[ricklucy]

5 ton Trane
The fan outside which I guess is the exhaust just buzzes and sounds like an air leak when on also very warm, Air not cooling well when ac is on.
Threw the breakers on the exhaust fan till someone can loook at it on Monday- but shouldn't the inside work independent of the fan?
What could be wrong?

Thanks

[EPMiller]

The description you gave is pretty vague. I believe you are talking about the condenser fan on the outdoor unit. If that isn't working, NO the system will NOT work well at all. In fact it is very hard on the compressor to run the system that way. You made the right choice to shut the system down. Call the repairman. The indoor unit will circulate the house air, that is all.

As to what could be wrong. Hmm... bad capacitor, bad fan motor, bad control relay, bad wiring connection(s), bad defrost control board (heat pump)... can't come up with any more quickly off the top of my head, but there may be. Most likely the repair person will be able to diagnose it fairly easily.

[ricklucy]

I got adventurous and opened the top of the fan -- seems to be a cylindrical device which I guess is a capacitor and another with a bunch of wires I think is a relay... reseated some of the wires to both of these and cleaned the contacts and then it started working again for a couple of days then stopped again. Is this more specific? The relay looks easy to replace can this be done by a novice - is it a standard part I may get at home depot? I will not mess with the capacitor though. Thanks for any help

[EPMiller]

Weeeeell... You may have gotten lucky and rattled the relay enough to get it working temporarily. Or the time off just allowed things to cool down and work for a bit. Or something completely unrelated. If you want to try and replace the relay, I can't say no, but it's a shot in the dark. Until you find the CORRECT replacement and reinstall it, you will have spent enough to start paying the repairman who will also be able to spot anything else that is wrong. Really, no insult intended, your description leads me to think that you are not well acquainted with HVAC work. If you can read wiring diagrams, have a good meter which can test capacitors and understand what the different parts of the system are and do, then yes, go ahead. Otherwise see my signature line.

[ricklucy]

Thanks for your replies - I broke down and called the AC repair
He says the compressor motor was getting stuck and that was the issue not under warranty but the compressor is. The
Relay was burnt up and set to fail soon -- 395 + 135 for the repairs what can you do.
Thanks for your replies and advice

[EPMiller]

Wow. At least your compressor was under warranty. Those puppies are really expensive. Thank you for knowing your limits. You did the wise thing.

[ricklucy]

Am I crazy,
Since compesssor motor was replaced it is so loud
The unit sits otside of my sons window and is louder
Could they have used cheap parts possibly?
The unit is a lot louder now -- any advice?

[EPMiller]

Without knowing more details which you unfortunately can't provide, I don't know what to say. The majority of the noise from the outdoor unit often comes from the fan, not the compressor. Did you get a repairman that you have experience with? If not, did you get and check references? The repairman should have some kind of warranty on his work.

Call the repairman back and have him listen to it. Maybe they didn't replace the isolating bushings under the compressor feet. You could also ask if they replaced the compressor with the an exact replacement unit. If they replaced a scroll compressor with a reciprocating compressor it could sound different, but not wildly. Another possibility is if they overcharged the system. That can make a scroll really hammer if it is getting liquid back. It is also very hard on it and it will cause it to fail prematurely. Without seeing things in person unfortunately I can't make a better diagnosis.