- Control Board/Motor/Run Capacitor Problems

[beam5]

I have a 13yr old Trane furnace.It recently quit blowing warm air. On the control board I found a light flashing 4 times indicating an open limit switch.I had a licensed heating company come out. I stood with him while he checked all possible limits that could be open. He said all looked good, it must be a bad control board. The control board was ordered $325 and installed a week later and still no warm air. Now he said we needed the Run Capacitor replaced. He replaced the Capacitor and got the unit to fire. He said if this $147 Capacitor fails its telling him the motor is the problem. The unit worked for 24hrs and quit again. He said he would credit the Capacitor toward the Motor if it should quit again within one year. Does this sound like standard procedure or another rip off. With the diagnosis,maintenance/clean, Control board, Capacitor and Motor I will have spent $750 total. I just need some validation.

[beam5]

Sounds like bigwheelingman was correct. My original HVAC mechanic did not know what he was doing(Not a small outfit). $750 later and still no heat, I had another HVAC company swing by my house because they were 2 streets down at another job. While using his meter he popped something in the furnace and jumped back. He determines my transformer is blown and says he has one on the truck. He comes back with an invoice for $200 for the transformer plus $89 service call. I told him to forget it. He also said I should cut my losses and spring for a new furnace. I went to a local HVAC supply, bought a $30 transformer and called an acquaintance knowledgable about electronics, that we had just met weeks earlier. Once the transformer was installed the control board was flashing the same code as my original(OLD) board was reading,(Limit open).He traced my problem to the High limit, which was loose and touching the sheet metal ultimately shorting the system. I watched him as he determined this to be the problem. The unit has been running perfect for 2-1/2weeks now. Ultimately this has been an $800 learning curve. I am only posting this as a warning to others. Do as mush research about the workings of your furnace as possible and stand with the tech(if you hire one) and ask questions. Call a local HVAC supply house and find out costs for the major parts. Research or use an HVAC company a friend or family member may recommend.

[nomadpeo]

i feel i should apologize on behalf of the industry. don't lose faith in the experts. there are plenty of us out there who are honest. while i do not like to make negative remarks about other professionals, i will openly tell you that your experience was not with professionals or professional pricing. i have found that most people are willing to pay a professional price for a professional job, and your story confirms that once again. i am in a major metro area in texas and unfortunately, it is a big problem. lack of skill and knowledge and gouging. you hit the nail on the head. seek out referrals and if you need to, get a second opinion. my colleagues and i stay in touch with the industry in this manner because we care about accuracy and fairness and want to help if we can. we don't need to cheat people to make money. hope your future experiences are more pleasant.