I have a Carrier Central Air Unit, last night the vents started blowing warm air. The blower in the basement was obviously working so I went outside to find that part of the unit not operating. I went to the breaker in the basement to find it tripped.
I turned off the ac unit at the thermostat and then reset the breaker. Then as soon as I turned on the unit and the blower came on the breaker trips again and the outside unit shuts off. The blower still blows but only warm air.
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

,the breaker itself could be bad,is it weak ?or does the spring inside the breaker feel strong when turning it back on,look at your outside disconnect ,could have overheated and shorted out check for any wireing that may be shorted out,the black cover on the compressor pull it off and see if maybe the connectors might be burned or loose and touching together or grounded out,if all looks good and no repair is needed,next think about your compressor itself might be locked or shorted out

Well I went out and flipped the switch off and on that is on the house next to the compressor. The compressor is now on and has been for about an hour but the air coming out of the vents in the house is still warm
Is there anything else I should check or try

The fan on the outside unit might be running giving you the feeling that the unit is working BUT the compressor inside the outside unit is not working so you have no cool air.

Unless you have tools and a meter(and know how to use it) to check the outside unit with it is best left to a professional ON SITE service person.

In this case the breaker probably tripped for a reason of over current draw and that is usually a compressor problem.

Well I actually have already set up an appointment for tomorrow, I was just hoping to be able to survive the night LOL it's 85 in the house already. The company coming out replaced my coil last year as it kept freezing up evidently because of a leak.

Well the service man came out and they sent me a quote, I am a bit leery of it though. The quote includes
The compressor-under warranty
Compressor installation
Compressor plug, installed
8lbs of R22
3/8 Filter Drier
An EPA Package?
Labor for 2 Techs for 6 hours each, 12 hours total
Total $1500.00

I talked to a friend of mine and he said this should be approximately 3-5 hours for 1 Tech, he said a second tech would just be in the way.
I am going to seek another estimate/quote, but wanted to see if this is commonplace as far as the numbers go

That is a complete RIP OFF. Six hundred would be about right for that job.

1st-the compressor is very heavy for one man to lift out and replace with a new one.
But I`ll agree 12 hours labor is a bit much (big bit)
2nd, seeking another estimate /quote is a good idea
3rd,how old is your condenser unit?-it might be the time to think about replacing the entire unit,there are some good equipment out there that will give you a 10 year warranty,and for a little more a heatpump will save you bucks on your heat bill.

The whole split unit system was installed brand new when the house was built in April 2005, the AC is electric and the Heat is gas. The company that just came out and gave the quote/estimate happens to be a client of ours, I am a manager of a collection agency. I was hoping for a little tit for tat and maybe getting a good deal. The company I used last year has evidently gone out of business.

I am scrounging a bit however because my son knows an HVAC technician that said he would put it in for us but Carrier says they need to have a licensed technicial call them to make arrangements to have a warranty compressor sent from one of their regional distributors. They won't just send one to me. I imagine that is just standard practice. I just need to find out if the friend of my son is in fact a licensed technician. While I don't want to fork out a ton of money, I don't want the job done on a wing and a prayer either.

licensed technician.

In this area there is no license requires except

EPA cert to recover/use refrigerant.

Now they might be talking about one of there licensed or dealer will have to order/accept the compressor.

All manufactures try to make sure the compressor that they are covering under warranty will be installed correctly to prevent future problem during the warranty period.

Remember to replace the liquid line drier if one is in the unit OR add a drier to the liquid line/high side.

If it is a burn out or high acid situation use a suction/low side drier.

# 15 silver is my stick of choice for brazing.

Make sure a long vacuum is pulled on the system to help remove air and non condensables .