What is it about my description that makes you think it's the 'stat? Could this soon to be revealed reasoning be making my system shit a capacitor every so often?
It's the cheapest part to try and you mentioned your amazonian GF tweaking yours. After that I am done. I call Tim.
The contactor will fail if it’s supplied with too little voltage, and the voltage is switched by the stat. Those T87 stats are pretty bulletproof, but the contacts on the sub base sometimes lose spring tension and create too much resistance. If the contactor is chattering, it can definitely take out the capacitor. I recommend replacing both.
Carefully drain a bit of the mercury out and taste it. If it's sweet that means it's gone bad and needs replaced. If bitter, your problem lies elsewhere.
That was funny , but there is someone on here trying to figure out how to get it out of the glass tube to taste ....
I'm BaaaaaaaAAAAAAAACK! Same old system, trying to milk this sumbish. Had a buddy come by the other night and he says "How old is this A/C?", which was working TITS, and no problems for awhile. I say 20 yrs. He says "I have a new A/C guy, I'm gonna text you his info. I'm all "F that; u tryin ta jinx me?" He did... Next morning warm house, blowing warm air, big ol hum from outside condenser. Shut it down, let it cool, try to start, fan is spinning, not real fast, comp won't kick. Decide to call "The Fkn New Guy. He rolls up in about an hour (I'm impressed!), and proceeds to tell me the start cap is on the very edge of not passing minimum strength, and replaces it. Also says that it's down a bit on refrigerant. I tell him to get to it. Turn system on - it's cooling, I pay, he leaves. I take shower, I get out, it's not blowing cool air. Fan is spinning, just not real flash. I call - he says it needs the fan, as everything else checked out, says he'll be by in the morning. At 10 am I call - he's on a job, and can't locate a fan, says depending on which fan he can find it will be between 3 and 5 hun. I call Fox appliance - each of their locations have several. I call the guy back and tell him I gotta get going (work/income), and they have a fan for $120., and I'll throw it in. He says cool. I get to Fox and it's 4 wires (mine is 3) , and all different colors except blk is blk (I want my bayyyyyybee back), dudeman tells me which is which and to not use the brown with white stripe. I wire it all up, and now I got bupkis - no fan spinning, no compressor kickin', just that loud ass hum. Coop not happy...
Put a contactor in it. He should have replaced the contactor while replacing the cap. As a more clever individual I saw fit to replace the 18 year old units on my house 5 years ago. You can either replace them a part at a time or just spend it all at once.
I have a hard time replacing it when it still cools like a mfkr, though. rd49 - You mean back when they were half the price?
At your own risk (Have multi-meter available) I want to see if your main breaker is sending 240 AC to outside unit. Try this...at outside quick disconnect. Pull. Flip main breaker in house to AC unit off then back on. Use multi-meter set @ AC 200+ then use probes to check outside 2 contacts then the 2 inside at quick disconnect. You should see 240+ AC at disconnect (either outer or inner) If you do, good. At contactor you should see 2 sets of wires...two upper and two lower. With probes check upper 2 and lower 2 for 240+ AC. If you do, good. Let me know what you find...sometimes the breaker goes south. This will prove you got the correct voltage going in to that unit.
He’s getting the “why won’t this shit start” buzz, so he’s getting a complete circuit. I’d guess you hooked the new fan up wrong. Try swapping the two fan motor wires on the capacitor and see if that sparks it to life. After pulling the disco out of course!
Suck it up and replace the 20 year old system that is slowly dying a piece at a time and live a happy life. Or be ready since low on freon means a couple of things that all are bad but on a ancient system I would guess the compressor seals are crapping out and likely are not worth replacing. Among all the other things you listed. Or just keep tossing another bandaid on a system that is also costing you $$$ because even at peak new efficiency the SEER rating was probably 3. Sorry to rain on you but the quicker you look for the umbrella the dryer you will stay.
This ^^^ Or a buy a cheap window unit or 2 at wally world till you can save the money for a new system.