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    jdjohn84's Avatar
    jdjohn84 Posts: 14, Reputation: 0
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    #1

    Jun 8, 2010, 05:42 AM
    Condenser fan motor or capacitor
    I noticed my outside unit buzzing the other day, and the fan was not running. The unit is about 7 years old. I changed the capacitor yesterday, and the unit worked for about 5-10 minutes, but then shut down again with the fan stopping and the buzzing again. I'm 99% sure the buzzing is coming from the fan motor, so that was my next guess of what to change.

    Does that sound like the best next step? Should the new capacitor still be okay? At one point I think the pressure release valve opened because I heard a loud hissing. Does that mean some refrigerant escaped?

    Thanks
    jdjohn84's Avatar
    jdjohn84 Posts: 14, Reputation: 0
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    #2

    Jun 8, 2010, 05:50 AM

    I forgot to mention that the fan seizes and is hard to turn by hand when the power is on and buzzing is occurring. When the power is off the fan will spin freely.
    hvac1000's Avatar
    hvac1000 Posts: 14,540, Reputation: 435
    Heating & Air Conditioning Expert
    		  
    #3

    Jun 8, 2010, 03:57 PM
    I believe you will be replacing the motor and a new capacitor for that motor you are replacing.
    jdjohn84's Avatar
    jdjohn84 Posts: 14, Reputation: 0
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    #4

    Jun 8, 2010, 08:57 PM

    It was the motor. When purchasing, though, I had a problem. My existing motor was 1/3hp and 5/370. The only 5/370 motors were 1/4hp. So I ended up getting a 7.5/370 1/3hp motor, but also had to get a 35+7.5 dual-run capacitor, and toss the 35+5 capacitor I had just purchasd the day before. None of it was exactly an OEM fit, but I made it work. I also realized that I needed to reverse the motor AFTER I had finished installation.

    But it works now, so I fixed it myself for about $110 and a few hours of sweat.
    hvac1000's Avatar
    hvac1000 Posts: 14,540, Reputation: 435
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    #5

    Jun 9, 2010, 04:25 AM
    You could have just bought a new 7.5 capacitor and wired it in for the new motor since the compressor would have still used the older 35 MFD side on the old capacitor. Now if you do not know how to wire in two separate capacitors you were better off buying a new combo capacitor like you did. Glad you got it running.
    jdjohn84's Avatar
    jdjohn84 Posts: 14, Reputation: 0
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    #6

    Jun 9, 2010, 11:21 AM

    Yeah, that was an option, but I didn't want to hassle trying to figure out where I could mount another cap. For $12 I just bought a new dual-run cap.
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