No AC - 105 degrees today in N. Texas

[rockhounds_5]

Hi All,

Long time since I posted here. We were in Colorado and came home last night to a 90 degree house. The thermostat was set to 76 degrees. The unit is a Trane 4 ton XR12 (?) heatpump. The fan (variable speed dc motor) was not running. The outside unit was running but was laboring and blowing cool air. I turned the unit off and cut power. I pulled the panel off of the inside unit and the evaporator coil was a solid block of ice. I noticed that there was a green flickering light on the control board. Also, when I inspected the outdoor unit, there was ice on the compressor housing (scroll type). I've got a tech coming out from the company that did the install approx. six years ago.

My older son (21 years) was here when the fan went out on Thursday, but he did nothing. He didn't call me or shut the unit down. Grrrr!!!

Up till now, I've had no issues with this unit. Any thoughts as to what might be the issue? Is there a known issue with the DC motors for the variable speed air handler? Or could it be the contol board?

Thanks.

[Tiger93rsl]

Hi All,

Long time since I posted here. We were in Colorado and came home last night to a 90 degree house. The thermostat was set to 76 degrees. The unit is a Trane 4 ton XR12 (?) heatpump. The fan (variable speed dc motor) was not running. The outside unit was running but was laboring and blowing cool air. I turned the unit off and cut power. I pulled the panel off of the inside unit and the evaporator coil was a solid block of ice. I noticed that there was a green flickering light on the control board. Also, when I inspected the outdoor unit, there was ice on the compressor housing (scroll type). I've got a tech coming out from the company that did the install approx. six years ago.

My older son (21 years) was here when the fan went out on Thursday, but he did nothing. He didn't call me or shut the unit down. Grrrr!!!

Up till now, I've had no issues with this unit. Any thoughts as to what might be the issue? Is there a known issue with the DC motors for the variable speed air handler? Or could it be the contol board?

Thanks.

Sorry to hear you don't have air. But until it's inspected it's hard to tell what failed it could be any number of things.

[beenthere]

The motor may have gone out.
Or something else may have kiiled the motor.
The VS motor is generally a reliable motor.

[rockhounds_5]

The tech just came by and took a look. The fan motor is out on the air handler. He did not have the part and will have to order it. He doesn't think the compressor is bad. He did get the outdoor unit to come on. Once he gets the new motor in, he will be able to test the whole system to see if there is any damage to the compressor or any other components. Thanks.

[BigJon3475]

Had something similar that destroyed a compressor. It ran for 1 day like that. At first it seemed like it was okay but as the system equalized it showed obvious signs of blown out valves. Hopefully yours is okay mine had an accumulator and it still killed it.

[sskzekeman]

Nobody asked me but.... Is it a good idea to run an A/C unit when you're away for an extended period of time without having somebody checking it almost daily?
I don't think so.

[beenthere]

He could have installed a regular motor to hold you over until the new motor comes in. And then he could have checked out the OD unit right away instead of waiting until the new motor comes in.

[rockhounds_5]

I asked about a regular motor and he said that it needed the dc motor. What does 'OD' stand for? Excuse my ignorance.

[beenthere]

Outdoor.

A standard motor can be installed for temporary use.
Been done many times. He may not know how. Or didn't want to.

[WheresMyGages]

OD=Outdoor

[rockhounds_5]

Hi all. I just wanted to post a final. The tech just left and the AC is up and running. He had problems getting the motor shaft off of the fan and had to cut the old fan out. He then got a new fan and mounted it back in the housing. The old fan was rusted on the shaft and was not recoverable. He checked the pressures and said the compressor was OK. It is rapidly cooling down now in the house. I'm sure it will take a while to get down to requested temp (76 degrees). Current outside temp is 101 degrees. This will be a good test to assure the compressor is OK. Thanks for the help and advice.

[beenthere]

Cool.

It will take some time to get the whole house back down to temp.