AC went out... Need capacitor... where to buy? Not online...

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HardcoreRobot

HardcoreRobot

Lifer
Nov 7, 2000
16,403
3
81
despite necro, i have something to add.

Mine died for a second time last year. I knew the problem this time, I watched the guy last time and did my research, felt confident I could fix myself. Ran into the same problem of not knowing where to go. It should not have failed again so soon, Im fairly certain the guy gave me one he pulled from a different unit.. anyway, I was able to get my replacement from Grainger. Ordered online, went and picked up, piece of cake. Easy to replace too.

My symptoms - fan turned freely, but wouldnt start when the air kicked on. Bad cap is easy to verify as usually they will be bulging - should be very uniformly cylinderic. the exisiting cap will be labeled, can google those stats and find an equivalent.
 
P

Possessed Freak

Diamond Member
Nov 4, 1999
6,045
1
0
HardcoreRobot said:
My symptoms - fan turned freely, but wouldnt start when the air kicked on. Bad cap is easy to verify as usually they will be bulging - should be very uniformly cylinderic. the exisiting cap will be labeled, can google those stats and find an equivalent.
Click to expand...

Hrmmmm, now I will have to check on mine (died 2 days ago)... thanks for the tip.
 
SlitheryDee

SlitheryDee

Lifer
Feb 2, 2005
17,252
19
81
I just had someone come and change the cap on my A/C. The blower went through a period last night where it seemed to be unable to start, but somehow it fixed itself and worked normally this morning. He tested the cap with a multimeter and said it was bad anyway, so I had him put another one on it. It made a pretty striking difference in the function of the a/c. The blower seems to even blow harder now. He charged me $80. Not bad, I'd say.
 
KK

KK

Lifer
Jan 2, 2001
15,903
4
81
Yes, grainger is were I have picked up capacitors, blower fans, and even the squirrel cage blower thingy. cheap prices and quite a selection..
 
GrumpyMan

GrumpyMan

Diamond Member
May 14, 2001
5,780
266
136
The capacitor blew on my unit last Saturday, hell I could of changed it. It took them all of 5 minutes....
 
T

TXHokie

Platinum Member
Nov 16, 1999
2,558
176
106
I had my caps went out last summer on a Friday. A/C shop wanted $250 to come out on a weekend. Sat morning out of desperation I pulled both the fan motor and caps to a local electric motor shop to check it out and right away they said swap the caps when they saw the bulging top. They had the parts and it cost all of $20. Do it yourself, save a bunch.
 
R

Ronstang

Lifer
Jul 8, 2000
12,493
18
81
Since it is a hot summer again I will just add a little FYI. These capacitors are on both the outside unit (the condenser) and on the inside air handler motor. They are one of the most common failures of HVAC equipment and the cheapest and easiest to fix....unless you have to pay to have it done, then you get raped. The other high failure point is the contactor which is inside the outside unit. It is also easy to replace as long as you get all the wires in the same place.

To everyone that is handy. Find a local HVAC store that will sell to you and buy a replacement capacitor for the outside, and the inside, and get a contactor also. Put them on the shelf and you will never be without AC for more than 30 minures...even in the middle of the night. I replaced one once at about 2AM.

If your unit is more than 5 years old it wouldn't hurt to just change the cap and contactor in the outside unit as a little preventative maintenance and then get spares for the shelf. I will be moving in a few weeks to a new old place. The AC unit is 10 years old. The first day in the house I am going to clean the coil, and change all the parts I just mentioned.
 
B

BUTCH1

Lifer
Jul 15, 2000
20,433
1,769
126
Ronstang said:
Since it is a hot summer again I will just add a little FYI. These capacitors are on both the outside unit (the condenser) and on the inside air handler motor. They are one of the most common failures of HVAC equipment and the cheapest and easiest to fix....unless you have to pay to have it done, then you get raped. The other high failure point is the contactor which is inside the outside unit. It is also easy to replace as long as you get all the wires in the same place.

To everyone that is handy. Find a local HVAC store that will sell to you and buy a replacement capacitor for the outside, and the inside, and get a contactor also. Put them on the shelf and you will never be without AC for more than 30 minures...even in the middle of the night. I replaced one once at about 2AM.

If your unit is more than 5 years old it wouldn't hurt to just change the cap and contactor in the outside unit as a little preventative maintenance and then get spares for the shelf. I will be moving in a few weeks to a new old place. The AC unit is 10 years old. The first day in the house I am going to clean the coil, and change all the parts I just mentioned.
Click to expand...

I'm whishing I got a spare when mine exploded, http://s239.photobucket.com/albums/ff296/butch100_2007/?action=view&current=badcap.jpg
according to the wholesaler (who was nice enough to sell to me, and on a sat.) there are a lot of really cheap Chinese caps around that could fail within months of installing...
 
K

Kwatt

Golden Member
Jan 3, 2000
1,602
12
81
Ronstang said:
Since it is a hot summer again I will just add a little FYI. These capacitors are on both the outside unit (the condenser) and on the inside air handler motor. They are one of the most common failures of HVAC equipment and the cheapest and easiest to fix....unless you have to pay to have it done, then you get raped. The other high failure point is the contactor which is inside the outside unit. It is also easy to replace as long as you get all the wires in the same place.

To everyone that is handy. Find a local HVAC store that will sell to you and buy a replacement capacitor for the outside, and the inside, and get a contactor also. Put them on the shelf and you will never be without AC for more than 30 minures...even in the middle of the night. I replaced one once at about 2AM.

If your unit is more than 5 years old it wouldn't hurt to just change the cap and contactor in the outside unit as a little preventative maintenance and then get spares for the shelf. I will be moving in a few weeks to a new old place. The AC unit is 10 years old. The first day in the house I am going to clean the coil, and change all the parts I just mentioned.
Click to expand...


Before they go completly they may get out of spec. Plus or minus ~10%. When the run cap is out of spec the motor does not run as efficiently and motor life may be shortened.

If a tester is not avalible you may just replace them every once in a while.


'
 
sao123

sao123

Lifer
May 27, 2002
12,653
205
106
just buy online... most local hvac shops will only sell to licensed HVAC service companies.
 
SlitheryDee

SlitheryDee

Lifer
Feb 2, 2005
17,252
19
81
Mixolydian said:
Not sure if serious. $80 to replace a $4 part.

I had the same problem with my AC last year. Picked up the cap from Grainger and installed the cap in 5 mins. Cost me less than $5.
Click to expand...

I made sure to watch how he did it. Next time I'll do it myself for sure.
 
vailr

vailr

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
5,365
54
91
Ronstang said:
The other high failure point is the contactor which is inside the outside unit. It is also easy to replace as long as you get all the wires in the same place.

To everyone that is handy. Find a local HVAC store that will sell to you and buy a replacement capacitor for the outside, and the inside, and get a contactor also. Put them on the shelf and you will never be without AC for more than 30 minures...
Click to expand...
Could you provide a Grainger.com link to an example of this "contactor" that you're referring to? I'm guessing it's an electrical relay of some kind.
TIA
 
D

dmcowen674

No Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
54,889
47
91
www.alienbabeltech.com
IamDavid said:
AC went out... Need Capacitor... Where to buy? Not online...

I need a part for my HVAC and have no idea where to get it.. Its a capacitor which seems pretty common.... Home Depot and Lowes don't carry them... Where in the word would I fnd one??? I hate the thought of waiting till next week....
Click to expand...

You should be able to buy one from any local AC service Company.

They keep ample inventory on the shelf and in their vans.

Very common part to go out and they charge upwards of $200 to replace on a service call.

The cap only costs $25 and easy to change in ten minutes or less so a very profitable call.

Should be able to pick one up for less than $50 depending how much they want to make off you just buying the part.
 
S

scottaa1

Junior Member
Jul 11, 2012
1
0
0
Thanks for the info in this thread. MY AC is blowing warm air as well. Following the advice in this thread, cut off power at both the inside and outside cutoffs and removed the cover. The capacitor is only a year old but we just had a heat wave so I was thinking (hoping) it would be something that simple. Alas, it did not have the bulged top as described here, and I do not have the meter to gauge it.

I swapped the filter the other day just to be sure, and noticed that the piping around the fan assembly in the garage (where the filter and furnace are) was pretty cold, which struck me as odd. How could it be working and getting as far inside as the blower, but the cold not coming through? I don't know much about this and really can't afford a $100 service call plus whatever they tack for parts (between work right now).
 
waggy

waggy

No Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
68,143
10
81
well shit. wish i found this thread a week ago it would have saved me some money..
 
B

BUTCH1

Lifer
Jul 15, 2000
20,433
1,769
126
scottaa1 said:
Thanks for the info in this thread. MY AC is blowing warm air as well. Following the advice in this thread, cut off power at both the inside and outside cutoffs and removed the cover. The capacitor is only a year old but we just had a heat wave so I was thinking (hoping) it would be something that simple. Alas, it did not have the bulged top as described here, and I do not have the meter to gauge it.

I swapped the filter the other day just to be sure, and noticed that the piping around the fan assembly in the garage (where the filter and furnace are) was pretty cold, which struck me as odd. How could it be working and getting as far inside as the blower, but the cold not coming through? I don't know much about this and really can't afford a $100 service call plus whatever they tack for parts (between work right now).
Click to expand...

You'll need a pro at this point, possible low freon/leakage situation, sometimes if it gets low enough the evap coil will ice over but you need a service person make that determination
 
C

Codewiz

Diamond Member
Jan 23, 2002
5,758
0
76
waggy said:
well shit. wish i found this thread a week ago it would have saved me some money..
Click to expand...

Two weeks for me. The hotest saturday this year(104F) and my fan stopped working.

After $300 I had A/C back. Blown cap and 5 minute replacement. I have already ordered 2 replacement caps.
 
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