I recently purchased a wireless programmable digital thermostat. The thermostat I used to have is a Braeburn Model 1000, which can be seen here: http://www.braeburnonline.com/model1000.html

The thermostat I am attempting to install has the installation manual listed online and can be seen here: http://www.iaqsource.com/pdf/p4741100rf_install.pdf

As you can see from the Braeburn thermostat, I have a single stage A/C with a single stage electric heat pump. I turned on the heat pump on the new receiver by flipping the dip switch next to HP to the On position. I have a total of five wires coming out of the wall. Their colors are as follows: White, Orange, Yellow, Green, and Red.

The Braeburn had the following connections, RC, RH, B, O, Y, W, and G. The RC & RH connection had a jumper connecting the two together and the Red wire from the wall was connected to the RH connection. The B connection was empty, the Orange wire was connected to the O connection, the Yellow wire connected to the Y connection, the White wire connected to the W connection, and the Green wire connected to the G connection.

I have the new receiver connected as follows: The Red wire is connected to the R connection, the Orange wire is connected to the W1, O, B connection, the Yellow wire connected to the Y1 connection, the White wire is not connected to anything, and the Green wire is connected to the G connection.

I tried to connect both the Orange and White wires to the same connection (W1, O, B) but when I turned the heat on it came out as cold air. When I left the White wire disconnected the heat pump seemed to operate correctly.

The problem is that when I turn on the A/C, the unit turns on as usual and blows cold air but I suddenly lose power to the Receiver as the all of the LED lights go off (indicating whether the heat is on, fan is on, or A/C is on) except for the Power light, which is suddenly extremely dim. When I pull the faceplate off and then put it back on the Power light is bright again, I can turn on the heat just fine but then continue to have problems when turning on the A/C. Last night I set the temperature to 65 degrees for the A/C and woke up with it still going at 54 degrees. I had to pull the faceplate off to get it to shut off.

Suggestions?

Ok, upon further inspection there are two additional wires that were not used on the old thermostat and were further in the wall. Their colors are Blue and Brown. Also, the old thermostat used two "AA" batteries and the new thermostat does not use batteries so that could be the problem. No power source to power the receiver.

I tried to connect first the Blue then the Brown wire to the "Common" connection on the new thermostat with the same bad results. The A/C turns on but then the receiver loses power. I then tried to jump the existing 24vac (Red) connection with the Common connection with the same results. I tried to jump the R and the W1/O/B connection with no results. I tried to jump the R & C connection with first the Blue then the Brown wire and nothing. I tried everything mentioned above without connecting the White wire at all and nothing so at this point I'm at a loss.

HELP!!

You need to do much the same as I suggested here, except that you did do a fairly good job of explaining the problem. https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/heatin...ire-40830.html

Labman, I'm not sure how the link you provided answers my question. The second and third links in the post you directed me to is essentially a "how to post good questions to get good answers" and I think I've done that fairly well so they were of no help to me here. The first link of the three links in the post you directed me to starts with "It is not what the thermostat needs, but what your HVAC system needs from the thermostat." In this particular case, I have to disagree. I believe that my problem is one of power to the thermostat itself. I'm fairly sure that I have correctly connected the wires that were previously connected to the old thermostat to the new one as I can turn on the heat and the A/C. The problem is that the thermostat essentially "dies" as soon as it sends a signal to turn on the A/C (why it doesn't die when the heat pump is turned on is beyond me--possibly a clue to how to fix my problem with the A/C?). So as soon as it turns on the A/C the thermostat loses almost all of its power and is unresponsive to any additional commands even though the A/C continues to run until I pull the front panel off.

The biggest difference between the two thermostats is that the older one received some of its power from two 'AA' batteries while the new thermostat requires an existing power source, which I can only assume is supposed to come from one or more of the wires in the wall. As I explained above, there were two wires that were not previously used on the older thermostat, a Blue one and a Brown one. I tried to connect each one to the "C" connection but to no avail as I ended up with the same results as before. Should I try connecting one or both of them to different connections?

I am up for trying just about anything at this point...

As I said ''except that you did do a fairly good job of explaining the problem.'' You need to go to the controls and identify what the wires are connected to as I said in the other post. If you find one of them connects to the opposite terminal of the transformer as the red, you can then try connecting it to the com.

Souds like you have a bryant or carrier t-stat. O-reversing valve (for cooling),R-24 volt hot,G-blower relay,Y2-W2-aux heat, C- common,Y- heatpump (outside unit).

Ok, below is a picture of the wiring at the transformer. The bottom brown wire that comes in from the left (that has the blue & brown wires wrapped around it) is what is coming directly from the thermostat. I'm not sure exactly what the other brown wire is going to... possibly the blower or A/C (I'm not an expert so sue me). Anyway, the red wire is going to "R", the yellow & white wires are going to "Y", the green wire is going to "G", and the orange wire is going to "O". The blue and brown wires are not connected to anything.

So with the information I've given here as well as above, how do I supply power to the new thermostat? Again, the old thermostat relied upon two 'AA' batteries for power but the new one needs a permanent power source. What do I need to wire, re-wire, or jump to make the new work correctly?

Thanks!

OK, it looks like you have an unused blue wire and nothing connected to the C terminal at the furnace. Connect the blue wire to the C terminal at the furnace and at the thermostat. You might check that the C terminal does indeed connect with the opposite terminal from the red on the transformer.

I'll give that a shot tomorrow. How would I know if the "C" and "R" terminals are connected? I can't see behind the transformer so if I do connect the blue wire to the "C" connection on the transformer as well as at the thermostat and it doesn't work should I jump the "C" and "R" connections at the transformer?

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll let you know how it works out tomorrow!

Don't jump the C and R terminals. The surest way is to use a volt meter and see if they have 24 volts AC across them. It is easier than trying to follow wires.

Well, that did it! Connecting the blue wire to both the "C" connection on the transformer as well as the "C" connection on the thermostat receiver solved my power problem and everything works as it should!

Thanks, Labman! You're my Heating & Air Conditioning hero... :)

Hi,

I have a problem, or at least I think I do. I recently moved into a house and feel that our AC is not working properly. The thermostat reads 86-92 degrees all the time, we live in FL so you know it's hot & humid. We set the temp to at least 76 so the room can be cool and it doesn't cool the rooms at all. I've spoken to the Landlord numerous times about the AC and he insists that the AC is working properly but the reason we feel that the room is not cooling sufficiently is because of our High Ceilings. The Thermostat reads 87 degrees all the time and if it weren't for our ceiling fans my family might as well be cooked cause it feels really hot.

Looks like you almost have it, I assume you put the blue wire( that is wrapped with the brown) to "C" and to "C" on the thermostat , but you have the white wire connected to "Y" with the two yellows, this is wrong, it should be connected to the "W2" here and at the thermostat.
The Total Line thermostat has to have the common wire connected as you found out, the "C" on the terminal board is connected to the transformer as well as the "R"