New Contactors

[rtac]

Worked on a Trane RTWD that had phase loss and Phase reversal on startup. The 1k5 contactor had been replaced by someone else and had ran. After all the testing and checking, we put the old contactor back in and it ran....Started up the first time. When I looked at the "new" Contactor it had a coil rated for 110 to 230volts ? Made in China and all that, and lasted about 2 weeks...makes for a long day, be on the watch for these parts for sure....Did check continuity on the contactor and sometimes the middle line did not read unless you moved it around...hoping for better parts in the future

[sargent york]

Was the contactor in question a Trane supplied part?

[rtac]

Yes it was....looked like the old one but made in china.....might be something to watch for and save some headaches...

[JBM1000]

It is a sad day when even the return springs are so cheap they crack and help blow the points up and arc like he**! China has really dumped on us with quality.

[AiResearch]

That is a sad day indeed.

C'mon oem's charge more for the unit and put in American made contactors.

There are plenty of options..at a significant price!

On a critical part like that..shame shame shame.

They rely on the electronics to compensate for garbage components.

[jayguy]

the 115-230 VAC/VDC are electronic contactor coils...they use full power to pull in and then back off 'just enough' to keep the contactor pulled in...this saves electricity and keeps the coil cooler over its lifetime.

i contacted trane on an RTAC issue many moons ago and tech support recommended that we put in the 'military' version which is just a 115 VAC unit. he told me that it was called a military version because the military doesn't care if they use less energy...it just has to work.

he also told me that the 'software' to handle all of the issues was 'calibrated' at 230 VAC and trane only uses the 115 VAC portion...go figure.

[emcontrols]

interesting didnt know that one!

[rtac]

Yes...new on me about the coil....had never seen that wide of range on a coil, the min contacts did not meet flush were at a angle, gonna see if warranty will apply