HVAC Guys...

GSOHunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
So last week my wife informed me that there was water dripping in the boys bathroom. Knowing that it is on the top floor and had not rained in weeks I knew it was the Air Handler. I went up in the attic and discovered that the tray was almost full but water was dripping from leak in the corner. I snaked out the line and vaccumed out all the water. That got the AC unit running fine for a couple days. I turned up the temp when we left for the GTG this weekend. When we got home it was 85 upstairs and the AC unit would not turn on. I checked the pan upstairs and there was no water. I reset all the breakers and it started running again and cooled off the house. When I woke up this morning it was dead again. I went out and saw a ton of ants coming in and out of the contactor. I've got a service person scheduled to come out but it will be Thursday. I tried to reset it again and all I got was a loud electrical hum that lasted for a long time even after I shut off the breakers. I'm pretty sure the ants have screwed up something. Any ideas?
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
You can change out the relay and contacts yourself and probably save some time and a lot of cash. Find a HVAC place that will sell to the public and take the model number and serial number and pick them up. It's so simple, even I did it :D. Go ahead and get a hard start capacitor if your unit is more than a few years old and put that on at the same time.
Make sure that your condenser fan motor is working, sometimes that can cause similar problems you are describing.
Please let me qualify this by saying that I am not an AC guy, never worked AC and may be totally off base with this diagnosis, but that's the first thing I'd try if my unit wasn't under warranty.
 
Last edited:

nckeith

Ten Pointer
It's the contactor switch and possible a bad capacitor. Both are easy enough to change yourself with model number and tonnage. If service person comes out you will pay more, but have cool air tonight. Order a spare or two for future consideration
 

Arrow Slinger

Old Mossy Horns
Blow the contacts off with an air compressor and see if that works. I had an ant issue one time, they get in there and prevent the contacts from contacting(they get fried). Blew them out and it worked great.
 

Longrifle

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
True that. Spray the area down with Ortho Home Defense and grab a cold one....til next year.
 

Davis1613

Spike
Fire ants probably in the contractor. Turn power off and scrape them out. I see it all the time


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

GSOHunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I sprayed the area with poison last night will do it again today in case the rain washed it away. I am picking up a spare contactor and will try the compressed air before switching it out. I made sure to warn all my neighbors about the ants and the Compressors.
 

labrown83

Spike
I would bet $$$ that the ants have built up into the contactor causing the contactor not to completely close all the way. with the ants stuck in there and the contactor is trying to close but cant, you have no cooling. when you cycled the power the contactor opened and the ants fell out now they are stuck in there again. i can tell you from experience that you will have to replace the contactor. Until he gets there you can turn off the power and try to blow out the contactor for temporary cooling ( may or may not work cause fried ants can coat the contacts pretty well). If you have a real problem with ants and you suspect you will have the problem again in the future you can spend a few more bucks and request the HVAC guy to put in a solid state contactor that has sealed contacts so you never have that problem again.
 

GSOHunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I tried blowing off the contactor but it is damaged and stays closed for the most part. The ant's were caked on it real thick. I am going to pick up a solid state contactor and have him install it or maybe try tomorrow. It doesn't look too hard. I may also buy a new capacitor.
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
You don't have to be brand specific, only the stats are important and there are several HVAC places in Winston Salem that sell to the public and I'd bet in your neck of the woods there will be some too. They can look the stats up if you'll provide them the Brand, Model #, and all the rest of the data plate info. It's easy just to take a picture of the data plate and use that.
 

QuietButDeadly

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
A temporary solution to get you going.......turn off power and make sure there is no voltage present. Open the contacts and use some fine emery cloth to clean the contacts. You may even be able to use a fine file or a fingernail file to clean the contacts. If the capacitor is not bad, this should get you going until you can get the new parts.
 

GSOHunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
I got a contactor and they have a plate that seals it from ants etc... I'll install it tonight. It looks fairly straightforward. Unscrew and pull wires, put in new one, put back the wires the same way they were on the old one. What could go wrong. ;)
 

labrown83

Spike
LOL hey turn the power off first and also turn the thermostat off also in case you have a split system. No need to burn up a perfectly good transformer while you are doing this. Good luck. I hope we helped you.
 

GSOHunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
LOL hey turn the power off first and also turn the thermostat off also in case you have a split system. No need to burn up a perfectly good transformer while you are doing this. Good luck. I hope we helped you.

I think you helped out tons. I will make sure to turn off the thermostat, outside breaker and inside breaker just in case.
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Once you're done, take a digital thermometer(I used a meat fork thermometer last time)and stick it into the closest register to your air handler to make certain that your temps are correct on your output. Hopefully your condenser wasn't damaged in any way, those can get pricey.
If you turn the power off, leave it off for at least 5 minutes to let the head pressure relieve itself before turning the unit back on.
 

g3trappernc

Twelve Pointer
Ferguson does sell direct to consumers. I had a similar issue, and it was a thermostat issue (not the one on the wall, but on the unit). If you were closer to the Mooresville area I could recommend a guy that works at a very reasonable rate....
 

GSOHunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
All fixed! Getting a 20-25 degree difference between the vents and the returns. Thanks everyone!!
 
Top