Originally Posted by labman
''the blue wire is connected to the "r" terminal at the furnace''
''and the brown wire to terminal "r"''
OK, we post stuff like that sometimes. Now fixing the problem.
For the compressor to run, power needs to flow from the R at the furnace to RC at the thermostat. When it calls for cooling, the power is switched to the G and Y terminals. Power then needs to flow to one side of the coil at the compressor. Usually that is accomplished by running a yellow wire to the Y terminal at the furnace, and then another wire out to the coil. Finally, the other terminal of the coil must be connected to the com at the furnace. So the red/white pair is correct.
I don't understand how the old system worked if the white wire was the only one connected to the Y at the furnace. No, matter, The new thermostat should work as I said to wire things.