AC electrical wires...and a weed eater... haha

26981 Views 15 Replies 5 Participants Last post by Raydog, Jul 19, 2011

Raydog

Discussion Starter · Jul 17, 2011

hey guys, sorry for the first post to be a question, but...i snagged an electrical wire running from the house to my AC unit when i was weed eating earlier...it didnt cut the wire, but pulled it some and shut the system down... i cut the power to the house off and i opened the back housing of the ac unit and everything looks to be in order (wires look connected and it looks the same as ones on the smaller ac unit next to it) ...

i guess my question is, is there a fuse that i might have blown and if so where is it? is there possibly a Reset switch that i could try? or do you have any other suggestions? like i said, the wires attatched to the motor etc. dont look like they have been pulled away or anything of that nature...

thanks for any feedback...i would love to get away with fixing this myself and saving the cost of having an electrician come out and tell me it was an easy fix.
im sure this has happened to people before.

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gregzoll

· #2 · Jul 17, 2011

Should be a disconnect for it on the wall outside by the units. BTW, why did you disco the power to the whole structure? Was there a fire when you shorted out the feed to the A/C?

Raydog

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 17, 2011

well, the wire that i snagged goes into the brick wall of the house and above it is a power box of some sort....i will open that thing in the morning, but i didnt open it today just because i didnt think a wire coming from the brick wall would go to that box...hopefull that box holds the answer to my problem

greg, im not at all educated on wiring or ac units...so when it cut off, the first thing i did was go to the breaker box and the ac breaker off, then back on... as for asking why i turned all the power off... man i know just enough to shock the sh!t outta myself...haha...but seriously, i was just being overly cautious since i would be touching around some wires and stuff.

gregzoll

· #4 · Jul 17, 2011

There should be a "whip" from the a/c to the disconnect box on the outside. Otherwise, it would disco inside at the main power panel, or a sub panel. From the unit, you should have a lineset, a feed of #18 or #20 bell wire for the relay connection back to the inside unit, and the a/c power whip. You are welcome to post pic's if in question.

mpoulton

· #5 · Jul 17, 2011

Need pics, or a much better description of the wire. I think you may be talking about the thermostat/control wires, not the power supply for the condenser.

Raydog

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jul 17, 2011

its my girlfriends house and im not there, but will be there first thing in the morning and ill take some pics of it all... should have done it before hand...i appreciate the help, greg.

fwiw, the breaker box is located inside the garage on the opposite side of the A/C unit

jbfan

· #7 · Jul 18, 2011

What did the wire look like?

I also think it was the thermastat wire.

Raydog

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jul 18, 2011

guys, its a thin brown wire running from the brick wall and inside it contains 4 smaller wires... red, white, baby blue and lime green... the red and white wires appear to be the only ones that attach to anything (i say this because the bblue and lgreen ones serve no purpose on the smaller unit outside as well...they appear to be connected the same way...the red and white are screwed together inside the housing to 2 bigger blue wires who have small metal attachments on their ends...those screw onto something in the back box on the a/c unit... so very good chance it could be the thermostat wire that is the issue...

the large grey tubing isnt harmed ...i assume thats the coolant tube.

i will post some pics in the morning and hopefully you guys can log on real quick and throw me an idea or two... if it is the thermo wire, what is my next step to fixing this?

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gregzoll

· #9 · Jul 18, 2011

You can actually fix the cut Red & White, or just swap the other colors, but make sure you do the same on the other end. Make sure first, before changing that they are at the other end in the air handler/furnace. You can also place against the lineset & tape to hold against the foam insulation, so that it does not happen again. They actually make a Panduit type PVC covering that you can use to cover the lineset, which helps in keeping damage to a min.

You can also use the beanies that have the gel in them, to fix the cut wire, without having to swap leads.

Raydog

Discussion Starter · #10 · Jul 18, 2011

gregzoll said:
You can actually fix the cut Red & White, or just swap the other colors, but make sure you do the same on the other end. Make sure first, before changing that they are at the other end in the air handler/furnace. You can also place against the lineset & tape to hold against the foam insulation, so that it does not happen again. They actually make a Panduit type PVC covering that you can use to cover the lineset, which helps in keeping damage to a min.

You can also use the beanies that have the gel in them, to fix the cut wire, without having to swap leads.

okay, this is where i am completely ignorant as to what i need to do....where is the other end? im assuming there is a box of some sort upstairs in the attic where the inside of the unit is located...man i have some investigating to do ... hah

gregzoll

· #11 · Jul 18, 2011

It can be in the attic, a closet on the first floor, or in the basement. Yes, you are going to have to go over there to find out. Hopefully it is not too late this week, because she may look for a new boyfriend if you take too long to fix it.

Raydog

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jul 18, 2011

yep...ill give it tomorrow and if i need to go get something, ill drag it out till tuesday...after that, its my ass if its not fixed tuesday... the smaller unit keeps the big bedroom cool and part of the living area downstairs, but thats it...she doesnt have the upstairs completed and i only go up there once a month to change out the air filters...hence part of the reason im very unfamiliar with anything over there...

gregzoll

· #13 · Jul 18, 2011

The Beanies, you can get at Radio Shack. If you go to a Lowe's or Home Depot, they should be in the Electrical aisle where the wire nuts & tools are. They are called "Telephone/Alarm Wire Splice Connectors". Since this is outdoors/wet area, make sure they are the ones with the gel inside. You can get the #18 or #20 Alarm wire from radioshack in small spools, same with Lowe's.

mpoulton

· #14 · Jul 18, 2011

This is an easy fix. As Greg said, just repair the red and white wires. This is a 24V control circuit, so there is no shock hazard. However, you might want to turn it off while working on it to avoid accidental short circuits (which would be more annoying than dangerous). The control circuit is powered from the furnace/air handler though, not the outdoor condenser unit.

kbsparky

· #15 · Jul 18, 2011

IF you shorted out the wires while the unit was running, you may have blown a control fuse or transformer.

While this is an easy fix, it may be a bit complicated to find, especially when dealing with today's modern air handler units. You may have to call in an HVAC contractor for repairs....

Raydog

Discussion Starter · #16 · Jul 19, 2011

kbsparky said:
IF you shorted out the wires while the unit was running, you may have blown a control fuse or transformer.

While this is an easy fix, it may be a bit complicated to find, especially when dealing with today's modern air handler units. You may have to call in an HVAC contractor for repairs....

the gf went over my head and called someone out before i got a chance to look around more... said both the transformer and fuse crapped out and had some bad wires outside...$250 for his time/parts/labor etc... i doubt its anything that i really wanted to tackle or even could...

thanks for the insight though guys. i appreciate it.

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