How can I tell if my heat pump compressor is running

My trane weathertron unit is running, the fan is running, but the air is blowing 5 degrees colder than the inside air. After a few minutes of this, the aux heat kicks on, brings the house up to temp, kicks off then the cold air resumes, dropping the house temp in a matter of minutes, then the whole cycle starts again

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Originally Posted by locutus

how can i tell if my heat pump compressor is running

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By feeling the larger of the 2 copper lines.(the one that should be wrapped ),if in heatpump mode and the compressor is running the line should be pretty hot

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Originally Posted by wmproop

by feeling the larger of the 2 copper lines.(the one that should be wrapped ),if in heatpump mode and the compressor is running the line should be pretty hot

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They are not hot... does this mean my compressor is shot? We are using aux. heat now, the heat pumpp only puts out freezing air when it engages. If it is shot , is it very expensive to replace compressor?

No it doesn`t mean its shot

It could be one of several control parts, does the fan in condenser unit come on? if so this will discount several things that could be wrong. If you are not very knowledgeable on heat pumps I would say you need to call out a pro. Will save you $$$ in the long run, instead of replacing parts that don`t need it

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Originally Posted by wmproop

no it doesn`t mean its shot

It could be one of several control parts, does the fan in condenser unit come on? if so this will discount several things that could be wrong. if you are not very knowledgeable on heat pumps I would say you need to call out a pro. will save you $$$ in the long run ,,instead of replacing parts that don`t need it

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Yes the fan and blower all come on, it just blows out cold air

I had a guy come out and look at it today, he said the compressor is shot, and with the unit being 18 years old, the whole thing needs to be replaced he qouted me $3000 for everything, new unit and labor, for a 2 ton goodman, I think he said 12 or 13 seer. Is this a good price?

I would get a 2nd,maybe a 3rd quote, something to compare, everywhere you go the costs vary,so not knowing where you live I couldn`t say,, but yes 18 years is starting to get pretty high mileage

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Originally Posted by wmproop

I would get a 2nd,maybe a 3rd quote,,something to compare,,everywhere you go the costs vary,so not knowing where you live I couldn`t say,,,,,,,,but yes 18 years is starting to get pretty high mileage

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I'm in knoxville tn, a guy I know just had a slightly larger unit put in for $5000 plus, I have priced the unit the guy is talking about online and its 1800-2200 just for the unit so Im thinking 3000 is a fair price, just not sure what the average is. He is a buddy odf mines dad, and he said he usually charged 3500 for this installation. On another line of thought, would this qualify me for the obama heat and air upgrade tax break next year do you think?