ReplyI love them they keep me busy
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Who else loathes them with a passion
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I love them they keep me busy
®
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Me too I love em. Cant get easier to troubleshoot or replace. They are actually nice little motors.
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I've replaced enough to last a lifetime.
They usually fail between 18-36 months from installation.
If you come across one that hasn't failed, check duct static. Keep TESP below .6", that should prevent the failure.
They're supposedly failing due to prolonged runs times under high static. More failures in the south/humid areas due to wet coil operation nearly 8 months out of the year.
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Hello gentleman I have 0 experiance with the x-13 well up untill last week one of my customers relocated his barber shop to a small shoping center and called me a/c not cooling. he's got a commercial rheem pac unit 3 phase, float switch was triped, acid washed pan,blew-out drain pipe all good. Yeah till the next afternoon. Evap fan won't go unless you turn power off about 10min. then it comes on for a few hours or till the next day. The motor is 1 HP. 230volt date on motor is 2011 unit is 2009 so I guess its already been replaced. By what I just in these posts you guys are very familiar with this motor. I would greatly appreciate some direction so I can solve this issue.Thanks in advance! George
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The x13 is a single phase motor/module assembly. 3 phase motors are typically belt driven in my experience. I haven't seen a 3 phase ECM/x13. But I don't work on commercial equipment. Mostly residential. Did you verify you are not loosing a leg of power ?
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sorry for not being more specific the x-13 is single phase
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I have had them work after power cycles. Honestly I would just forgo the inevitable and replace the motor and module. The x13 is junk to say the least. Bullet proof solution would be to scrap that pos and put on a PSC motor.
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regal x-13 motors have had 2 significant manufacturer defects that have been causing increased failures. This goes beyond the failure at high static. .6 as mentioned earlier is a great number to shoot for but is a somewhat dubious proposition in many of the duct systems that are out there. I have found around 0.8" to be the point at which these motors begin to fail.
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Genteq motors are just as unreliable. I have seen voltage drop and power outages become a killer of them where I live. Apparently the voltage interruption flashes the processor clean and it causes it to just sit and rock. But I've also heard we can reflash them in the field if you have the software
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Pull off the control module and look for a small fried resistor looking object labled SL22. If it's toast, see if you can twist the leads together for temporary operation until you can get a new module. Some have sucessfully found them online and soldered it back in...I wouldn't bother except for a charity case.
They are finding it is seldom the motor, most always the module regardless of which type of ECM.
The motor is pretty easy to check - just a three pin connector for the windings. Ohm each winding to one another, should all be under 20 ohms and within 10% of each other. Then each to ground - should all be OL or > than 100K. If the motor passes these two tests it is deemed good. Assuming it's not locked up tight.
From there it's either the board or the motor control module. If the board is passing line voltage thru the line voltage plug, and control voltage thru the control voltage plug (be it AC, DC, 12v, 5v, 3 volt, pulsating volt etc.) then it's the motor control module that has failed. Assuming the wiring harness is intact, of course.
Moisture is the biggest enemy of ECM motors, make sure the wiring harness to motor has a drip leg.
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The resistor trick is for true ECM motors. That doesn't apply to X13 motors.Originally Posted by hurtinhvac
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How so? I have an X13 on my bench that has one. Are you saying it can't be soldered back in?
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It has that black rubber matting around the resistor. You can't even access the base on the circuit board without somehow removing that matting.
And, I've never seen a burnt resistor on the X13 only ECM 2.3's.
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Ah...I see, thanks.
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An x13 motor is no less a "true ECM" than a GE 2.3.
I haven't found any X13 failures myself, is this a regional thing?
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X13 motors are constant torque and operate at set speeds.
ECM 2.3 modulate speeds. Truely variable.
They're not the same.
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We find about 1 bad x13 every 2 weeks. It's getting to be a pain and customers aren't very happy about it. We've only had a couple bad out of our installations but lots from service calls on other equipment, most of the time it's bc of inadequate ducting and/or condensation.
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It's true they are not the same, but both are variable speed an both are Electronically Commutated Motors (ECM).
An X13 does not run at fixed speeds, it runs at a fixed torque.
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By set speeds, I meant you have speed selection terminals on the motor.
Yes. It is constant torque.
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