people because some things inside the house will still operate normally as long as it doesn't require the full 240v to operate. In Vegas, they give you odds... in a forum board that's also what I give. Magic 8 ball --- out....See MoreRelated Professionals
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