Here's my wires: Y, O, G, W, Blue, Black, Brown

Nordyne 914832

Y - Yellow
G - Green
R - Red
O - Orange
W2 - white
E - Don't recall whether the Blue was wired in or not.. (didn't think it was but now second-guessing myself)
C - Brown

Honeywell RTH230B

Rh -?
Rc -?
W- White
Y - Yellow
G - Green

I tried the Red on the Rh, the Orange on the Rc and nada
I tried the Orange on the Rh, the Red on the Rc and the auto doesn't cycle. I can hear it hum, and the fan works when I switch it to "On"

I tried attaching the Brown (thinking it was a Common) to the Red on the Rc and then nothing worked.

Switched back to no brown connected - now nothing works. Can someone help?

U should call a service tech.. u may have already lost a transformer or control board...

How could I lose a transformer... there's not that much voltage running between elements?

Looks like you have a heatpump system and your trying to wire it up with a heat/cool thermostat. You will need to exchange it for a heatpump thermostat- 1 stage cooling, 2 stage heat.

Okay, that helps a lot. Now here's the kicker... I went to re-connect the old unit and now that's doing nothing.

I figured - how bad can 24 volts feel... it'd give a little kick, but nothing that'd kill me, so I very quickly touched each wire and got nothing - it's like they are all dead. But the re-set on the A/C isn't tripped, the breakers aren't tripped, and it just seems like there's no power at all. I will get a volt meter tomorrow, but was wondering if there is something simple I am missing here...

Jumper the red and white wires together,, does the furnace come on?, IF NOT YOU MIGHT HAVE BLOWN THE TRANSFORMER, just as someone has already mentioned

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CBJason

Here's my wires: Y, O, G, W, Blue, Black, Brown

Nordyne 914832

Y - Yellow
G - Green
R - Red
O - Orange
W2 - white
E - Don't recall whether the Blue was wired in or not..(didn't think it was but now second-guessing myself)
C - Brown

Honeywell RTH230B

Rh - ??
Rc - ??
W- White
Y - Yellow
G - Green

I tried the Red on the Rh, the Orange on the Rc and nada
I tried the Orange on the Rh, the Red on the Rc and the auto doesn't cycle. I can hear it hum, and the fan works when i switch it to "On"

I tried attaching the Brown (thinking it was a Common) to the Red on the Rc and then nothing worked.

Switched back to no brown connected - now nothing works. Can someone help?

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Rc and Rh must be wires together with the red wire. These are the same as R except they have been split in case you have different power sources running your heating and cooling unit. With 1 source you use a jumper to connect them both. Don't jumper the red and white wires to test the unit, this will only power up your back up heat which is probably electric. Jumper the red and green and the fan should come on. If the fan doesn't come on then the transformer is gone. 5 volts or 600 volts, when you short hot and common something is going to pop, the only difference is how violent it is... and yes, you do need a heat pump thermostat.

U won't always feel 24 volts... for sure you won't when you have a dead transformer... but also you need a 2 heat 1 cool thermostat... or a heat pump stat... think about putting an inline 5 amp fuse on red wire before transformer after you get running again... it will save a transformer later!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gottee

Rc and Rh must be wires together with the red wire. These are the same as R except they have been split in case you have different power sources running your heating and cooling unit. With 1 source you use a jumper to connect them both. Don't jumper the red and white wires to test the unit, this will only power up your back up heat which is probably electric. Jumper the red and green and the fan should come on. If the fan doesn't come on then the transformer is gone. 5 volts or 600 volts, when you short hot and common something is going to pop, the only difference is how violent it is... and yes, you do need a heat pump thermostat.

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Aw crap, that's what I was afraid of - that the common would short something out. I'll try the jumper between red and green tomorrow. Also tomorrow I will get the heat pump thermostat. As someone else also mentioned, an inline 5amp on the red wire between thermostat and transformer is a good idea.

A professional tech is likely coming out first thing in the morning... I'll be armed and ready with the heat pump thermostat...

Looks like I went in a little too far into the deep end of the pool. Clearly, my home DIY skills were not up to advanced HVAC stuff. Adding fans, fixing lamps, and wiring PC's is not the same as HVAC... LOL

Any idea on what I can expect to pay for the service call + a transformer if it's gone bad?

Here's my really stupid question of the day: where is the transformer? In the heating unit up in the attic or in the A/C outside in the driveway?

Depending on what kind of market you are in... a good average would be 110-150 including labor, service call and transformer... but really depends on your market

Coolness... my next door neighbor seems to know everyone and everybody too, so when he referred me to someone, he said "Just tell him I sent you, and that I hope he's enjoying having that Deere running so well lately!"

Helps having a neighbor who is as tapped into the community as mine is - I'll stop back in and report the results tomorrow...

In the heating unit in the attic. You might get lucky depending on furnace. There could be a fuse on the transformer secondary.

HVAC is nothing but Holidays, Vacations Aand Comp Time. Infinitely easier than the DIY stuff you were doing. <G>

Your transformer will be in the inside unit, price should not be too steep for the transformer and labor should not be more than 2 hours.