My original problem was "My ac cooling is not turning off once the thermostat reaches the cutoff temps" thus the outside unit is freezing over. I signed up and searched this forum and noticed a lot of the same questions about the blower staying on and thermostat wiring( both of which I'm having), but none of them quite answered my issue, but they did give me good places to look first before posting this, and after looking again at the unit I noticed this mix-match wiring that was similar to another post about having 3wire to the thermostat. I recently replaced an old thermostat with a newer base model programmable honeywell digital thermostat, I couldn't find the box but it was the base model one at HD, it allows one program to run all the time, it said it was universal, my ac unit is a goodman (outside unit is CKL42-1A, and inside unit is AR42-1)

I noticed that from the thermostat it's 4wire, that brown cable goes to the inside unit, then there is another brown cable that comes to the inside unit from the outside unit that is 3wire, as you can see in the wiring pics, the 3wire that goes to the outside unit only connects with 2wire in the system, and I have to ask is this why my outside unit doesn't turn off when the thermostat "says" its off? And what do I need to do to get the unit working with the thermostat?

I recently had to replace a blower capacitor that had swollen up and stopped working.
The ac is cool when its first turned on, and keeps cooling just won't stop.

The outside unit will stay running if the contactor/starter is stuck on. This is the black item with the heavier wires going to it. This item is controlled by 24 volts from the thermostat. If you pull off one of the 24 volt wires and the unit does not shut off then the contactor/starter is stuck shut/contacts burnt and should be replaced.

Now if you pull off one of the low voltage wires and the unit stops running then you have a low voltage wiring problem/defective thermostat or other 24 volt power problem. The 24 volt wiring is on the sides of the unit and the wires are pushed on to 1/4 inch spade connectors. The high voltage wires are under the phillips screws. As with all electric turn power off/disconnect the item then turn power back on to test. Do not allow disconnected wire to short to ground or any other terminal.

It is very confusing to see where the different wires go to in the pictures.

Here is the normal way most are wired.
Four thermostat wires to furnace.
Red to Red
White to White
Yellow to Yellow
Green to Green (not the wire coming from outside)

Now the outside wires connect at the furnace.
Red to Yellow
White to Common of transformer.

Here is a suggestion for you. Of the three wires that come from the outside unit you are using the red and white, you do not need the green.

At the thermostat you should be using the red, white, green and yellow. Put them on the terminals marked R,W,G,Y.

Now at the heater connect the Yellow wire coming from the thermostat to the Red wire going to the outside unit. Connect the white wire from the outside to the wire coming off the transformer that would be the common.

Now connect the Red wire coming from the thermostat to the Red wire coming from the transformer. The white wire from the thermostat to the white wire in the furnace that goes to the gas valve. The green wire from the thermostat goes to the green wire that goes to the fan relay.

A couple of things: A 4 wire thermostat makes it a conventional unit.

Only two wires are necessary to turn on the AC unit outside. When 24 VAC is placed across those two control wires, the contactor clicks and the unit turns on. I've seen wire colors change midstream. Going from a 4 conductor cable to a 3 conductor cable (only two used) is a sure way of not having the NORMAL color.

Units are replaced and the cable isn't long enough and some bozo changes the color midstream.

If you purchased a heat pump thermostat and have a conventional system, then all sorts of things happen. Namely it either heats or cools, but not both.

In a conventional AC system, the thermostat is set to control the outside unit and the fan inside that circulates the air.

C or common and Y are connected to the outside unit.

Common is needed for the newer stats that are powered all the time. Between Common and R, there is always 24 VAC at all times. There was no C wire run to the old mercury thermostats.

With one of those small wirenuts removed in the outside unit, the system outside will not turn on.

If R was always connected to Y; then the outside unit would be on all the time.

The most likely causes are a wiring error or a thermostat configured improperly.

Disconnect the Y terminal at the thermostat. If the outside unit never comes on, then concentrate your efforts on the stat.

Post a link for the manual for your stat.

Thank you all for the tips, I will look for the user guide now, I'm going to run through these tips and get back to y'all with my results.

If the problem started without work done to the thermostat,fancoil or A/C, you got a stuck contactor. If it worked fine yesterday and no work was done and its not working today. Its not a miswired problem.

Again I want to thank you guys for the quick answers, it appears that I did indeed have some faulty wiring, but according though letmetellu's help I was able to re-wire and volia! Ac cooling and cutting off as it is supposed to!
Looked like they had the red from the thermostat to the furnace connected with the green, and the red and white from the outside was reversed at the furnace, white on yellow and red on common it works now thank you so much!


It is very confusing to see where the different wires go to in the pictures.

Here is the normal way most are wired.
Four thermostat wires to furnace.
Red to Red
White to White
Yellow to Yellow
Green to Green (not the wire coming from outside)

Now the outside wires connect at the furnace.
Red to Yellow
White to Common of transformer.

Here is a suggestion for you. Of the three wires that come from the outside unit you are using the red and white, you do not need the green.

At the thermostat you should be using the red, white, green and yellow. Put them on the terminals marked R,W,G,Y.

Now at the heater connect the Yellow wire coming from the thermostat to the Red wire going to the outside unit. Connect the white wire from the outside to the wire coming off of the transformer that would be the common.

Now connect the Red wire coming from the thermostat to the Red wire coming from the transformer. The white wire from the thermostat to the white wire in the furnace that goes to the gas valve. The green wire from the thermostat goes to the green wire that goes to the fan relay.

Glad you got it going.