start cap blew up

[anthonyac1]

carrier infinity system thermostat said communication error lol i said oh man i hope its something obvious, im not familiar with these fancy t-stats.
i jumped when i opened the condenser's electrical compartment because all the paper from the start cap dropped out. the start cap shot down and knocked off a male terminal comming off the circuit board. all the wires were burnt together.

[timebuilder]

Okay.

Do you have any guesses as to what would make a start cap blow apart.....?

[mark beiser]

Okay.

Do you have any guesses as to what would make a start cap blow apart.....?

Usually a fried potential relay, but a stuck compressor, cycling on its overload, can cause it too, among other things.

[54regcab]

Possibly a cap that the internal overload didn't activate properly?

[hvac wiz 79]

Looks like that stayed in the circuit a little long. Wish I could find one like this. Only have found them partially melted leaking fluid

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[Brent Ridley]

Looks like that stayed in the circuit a little long. Wish I could find one like this. Only have found them partially melted leaking fluid

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Haha. I don't wish to find one like this. That looks like a terrible mess to clean up.

But, I would like to troubleshoot the reason for such a catastrophic failure

[samwinter]

Okay.

Do you have any guesses as to what would make a start cap blow apart.....?

Back when I did refrigeration I had a condenser that was flooded from a rain storm that blew both run and start caps. The ribbon from the start cap was still hot when I came up on it. I remembered that for a long time. Not the kind of learning experience a person wants.

[Wendo]

Most likely your start relay is bad or the wire came off terminal #5. Usually if the cap blows up it's because the relay didn't open.

[anthonyac1]

Okay.

Do you have any guesses as to what would make a start cap blow apart.....?

well a couple of reasons that i know are if the compressor is short cycling could be due to a few issues low pressure, hi pressure or any issue that causes the compressor to short cycle. also if the start cap is staying in the circuit too long due to bad start relay, or if the start cap doesnt have a bleed resistor. but if ive missed anything let me know. i always have my eyes and ears open for more knowledge