Fan not turning on

YOURHANDYMAN · 09-10-2009, 11:33 AM

about 10 days ago my units fan stopped working and when spun would keep going by itself and has apparently been working ok till today. this time the fan would not start when spun. The compressor appears to work and the blower works. is this just the capacitor or have i now lost my fan motor too?

kenmac · 09-10-2009, 01:55 PM

Could be the fan... Check the cap.

hvaclover · 09-10-2009, 02:01 PM

If you have a meter with capacitance function check the run Cap disconnected from system...if the cap is good it will show with in 10% of rating printed on it.

YOURHANDYMAN · 09-15-2009, 03:41 PM

1.
how can tell if the fan has gone bad? the first time it dint work it was very hard to spin. then like i said it took off and keep running cycling on and off like normal for about 10 days. this time it spins very freely but wont stay spinning. could that happen if the capacitor is bad and the fan still be good?

2.
I dont know much about meters. so if u can recommend one that would either be extremely cheap or serve several functions, i would appreciate it. and what should this meter cost? and where can i get it? would home depot or lowe's have it. or am i gonna have to go to graingers or johnston supply.

3.although there are 5 wires coming out of my capacitor it appears that there are only 3 terminals some with multi- connections . it is probably a dual capacitor. what is my placement of the leads to get a proper reading.

4.
if i have to replace the capacitor , i need to know how to replace a dual compacitor with 2 single capacitors. making dual capacitor seem quite stupid (other than greed) to me for the exact reason that i am experiencing now . that one side of the cap is still working while the other appears to be malfunctioning. the single capacitors i have priced run about $12.50 and a dual runs about $60

btw I am quite familiar with evap coolers and i am wondering what the difference in the motor for them vs. the fan motor for the ac condensor. why can an evap motor run without a capacitor and the ac cond fan cannot?

hennyh · 09-15-2009, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YOURHANDYMAN

1.
how can tell if the fan has gone bad? the first time it dint work it was very hard to spin. then like i said it took off and keep running cycling on and off like normal for about 10 days. this time it spins very freely but wont stay spinning. could that happen if the capacitor is bad and the fan still be good?

It's a bad sign if the fan is hard to spin manually with all power disconnected. That suggests bearing problems or something interferring with it.

A fan should be easy to spin by hand with no lateral wobble and both the start and run windings should show the correct resistance.

If it runs, then check the amperage draw and compare it with the specs.

Quote:

2.
I dont know much about meters. so if u can recommend one that would either be extremely cheap or serve several functions, i would appreciate it. and what should this meter cost? and where can i get it? would home depot or lowe's have it. or am i gonna have to go to graingers or johnston supply.

If you want cheap then get a used analog meter and use the resistance scale to watch the deflection of the meter and the gradual return back to high resistance. Do a google search for capacitor testing.

However a Fluke 87 makes this easy.

Quote:

3.although there are 5 wires coming out of my capacitor it appears that there are only 3 terminals some with multi- connections . it is probably a dual capacitor. what is my placement of the leads to get a proper reading.

F to common is fan, H to common is compressor. (H=hermetic)

Quote:

4.
if i have to replace the capacitor , i need to know how to replace a dual compacitor with 2 single capacitors. making dual capacitor seem quite stupid (other than greed) to me for the exact reason that i am experiencing now . that one side of the cap is still working while the other appears to be malfunctioning. the single capacitors i have priced run about $12.50 and a dual runs about $60

Your choice. You can substitute 2 singles or go with a dual or even go with an Amrad multitap cap. Just make sure voltage spec is > or = to the cap you're replacing and the capacitance is the same.

Quote:

btw I am quite familiar with evap coolers and i am wondering what the difference in the motor for them vs. the fan motor for the ac condensor. why can an evap motor run without a capacitor and the ac cond fan cannot?

Different designs. Not all motors require a capacitor. However motors that need a lot of starting torque are almost always split phase with capacitor(s) providing the split.