I have been away from my house for the last 6 months and just got back this weekend. I tried turning on my AC and noticed the breaker was tripped. I reset the breaker and it tripped again. I had a technician look at the unit and he concluded that the compressor was shorted and need to be replaced. To verify he also tried another breaker to ensure it was not the culprit but it tripped as well. I'm actually closing on the sale of this house in 5 days and am not looking forward to sinking another $1,500 into the house. The unit is a 6 year old Janitrol/Goodman furnace, Any other reason that could result in a short? Does the whole compressor need to be replaced? Any help would be appreciated.

Someone should check for a burned /disconnected compressor wire that runs from the contactor to the connect post on the compressor itself,, or a shorted hot wire that runs from the breaker to the disconnect box,, also check the disconnect box for a burned out/shorted wire

The thing that bothers me is that if the tech knew the compressor was grounded why did he try a new breaker? It may just take a super boost(hard start kit) to get it back up and going. Get a second opinion from a local.

There could be other reasons for the overload. You said you have been away for 6 months, implying that A/C was not used. Kind of strange that compressor could develop short not being used.

I'd pull the outside disconnect and see if the breaker tripped. If it does not I'd disconnect the compressor and see if breaker trips. If it does not I'd check compressor terminals. There should be no continuity between any of the terminals and ground. There should be continuity between the common and start terminal. There should be continuity between the common and run terminals. There should be no continuity between the start and run terminals.

If breaker trips with compressor disconnected, check fan motor.

Look for obvious loose or damaged wiring. Recently had squirrels eat insulation of control wiring. While this did not trip breaker it did cause condenser unit to fail.

The thing that bothers me is that if the tech knew the compressor was grounded why did he try a new breaker? It may just take a super boost(hard start kit) to get it back up and going. Get a second opinion from a local.

Yea you would think
But why didn`t he check other causes of a dead shorted wiring system,that I mentioned? / a second openion is sound advice, or ask the last company to send a more experanced tech,, you done paid for it

I have been away from my house for the last 6 months and just got back this weekend. I tried turning on my AC and noticed the breaker was tripped. I reset the breaker and it tripped again. I had a technician look at the unit and he concluded that the compressor was shorted and need to be replaced. To verify he also tried another breaker to ensure it was not the culprit but it tripped as well. I'm actually closing on the sale of this house in 5 days and am not looking forward to sinking another $1,500 into the house. The unit is a 6 year old Janitrol/Goodman furnace, Any other reason that could result in a short? Does the whole compressor need to be replaced? Any help would be appreciated.

Guys,

Thanks for the suggestions. I tried several things including disconnecting the compressor (fan ran fine) and continuity checks. I found continuity between the start and run terminals and overall think it is the compressor.

There is more to the story. Back in January my neighbor noticed that the unit kept cycling and called me. We had the unit serviced and the guy replaced the capacitor. The unit seemed to function properly afterwards. In speaking with my realtor today she said that she was in the house about a week ago and it was freezing so I know the unit must just have failed. When I was out looking at the unit today I noticed that there was some loose parts laying on the lower level of the unit out of plain sight. One part was the plastic cap that goes over the terminals on the compressor so these have been exposed to the elements. The other part was a short yello wire and upon looking at the schematic realize it was the wire that went from the Start Assist device to the capacitor. Do you think having either of these two parts removed from the unit since January resulted in the compressor failing? I'm certainly going to bring this issue up to the owner of my HVAC company.

(quote) I found continuity between the start and run terminals and overall think it is the compressor.

SOUNDS LIKE YOU MIGHT BE RIGHT,, but can`t understand the compressor going bad when unused,, unless you have a heatpump and it was being used during the winter months

Did you check between ground and all the compressor terminals? Very few compressors will trip the breaker just from being locked up. Also did you check the wirers where they go in the compressor?

(quote) I found continuity between the start and run terminals and overall think it is the compressor.

SOUNDS LIKE YOU MIGHT BE RIGHT,,,,,but can`t understand the compressor going bad when unused,,,unless you have a heatpump and it was being used during the winter months

wmproop,

I live in SE Virginia which gets in the mid twenties at night but typically heat to above freezing during the day. The standard heating/cooling configuration is to have two outdoor units, a heatpump for the 2nd floor and a gas furnace/AC unit for the first. It is the first floor unit that is having the problem. I just assumed these things only used the compressor for the AC since is has a natural burner for heat. Does the unit also leverage a heat pump cycle in addition to the burner in the winter? I have not been living in th house but had the heat set to 60 degrees. I'm sure my realtor turned on the AC this spring when she was showing the house so I'm sure it has been used. Also, she mentioned this morning to me the housing was freezing just last week so someone may have cranked it way down so it ran continuosly. I guess stuff like this happens when you are nt there to supervise. Any thoughts on the missing wire I discussed above?

If the missing wire and compressor lead cover were found this way after the tech looked at it, he probabley just left them off after testing the compressor, knowing that it was the problem and would have to be replaced anyway. Sounds like a classic case of a bad compressor. If you are in the midst of selling the home, you will either need to have it replaced, or make sure the new buyer knows of the problem, and maybe deduct a little from the asking price, letting them deal with it. Good luck and I hope all goes smoothly. Please let us know how it turns out.

There should be continuity between all three leads on compressor unless internal overload is tripped. There should be no continuity between any of the leads and compressor casing.