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Heat Pump will not shut off

Asked Jun 22, 2007, 08:28 AM — 53 Answers
I have a Bryant heat pump that was used very little over the winter. When I went to turn on the air conditioning a few days ago, the outdoor unit would not come on, but the indoor fan and thermostat appeared to be working fine.

I checked the contactor and it was not pulling in, when I pushed it in, the unit kicked on, but would not shut off when I turned it off at the thermostat. I had to cut the power to turn it off as to not damage the compressor.

I replaced the contactor with an identical contactor from the Bryant dealer. It was definitely bad. When I turned the power back on to the outdoor unit, it would not shut off, even when the contactor is not pulled in and the thermostat is off. I had to cut the power again.

I am 100% sure that I replced the wires correctly on the new contactor. What is the next logical thing to check?

Thanks,

Scott

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53 Answers
esquire1's Avatar
esquire1 Posts: 2,496, Reputation: 1082
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#2

Jun 22, 2007, 08:43 AM
What continues to run? The compressor and the fan or both? If only the fan, it could be the defrost relay. Just ran into this problem recently.You are sure it's wired correctly? Just verifing
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shoe's Avatar
shoe Posts: 22, Reputation: 1
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#3

Jun 22, 2007, 09:14 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by esquire1
What continues to run? The compressor and the fan or both? If only the fan, it could be the defrost relay. Just ran into this problem recently.You are sure it's wired correctly? Just verifing
Thanks for the response.

It is the outdoor compressor and the outdoor fan that continue to run even when the thermostat is not on. I cannot turn off the outdoor unit off unless I trip the breaker. The outside contactor is not pulled in while it is running.

I can turn the inside fan off by turning off the thermostat, but the outside unit continues to run. If I turn the breaker back on outside, the outdoor unit will still start up immediately even when the thermostat is off and the contactor is out. Very strange!

I wired the new contactor the same way the old one was wired. I moved the wires one at a time to be safe. I even snapped a picture before I switched it. This unit was operational last year, and nothing else has changed.

Scott
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esquire1's Avatar
esquire1 Posts: 2,496, Reputation: 1082
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#4

Jun 22, 2007, 09:42 AM
You are sure that the compressor is also running? You hear it run? You put your hand on it and it's hot and you feel it running? Not trying to be rude but just trying to help you get it going.
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shoe's Avatar
shoe Posts: 22, Reputation: 1
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#5

Jun 22, 2007, 11:06 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by esquire1
You are sure that the compressor is also running? You hear it run? You put your hand on it and it's hot and you feel it running? Not trying to be rude but just trying to help you get it going.
I will double check when I get home tonight. It sounded like it was running. I will have to pull back the cover on it when I get home in a few hours and see if I feel it running and it is warm.

I do know that more than just the fan was running. I assumed that the other louder noise coming from the unit was the compressor. It sounded like it did when it worked last year and I listened to the neighbors unit and it sounded the same.

Thanks,

Scott
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esquire1's Avatar
esquire1 Posts: 2,496, Reputation: 1082
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#6

Jun 22, 2007, 11:59 AM
When you have the cover off, also look at the wiring coming from the compressor and fan and double check them. Be sure they are connected to contactor opposite end as the 220 volts coming from the disconnect. In other words. You will have 220 volts at the bottom of the contactor and 0 volts at other end with contacts open. When 24 volts pull the contactor in, 220 volts at both ends. It is this end where power should be delivered to compressor and fan. I hope I have not confused you now.
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shoe's Avatar
shoe Posts: 22, Reputation: 1
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#7

Jun 22, 2007, 12:26 PM
Not confused at all. I have the fan and the compressor cables plugged into the opposite end of the source as they were. Here are some pictures (with old contactor). I have it hooked up exactly the same as the new one though.

http://www.shoemaker.us/temp/panel1.jpg
http://www.shoemaker.us/temp/panel.jpg

I will retrace all of these cables to see if I can figure how this fits together. When I get home. I will check the voltage at the top with the contacts open.

Thanks,

Scott
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hvacservicetech_07's Avatar
hvacservicetech_07 Posts: 1,082, Reputation: 414
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#8

Jun 22, 2007, 03:19 PM
That is a single pole contactor, so you will have 120 volts at the top all of the time, the contactor only breaks one leg. Take a picture of the schematic and post it if you can.
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shoe's Avatar
shoe Posts: 22, Reputation: 1
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#9

Jun 22, 2007, 04:42 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by hvacservicetech_07
Take a picture of the schematic and post it if you can.
Yes, it is a single pole contactor. Here is the schematic picture.

http://www.shoemaker.us/temp/schematic.jpg

Also, I have again verified that the compressor and fan are both running with the thermostat off and the contactor open.

Thanks again for the help!

Scott
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T-Top's Avatar
T-Top Posts: 1,871, Reputation: 531
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#10

Jun 22, 2007, 06:21 PM
You may have a bad crank case heater on the compressor. Undo the wires that go to it.the two black wires that go to the bottom of the compressor.One goes to L1 and the other to 21 on the contactor. If the compressor heater goes bad it can keep 240 volts on the 21 and 22 side of the contactor. It turns into a jumper wire from L1 to 22 and makes the unit run all the time.
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