My condenser fan stopped running and there is no cool air coming from the vents. I'm wondering now though, will the cool air stop flowing just because the fan is not running, or does this mean that the compressor has gone bad? The compressor still turns on fine (it seems a bit nosier now though) and I obviously keep it off now, until the fan will get repaired.

Also, if I need to fix the fan, is it probably just a bad motor? The power should be fine still as the same power connector powers the condenser.

Thanks so much for any replies!

I would replace the condenser fan run capacitor and the contactor (if it is over 6 years old). You might not need a new condenser fan motor at all. This is a common problem, since run capacitors are in the circuit all the time. When the condenser fan stops, freon is not going to be cooled to liquid form for pumping to the expansion valve. It's freon going from liquid to gas that creates the cooling effect in the evaporator coil. Your compressor should be fine--it has a thermal overload protection device.

In my opinion, the worst case situation is replacing the condenser fan and run capacitor. It's probably just a bad run capacitor. If the condenser fan motor is still good, oil both ports with 15 drops of ISO 32 wt. turbine oil each year. I oiled mine 2 days ago. Some motors, however, have sealed for life bearings. New contactors make your whole unit work better--they are the heart to a properly maintained AC.

That's good to hear! After asking about prices for replacement condensors and hearing that they would probably be about $1500 for my size unit (for 2100 sq ft home) I was pretty bummed. Not sure if he was adding labor to that estimate.

Thanks!

Read some of my other postings and you might decide you could do the repairs yourself.
Have the technician use his meter to test the capacitance of each condenser, don't just replace unnecessarily.

So it was just the capacitor - I probably could have saved money reading some of the other posts, but I didn't even know where or what it was. So it cost me $65 for the service call/estimate (I live in Marin where nothing is free). About a $145 for the capacitor and another $100 or so for the labor. The connector on the capacitor had blown (looked burnt).

Read some of my other postings and you might decide you could do the repairs yourself.
Have the technician use his meter to test the capacitance of each condenser, don't just replace unnecessarily.

Sorry to resurrect this topic, I was wondering if you point me to where I would locate the capacitor. I have a similar problem as described above.

Thanks

Capacitor located behind service access panel on outside condensing unit. NOTE: Usually the capacitor in the outside A/C condensing unit is a dual capacitor. One side works for the compressor and the other side for the condenser can motor.

Remember to check loose wiring at the furnace mother board. I had the issue of outside unit not kicking on and my horizontal unit was running but pushing warm air. After, calling out a HVAC guy at 6am. We both went over scenerio and within 30 minutes and $86 bones later, it was just a loose mother board wire that controlled my outside unit. The screw that held it down was loose!! ***Just like a loose sable on your car battery!! THINK before jumping to call out a guy!! My bad!!
:-(

Also remember that the capacitor and contactor have deadly voltages on them. Disconnect power to the unit before removing the cover.

Im pretty oblivious to ac units. When I turn it on... I feel a little air coming from vents... but the fan outside doesn't turn on. Not sure what to look for. I turned the breakers off then back on. Nothing. We had lightning bad yesterday.. units been on for 2 straight days... noticed this morning the fan isn't on. Everything else is though. Any ideas?