Hi:

Our A/C stopped working the other day, I think we have a deeper problem
with the control wiring or thermostat since I believe what caused this
is the unit was running around the clock whether the system was calling
for A/C or not, but now the damage may be done.

Now the fan works fine, the system comes on fine when we turned on, but
I don't believe the compressor is coming on or at least it's not working
properly. It does get hot (waiting for it to cool down right now to do
more troubleshooting). I opened up the area that contains the control
wiring and there is what appears to me to be a capacitor and it looks in
pretty rough shape. The casing has broken open a bit and is rusted badly.

Here is a picture:


http://mirkwood.no-ip.org:8081/20120624_140736.jpg


I've done a little research and there are a multitude of things that can
cause a compressor to fail and pretty much the only thing I'm
comfortable fooling with by myself is swapping out this capacitor. So
the question is, even if the capacitor is bad, would it even help
replacing it? Why would the compressor get hot if the capacitor wasn't
helping it start in the first place? Also, is there anything else easy
I could check into?

The system is an old Westinghouse model, I've accepted that I'm probably
going to have it replaced but if I could get a couple of weeks out of it
now I could at least do this on my own terms and not buy something under
pressure.

It's Sunday so i can't get a new capacitor today, so I thought I'd ease
my mind by asking some questions. Any help is appreciated, thanks in
advance.

"pawn" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:sYIFr.37165$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi:
>
> Our A/C stopped working the other day, I think we have a deeper problem
> with the control wiring or thermostat since I believe what caused this is
> the unit was running around the clock whether the system was calling for
> A/C or not, but now the damage may be done.
>
> Now the fan works fine, the system comes on fine when we turned on, but I
> don't believe the compressor is coming on or at least it's not working
> properly. It does get hot (waiting for it to cool down right now to do
> more troubleshooting). I opened up the area that contains the control
> wiring and there is what appears to me to be a capacitor and it looks in
> pretty rough shape. The casing has broken open a bit and is rusted badly.
>
> Here is a picture:
>
>
> http://mirkwood.no-ip.org:8081/20120624_140736.jpg
>
>
> I've done a little research and there are a multitude of things that can
> cause a compressor to fail and pretty much the only thing I'm comfortable
> fooling with by myself is swapping out this capacitor. So the question
> is, even if the capacitor is bad, would it even help replacing it? Why
> would the compressor get hot if the capacitor wasn't helping it start in
> the first place? Also, is there anything else easy I could check into?
>
> The system is an old Westinghouse model, I've accepted that I'm probably
> going to have it replaced but if I could get a couple of weeks out of it
> now I could at least do this on my own terms and not buy something under
> pressure.
>
> It's Sunday so i can't get a new capacitor today, so I thought I'd ease my
> mind by asking some questions. Any help is appreciated, thanks in
> advance.
>

The capacitor is toast.... Unless you can read the information on the side
of it, your going to need the unit model and serial number when you get to
the supply house to get the correct value replacement. Once the capacitor is
replaced, the next questions are going to be... did anything else get taken
out when the capacitor went? Was there another cause that made it blow up,
other than age??

Your best plan of attack is most likely to get it repaired and running to
buy you a little time to put money back or arrange financing to replace the
old system.

On 6/24/2012 6:41 PM, Steve wrote:
> "pawn"<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:sYIFr.37165$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Hi:
>>
>> Our A/C stopped working the other day, I think we have a deeper problem
>> with the control wiring or thermostat since I believe what caused this is
>> the unit was running around the clock whether the system was calling for
>> A/C or not, but now the damage may be done.
>>
>> Now the fan works fine, the system comes on fine when we turned on, but I
>> don't believe the compressor is coming on or at least it's not working
>> properly. It does get hot (waiting for it to cool down right now to do
>> more troubleshooting). I opened up the area that contains the control
>> wiring and there is what appears to me to be a capacitor and it looks in
>> pretty rough shape. The casing has broken open a bit and is rusted badly.
>>
>> Here is a picture:
>>
>>
>> http://mirkwood.no-ip.org:8081/20120624_140736.jpg
>>
>>
>> I've done a little research and there are a multitude of things that can
>> cause a compressor to fail and pretty much the only thing I'm comfortable
>> fooling with by myself is swapping out this capacitor. So the question
>> is, even if the capacitor is bad, would it even help replacing it? Why
>> would the compressor get hot if the capacitor wasn't helping it start in
>> the first place? Also, is there anything else easy I could check into?
>>
>> The system is an old Westinghouse model, I've accepted that I'm probably
>> going to have it replaced but if I could get a couple of weeks out of it
>> now I could at least do this on my own terms and not buy something under
>> pressure.
>>
>> It's Sunday so i can't get a new capacitor today, so I thought I'd ease my
>> mind by asking some questions. Any help is appreciated, thanks in
>> advance.
>>
>
> The capacitor is toast.... Unless you can read the information on the side
> of it, your going to need the unit model and serial number when you get to
> the supply house to get the correct value replacement. Once the capacitor is
> replaced, the next questions are going to be... did anything else get taken
> out when the capacitor went? Was there another cause that made it blow up,
> other than age??
>
> Your best plan of attack is most likely to get it repaired and running to
> buy you a little time to put money back or arrange financing to replace the
> old system.
>
>

Thanks for the responses all. I agree with above. I think there was an
underlying cause: the system was running non-stop for at least 2 days
before I even knew it, then the compressor started to give out. I'm
going to start by replacing the capacitor and getting a new thermostat
to see how that goes, then start shopping for something new and more
efficient anyway.

Thanks again.

"pawn" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:96OFr.12648$(E-Mail Removed)...
> On 6/24/2012 6:41 PM, Steve wrote:
>> "pawn"<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:sYIFr.37165$(E-Mail Removed)...
>>> Hi:
>>>
>>> Our A/C stopped working the other day, I think we have a deeper problem
>>> with the control wiring or thermostat since I believe what caused this
>>> is
>>> the unit was running around the clock whether the system was calling for
>>> A/C or not, but now the damage may be done.
>>>
>>> Now the fan works fine, the system comes on fine when we turned on, but
>>> I
>>> don't believe the compressor is coming on or at least it's not working
>>> properly. It does get hot (waiting for it to cool down right now to do
>>> more troubleshooting). I opened up the area that contains the control
>>> wiring and there is what appears to me to be a capacitor and it looks in
>>> pretty rough shape. The casing has broken open a bit and is rusted
>>> badly.
>>>
>>> Here is a picture:
>>>
>>>
>>> http://mirkwood.no-ip.org:8081/20120624_140736.jpg
>>>
>>>
>>> I've done a little research and there are a multitude of things that can
>>> cause a compressor to fail and pretty much the only thing I'm
>>> comfortable
>>> fooling with by myself is swapping out this capacitor. So the question
>>> is, even if the capacitor is bad, would it even help replacing it? Why
>>> would the compressor get hot if the capacitor wasn't helping it start in
>>> the first place? Also, is there anything else easy I could check into?
>>>
>>> The system is an old Westinghouse model, I've accepted that I'm probably
>>> going to have it replaced but if I could get a couple of weeks out of it
>>> now I could at least do this on my own terms and not buy something under
>>> pressure.
>>>
>>> It's Sunday so i can't get a new capacitor today, so I thought I'd ease
>>> my
>>> mind by asking some questions. Any help is appreciated, thanks in
>>> advance.
>>>
>>
>> The capacitor is toast.... Unless you can read the information on the
>> side
>> of it, your going to need the unit model and serial number when you get
>> to
>> the supply house to get the correct value replacement. Once the capacitor
>> is
>> replaced, the next questions are going to be... did anything else get
>> taken
>> out when the capacitor went? Was there another cause that made it blow
>> up,
>> other than age??
>>
>> Your best plan of attack is most likely to get it repaired and running to
>> buy you a little time to put money back or arrange financing to replace
>> the
>> old system.
>>
>>
>
> Thanks for the responses all. I agree with above. I think there was an
> underlying cause: the system was running non-stop for at least 2 days
> before I even knew it, then the compressor started to give out. I'm going
> to start by replacing the capacitor and getting a new thermostat to see
> how that goes, then start shopping for something new and more efficient
> anyway.
>
> Thanks again.
>
Replacing the thermostat is a waste of money 99% of the time. When your new
system is installed, the installer should put in a new digital one for you
as part of the install. if the system was running non-stop for 2 days, you
have another problem that will need to be corrected by a tech.

On 6/24/2012 2:25 PM, pawn wrote:

(snip)

FYI: Replacing the capacitor had no effect. I called a tech over and
he said the compressor is seized, probably due to the starter relay
being fused closed (on) and it was running non-stop without me knowing
(probably should have noticed but, you know).

Getting a new system Tuesday. Thanks foe the info/help to those that
offered it.