Model #38VE003300
Serial#6954195
? Number 99NA505343
Manufacturer: Carrier

I need to know the year of manufacture, and month if possible.

I had a Comverge installed on my system in the summer of 2013. The wires to the capacitor are cut. The capacitor is a white, flat, plastic unit. The Comverge appears to have taken over the function of the capacitor. It turns my unit off for 15 minute intervals once every hour during peak usage days. I believe it is malfunctioning.

My compressor and fan will come on shortly after the thermostat is turned on. However, they stay on for a very brief period of 5-10 seconds and then both shut off. They will repeat this pattern. They will not stay on. I was looking at the relay during this process and noticed that it closes then opens without turning the thermostat off. The thermostat is in Cool/Auto setting when it does this. I also noticed that the fan may stay on independent of the compressor.

The other parts inside of the unit are as follows:
Aside from the disconnected capacitor, there is a Relay, a small black unit with no identifying name, and a Coil, along with several wires. The contacts are the type where the connectors slide on and off for both the small black unit and Coil. They look like there may be some rust or corrosion on them. It looks like the wires may have run from the capacitor to the small black unit. With all the wires and cobwebs in there, it is a bit difficult to tell, but if you need to know, I can definitely look more closely to find out where they did run to.

The reason I believe the Comverge may be malfunctioning is because of the fact that the compressor and fan shut off so soon after the AC is turned on and after they've come on.

I am a skilled do-it-yourselfer who, given enough info, as well as the proper info, can generally figure out the problem and how to repair it. If not, then I like to have an idea of what is wrong before I call a repair person. I am 57 years old. I have almost completed my Bachelor's of Science in Psychology. I am self-taught, as well as by my very skilled father, and by reference books, when it comes to home repairs.

If you need more info, please let me know.

It sounds like your compressor is stuck or the capacitor or hard start relay is bad. Where do you live? Is the unit a heat pump or straight cool unit?
Here are some manuals: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8010163/How%20to%20use%20Test%20Equipment%20Service%20Manu al.pdf
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8010163/How%20to%20Diagnose%20and%20Fix%20Everything%20Ele ctronic.pdf
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8010163/AC%20Wiring%20Diagrams.zip
You need to check the coil on the main contactor that runs the outside unit with the compressor and fan. It could have a break in the coil wire that opens under a load. You should watch it to see if it's dropping out right after it starts up. To see it you can remove the dust cover plate on top so you can see the contacts. If you do it right it will not affect its operation. You also need to remove the terminal cover on the compressor (Turn off power.) and check to see if the wires are all on the terminals and whether they are burned or corroded. Then remove them (Label first!) and check the compressor with a good digital meter. You have three terminals: Start, run, and common. With an ohm meter check the resistance between each terminal and read to each terminal to ground. If you read anything between a terminal and ground (On a copper pipe.) then the compressor is bad and can explode if you try to start it. The highest reading will be from start to run, then next is start to common, and then common to run. For example, if you read 10 ohms between two terminals and it's the highest reading, you have start and run, your next reading is 6 ohms which is second highest will be common to start, and then you read 4 ohms, the lowest, which will be common to run. Common is wired straight to power at the contactor through an overload. Then run is also wired to the contactor, and then the start terminal is wired to one side of a run capacitor and the other side of the capacitor is wired to run. If you have a potential relay then you will have a start capacitor (a black plastic cylinder shaped capacitor) where one wire goes to start and the other one goes to a contact on the potential relay, and on the relay one other connection goes to common and the other goes to start. The other side of the capacitor goes to run. All capacitors are fed by the run terminal. The run capacitor is usually in a metal oblong jacket or a white or grey plastic case and will be marked with a value of something like 5 Mfd or 35 Mfd, for example. The start capacitor will have a high value of like 288 Mfd or 500 Mfd and often has a resistor soldered across the two terminals. Two run capacitors can be combined at times so you have a 5 and a 35 Mfd capacitor combined for the fan and the compressor. You test the capacitor with either a capacitor meter or an ohm meter. On an ohm meter the value will jump up and go to infinity and when you reverse the leads it will do it again, but discharge the cap before touching it or testing it as it holds a charge. A capacitor that is open or shorted is bad, and a run capacitor can swell up and burst. A start capacitor will blow out a rubber plug on the top. I hope this helps. Good luck and feel free to contact me.

Easiest way to determine year and month of manufacture is to go to Appliance411: Service: How old is my appliance? Age finder, date of manufacture code decryption help for your appliances (http://www.appliance411.com/service/date-code.php) and simply enter the required info about your device and click on the date it button.