Hi, about 3 days ago my a/c unit inside started to pour out water. I bought a wet dry vac and unclogged the pipes, and changed the filter. Now, it will work fine for about an hour, then it starts to struggle. The inside unit tries to run but it does not kick in only makes whispering noise and starts to get cold. the outside unit only makes like a starching type of noise. I also noticed when i walk by my fuse box i hear a buzzing noise. So I turned the unit off. The fan works fine, there is no ice, and it cools fine for about an hour. it cycles about every 10 mins. the outside compressor is 2 yrs old, the inside about 9. I had the freon checked last august. and the coils inside looked fine.

labman

I don't like that buzzing in the fuse box. Fuses or breakers? If you really have fuses, I would change the ones for the A/C. More likely breakers and the one for the A/C may be bad. This is very close to the point of calling a professional. I think most HVAC techs could change a breaker, and would do a better job finding another problem. You might tell a HVAC contractor you think the problem may be the breaker and see if he says call an electrician instead. It is bad enough to have to call a professional, but if you do, you want the right one.

lissy

the buzzing only happens after about an hour, it's not constant. Do you think that could be the prolem?

labman

OK things work fine for a while, and then don't, and the buzzing starts? I think the breaker is going bad. You could post the question in Electrical and Lighting, http://www.askmehelpdesk.com/electrical-and-lighting/ where tkrussel would answer. I know his answer will be shut it off until you can have a qualified person check it. I have a lot of respect for him.

lissy

could it be my thermostat? I replaced it my self 1 1/2 yr ago. Could I haved wired wrong? I'm just wondering cause I read something about that. Only cause it works fine somtimes and not others, and the comppressor is new. Any thoughts please.

labman

The buzzing in the fuse box is a problem. Unlikely to be caused by the thermostat.

I guess if a wire worked loose at the thermostat, it could result in the unit turning on and off, or even the thermostat could be bad. Next time it quits, pull the thermostat off the wall and connect the red and yellow wires together. If the unit comes on, the thermostat is the problem.

tkrussell

Please listen to labman, he is absolutely correct, this is serious. Shut if off if possible.

Any buzzing from an electrical box needs immediate attention by a professional.

Buzzing is most likely from a loose connection, and these always create a large amount of heat.

This melts the insulators in the panel and eventually fails with no power, or can short out, and are the main cause of electrical fires.

lissy

I turned the breaker off, my uncle suggested I turn it on again I guess to reset it. It's been working fine for two hours now, no noise at all. I was informed by a neighbor there was a power outage yesterday.

tkrussell

You are not listening. If the breaker was on it did not need to be reset.
Your situation will get worse, just give it time.

lissy

I am listening, however I am being told by my very opinionated uncle that is fine now and it can't be the fuse box cause my home is only 10 yrs old, and the niose only happened once. it's been working fine since yesterday. Should i call an electrician anyway?