Trane XE 1000 / No Heat / HELP!!

[Rhapsody]

Hello I am new to the forum (as of today) and new to the Trane XE 1000. :CU:

My husband and I purchased a new house two months ago when it was still hot outside in good old Florida so the heating system was not able to be checked properly by the home inspector, but the a/c unit was working great.

Now that winter is upon us (and colder than normal for Florida) we have found the need to turn on the heat for both us and our household pets, the only problem is that the air blowing out of the vents is not hot or even warm and the thermostat will not turn off and on as it should when desired temp is reached - not that that is always an issues as we can rarely get the house to 70* and forget even trying to get the house to stay at 60* when the weather drops below 40* at night.

What can we do? - as we are new to this entire heat pump thing and we were not left any instruction from the old home owners. Please HELP if you can.

Thank you,

[Chris_Worthington]

Simple you're going to have to place a service call with you're local HVAC company and have them come in and check it out :D

[Rhapsody]

While I'm sure thats probably what we will have to end up doing..... that not what I was hoping for.
Are there not any "do it your self" a/c guys on this forum - lol.

[Lambo]

I'm sure that there are guys on here that are familiar with this model, but my initial thoughts would that there is a simple problem with the low voltage wiring between the T-stat/indoor/outdoor unit.
I know that homeowners change their own thermostats all the time, but I would discourage you from getting into the control compartments of the units-------you could get fried. I would recommend having a qualified service tech check the wiring between all components. If it works in cooling, you're half way there. Does that outdoor section even make a sound in heating?

[phbsales]

Are there not any "do it your self" a/c guys on this forum - lol.

Had you read and agreed to the site rules when you registered, you would know that the answer to that question is "no".

[Rhapsody]

Does that outdoor section even make a sound in heating?

Good Question..... I will have to turn it back on and see.
Guess I have been so busy staying inside with it being cold outside that I never checked. :gah::whistle:

[Rhapsody]

Had you read and agreed to the site rules when you registered, you would know that the answer to that question is "no".

You are right and I admit I read some parts and scanned through the other parts as I felt that I knew the basic forum rules... I apologize for that.

[euroboy]

This brings up an interesting question - when you go out on a call and run into an 'educated' owner does that make the job harder or easier ?
What often seems simple on the surface, many times is not, and 'knowing enough to be dangerous' when dealing with combustibles takes on a true meaning :)

[Rhapsody]

I found the Rules pertaining to DIY (and will refrain from them now) - Sorry.

1. ....... Please feel free to ask any question relating to HVAC, or other topics of general interest except Do-It-Yourself (DIY).


2. Do-It-Yourself (DIY) - not here.

This site is for industry professionals and folks seeking HVAC/R advice and knowledge. Please do not ask for step by step instructions on purchasing, installing or repairing your own equipment. This is our job and our livelihood. We are generous, but not to a fault.

Questions of this type will not be answered and may be deleted at the discretion of the Moderators.

* * * *

[Rhapsody]

I do have a question I think is with in the guidelines..... :)

Can a professional explain to me (in laymen terms) exactly what a heat pump is / how it works / is different from the basic central heat and air unit that most of use are familiar with?

Thank you.

[phbsales]

I do have a question I think is with in the guidelines..... :)

Can a professional explain to me (in laymen terms) exactly what a heat pump is / how it works / is different from the basic central heat and air unit that most of use are familiar with?

Thank you.

Simple.

When a heat pump is in cooling mode, the system is taking heat energy from the indoor area where the heat is not wanted and transferring that heat, through the medium of the refrigerant, to the outside of the structure.

In heating mode, it is drawing heat energy from the outside (yes, even at 32*F, there is heat energy in the outside air) and transferring that heat to where it is wanted, inside the structure.

[SoFlaDave]

A heat pump operates in a reverse cycle during heat mode. A valve reverses refrigerant flow and sends hot gas to the indoor unit to provide heating. When this happens the outside unit produces cold air. During colder weather it may also run a defrost cycle for the outside coil. The reversing valve changes over to cool mode, sends hot gas to the ouside coil to melt ice. When this happens,an auxiliary heat source is used to compensate ( electric heat strip,gas or oil furnace,etc.

[Chris_Worthington]

I do have a question I think is with in the guidelines..... :)

Can a professional explain to me (in laymen terms) exactly what a heat pump is / how it works / is different from the basic central heat and air unit that most of use are familiar with?

Thank you.

Thank you for reading the rules !!!! :D

A heatpump merely transfers heat from outside to inside, plus the heat of compression.

The medium used to transfer this heat (refrigerant in your case) has a temperature pressure relationship, meaning the lower the temperature, the lower the pressure and vise versa.

Being that the majority of compressors have a fixed stroke in regards to the pistons within them, they move less refrigerant with the lower pressures.

Now knowing that the rate of available heat from the heatpump decreases with the lower outdoor temperature, there is a secondary electric strip heat source of heat installed within you're air handler, to accommodate for the lower temperatures and the defrost mode.

So in you're case I would assume there are issues with both :eek2:

Now seriously, this is a very quick and not so thorough explanation as to how this thing works, there is much more involved.

With whatever it is I just said, ya need a tech out there(.) We can help with some advise on repairs/replacements, but there just is flat out no way to diagnosis you're system via the Internet, sorry.

Does that help? probably not, but there is not much more to offer.

Happy New Years and good luck with you're dilemma.....

[Rhapsody]

Is there a better manual out there that I can get (one that prob came with the unit) that will help us understand how the unit works over all? Can I get it off line or do you think I will have to contact a Trane dealer to get one?

[SoFlaDave]

Its a very basic unit. Best bet is just google how heat pumps work. The owners manuals dont go into great detail. Most importantly just maintain clean filters and have it checked by a pro at least once a year,preferably twice as the system is probably over 10 years old.

[Rhapsody]

Ok - Thank you.

[Rhapsody]

Most importantly just maintain clean filters and have it checked by a pro at least once a year,preferably twice as the system is probably over 10 years old.


You mentioned filters.... and my husband and I just wanted to make sure that we did not miss any - are there any more with a heat pump than we have already cleaned at the wall unit in the dinning room, hall way and with in the unit it self?

And - since we have a heat pump do we also have heating coils that might need to be replaced?

Thank you.