[johnnysbug]

My Heil CH5500 series outside condenser fan cycles off quite a bit with the A/C on and the defrost cycle kicks on. Techs have replaced the fan motor, and the Defrost Control board but same problem exists. One tech said I probably needed to replace the defrost temp sensor, but he said I could do it later, which I didn't understand. I looked up the service manual for this unit and followed the troubleshooting guide and it seems it is either the Capacitor or the defrost temp sensor.

Out of curiosity, when comparing the capacitor that is installed with the one that the replacement manual has listed (OEM), the one currently installed is a 440-V, but OEM calls for a 35/3 Mfd 370-Volt Dual Round Run Capacitor. Also, the one installed has another capacitor zip tied to it. Any idea why this is the case?

Would I be best to have the OEM (370V) installed?

 

[beenthere]

The 440's are fine.

Disconnect the defrost sensor(I think your is just a defrost thermostat).

When you get a new one, install it.

It will go into defrost, as long as teh defrost senor tells it to.

Capacitors have nothing to do with it. If you hear it going into defrost.

 

[SKIP4661]

The new fan motor probably required a different capacitor. It is cheaper to do it this way than replacing the dual capacitor.

 

[johnnysbug]

That would make sense since the caps didn't look like original parts.

Thanks guys.

I will disconnect the defrost thermostat and see how that does. It definitely seems temp related now that I think about it. It runs fine at night, but during the day when it gets hot out, thats when it seems to cycle through defrost mode. I've had it off since I noticed it doing this so it would kill the compressor.

When it does go into defrost you can hear the refrigerant flowing through the pipes in the walls and it seems a lot louder than I remember. It started doing this after the last service. Should I be concerned?

Thanks again

 

[beenthere]

It would be louder in defrost during the summer.

Not good for it to be indefrost in summer. The quicker it is fixed, the better.

 

[johnnysbug]

Well, I removed the defrost thermostat and the fan ran for about 4 hours, but then it shut off again and the compressor kicked on and seemed like it was never going to kick off, so I turned it off before it got too hot.. I waited a few minutes and turned it back on and the fan came back on.. What could be turning the fan off like that if the defrost thermostat isn't connected?

At least it didn't go into defrost mode (I didn't hear refrigerant flowing this time)

 

[beenthere]

Make sure the contactor is dropping out when its suppose to.

Need to use a meter and check which componet is causing the trouble, while its doing it.

 

[johnnysbug]

Turns out it was the fan motor getting too hot. It was a 3 MFD 370V and the Cap was a 5 MFD 440.