AC/HVAC Question

[Jeff_Green]

If I recall correctly, we have some HVAC guys here... if not, maybe we have some with knowledge that will help!
Here is my dilemna:
Old condenser fan motor making noise sounds like bearings going out so I replace it.
Old motor is 3-wire Black, Yellow, Brown hooked up to dual capacitor
New motor is 4 wire Bk, Y, Br, Brown/White

Pretty simple from my vantage point in what I can figure out. I have a new 5MFD capacitor that the Brown, Brown/White
Contactor L1 - Black, L2 - Yellow

That is the simple part. Where my confusion comes in is I have a purple from the condenser that I assume I leave on "herm" on my dual cap... (for hermetic condenser). What I do not remember is that I originally had a jumper from the contactor to the capacitor but don't remember which line out it was hooked up to.
I am also assuming that I need to still use that jumper to get power to the condenser through the capacitor?

This has been killing me over the past day! I had it hooked up like I thought it should go, fired it up and it was blowing (once I got the rotation right), but wasn't blowing much air. So I metered out the wires to find that I was missing a leg (120 to ground and across a and b phase). That is all I had at the panel too, A-phase had nothing coming off the breaker so I switched breakers with the range (same amperage) and now it keeps tripping... telling my my wiring is wrong so I'm not messing with it until I get a better understanding of where I messed up, or get someone out to fix it! lol

Thanks for any assistance in advance!


____ Edited to add attachment___

[KJ Smith]

Sounds like you did the fan motor right.


On the compressor there are 3 stake ons.

Typical are: R= run, S= start, C = common.

Typical colors are: R-red, S- yellow, c- black.



The capacitor needs to be powered from the same leg as the "run" leg.

Common should be on a leg by itself.

Typical would be leg 1 feeds cap and run.

Leg 2 as common.

S is fed from the capacitor.

Make sense???

[Jeff_Green]

So, on the contactor which ever leg the red from the condenser goes to, from there I go to the capacitor? And then wherever the yellow lands, from there I also tie into the capacitor? Are they landed both on the "c" of the dual capacitor?

[KJ Smith]

Originally Posted by Jeff_Green

So, on the contactor which ever leg the red from the condenser goes to, from there I go to the capacitor?

Correct. It is the same leg.

You run different wires to handle the amperage.

Originally Posted by Jeff_Green

And then wherever the yellow lands, from there I also tie into the capacitor? Are they landed both on the "c" of the dual capacitor?

The yellow "start" wire goes to the other side of the capacitor.

Check that purple wire on yours and see if it goes to "S" on the compressor.
If it does, then you just need to feed the capacitor.


Without seeing the unit, I would think the compressor is trying to start and tripping the breaker.

[Jeff_Green]

Dang this is more difficult than it should be! Off the compressor I have black, red, purple. Assuming the purple is the yellow you mention as it was originally hooked up to "herm" on the capacitor.
Here is what I just discovered: I disconnected condenser and left motor hooked up. Turned breaker on, and motor runs properly. So somehow my wiring just ain't working!

My terminations:
On contactor side I have red to condenser and black to motor. On that same side it goes to "c" on capacitor.
On constant hot side of contactor I have yellow from motor and black from condenser.
On capacitor I have the purple from condenser as well as the power coming over from contactor.
The second capacitor has the brown/brownwhite.

What looks wrong?!
Could I have blown the dual capacitor somehow amid my wiring mistakes? It is an older capacitor but was working ok, prior to this. Would this cause the tripping?

This really was a simple process... As any homeowner says. lol

[KJ Smith]

What are you calling a condeser.

The black thing in the bottom of the unit is a compressor.


You should have from 1st leg.

A red wire to the R terminal of the compressor.

A yellow wire to the common side of the capacitor.

A yellow wire from the capacitor to the S terminal of the compressor.

From the second leg.

A black wire to the C terminal on the compressor.

Your wire colors may vary. Above is typical.


Some contactors only break one leg. So it is hard to say where they should be tied down.

In most cases the line should be on top and the load on bottom.

That is not always the case with contactors that only break one leg.

[KJ Smith]

I reread you post.

The wire from the contactor to the capacitor does not tie into the same terminal as the purple wire.

It ties into the "c" side of the capacitor.

[Jeff_Green]

I am about to give up! lol I really appreciate your time and assistance, Kevin. Attached is the way I have things wired up right now. It seems to be what you have indicated in your last post (or every post, I am just slow!). I had someone tell me that I should take the yellow to the common on the capacitor off of the leg 1 that is on the broken leg and move it to the other leg?

It still trips the way I have it wired now. When I get home from work I will try that if it sounds reasonable to you.

This is beating me down something fierce!

Thanks again!
Jeff

[KJ Smith]

I went out and checked a unit just to be sure.

The way your wiring diagram shows is correct.


Does the compressor humm?


The capacitor could be bad.

Easy enough to check.

Physically does it look bloated? Oil leaking out?

Some digital meters can check MFd's.

A analog meter with a needle can get you close.

Do you have either?


Is the compressor hot?


If you have a meter, turn the power off, pull all three wires to the compressor.

Read ohms from each terminal to the copper lines.

Read ohms between each terminal.



You can change the wiring as suggested. At this point it can't hurt.


I will check back this evening.

[KJ Smith]

Originally Posted by Jeff_Green

lol I really appreciate your time and assistance, Kevin. Jeff

Does that mean I'm not getting a check?????...............

[Jeff_Green]

Compressor doesn't stay on long enough, the breaker trips immediately. That's why I'm thinking it may be the dual cap? It is an old one but doesn't show any expansion whatsoever and worked just fine with the old motor. Maybe a misconnecting of wires blew it out? Not sure if I did it properly but on capacitor I went from "c" to "fan" and read 20 ohms. I don't have a nameplate on the capacitor though. I have someone coming to check it out a little later this afternoon so hopefully he can get it figured out.

When all else fails, hire a professional to fix the job you screwed up!

[Jeff_Green]

Originally Posted by KJ Smith

Does that mean I'm not getting a check?????...............

Kevin, as much as I appreciate the help, I wish I could! Come to find out I am getting a new condensing unit as the result of a bad compressor. Wish I didn't have to pay for it, especially after just buying a new motor!

He said everything was wired up correctly (man I am surprised!), but the compressor was grounded out. I only have to be without AC until Friday morning!!

[KJ Smith]

Originally Posted by Jeff_Green

Kevin, as much as I appreciate the help, I wish I could! Come to find out I am getting a new condensing unit as the result of a bad compressor. Wish I didn't have to pay for it, especially after just buying a new motor!

He said everything was wired up correctly (man I am surprised!), but the compressor was grounded out. I only have to be without AC until Friday morning!!

I was kidding about the check of course....

Sorry to hear its dead. I was starting to suspect that.

Checking for ground is easy enough to double check.

Pull all three wires off the compressor terminals.

If any terminal has continuity to the copper lines, its dead.


Good Luck!

[Jeff_Green]

Originally Posted by KJ Smith

I was kidding about the check of course....

Sorry to hear its dead. I was starting to suspect that.

Checking for ground is easy enough to double check.

Pull all three wires off the compressor terminals.

If any terminal has continuity to the copper lines, its dead.


Good Luck!

I knew you were kidding, but you spent plenty of time helping me figure this thing out. I was thinking that might be the case also, but hoped it was just a capacitor. I did watch him test continuity to ground and do an ohm reading.

What are ya gonna do?! Gotta suck it up and move on.