Fan On Condenser // Always On - http://www.hvacmechanic.com/ Forums

Original message

Josh Z

98.163.241.33

"Fan On Condenser // Always On" , posted Sat 19 Apr 11:03

Last night when the fan on the condenser tunred on, it stayed on. I have turned the system off at the thermostat, the fan inside the house stays off, but the fan on the condenser continues. It will only turn off when I turn the breaker off. I let it set a few hours and turned the breaker back on. It started right up again with the thermostat saying the system is "off."
Any ideas?

Replies:

Hey You

69.19.14.27

"Re(1):Fan On Condenser // Always On" , posted Sat 19 Apr 11:24:

I suspect your contactor is welded closed.

[this message was edited by Hey You on Sat 19 Apr 11:28]

Josh Z

98.163.241.33

"Re(2):Fan On Condenser // Always On" , posted Sat 19 Apr 12:56

quote:
I suspect your contactor is welded closed. ...

The contactor. Is that in the thermostat or the condensor...or someplace else?
Something a home owner could fix, or is a hvac pro suggested?

Hey You

69.19.14.27

"Re(3):Fan On Condenser // Always On" , posted Sat 19 Apr 13:12

Josh,
I'm hanging out here waiting for some of these great folks to answer my question (below). When I read your post, I assumed that you mean to say that your fan and compressor are stuck on (the outside unit).

If that's the case, I suspect that your contactor has become dirty and pitted, and finally welded itself into the closed position. The 240V (HINT) wires from your house to the outside unit should connect directly to the contactor on the inside of your compressor unit. If you're not comfortable working with electrical wiring, don't even start to look at this.

If you are, and want to try to fix it yourself, it's easy and I'm sure one of the pros here will tell you everything you need to know to SAFELY examine and replace this part.

Houston204

98.196.66.53

"Re(4):Fan On Condenser // Always On" , posted Sat 19 Apr 14:10

If the contacts are pulled in without 24 volts supplied to the coil, you need a new contactor.

It might look something like this in your panel. Capacitors will hold a charge for a few minutes after removing power.

"Tip of the Day" Remember to remove power first.

Josh Z

98.163.241.33

"Re(5):Fan On Condenser // Always On" , posted Sat 19 Apr 17:59

That was exactly it. It works like new again. Thanks for the help, guys.