Hello all, I was wondering if anyone had any idea what might be going on. I have a payne furnace and A/C. The other day I noticed not much was coming out of my vents even though my AC was running. So I turned on the furnace and the same thing happened. So I turned both off and the fan on. I heard the fan run or something run. I could feel air coming out of a small hole near the red circle but above where the blue circle is would be a closed vent in my system. Which I wouldn't feel anything coming out of.
After turning everything off and back on it suddenly decided to work. Then later on after the system shut itself down it did the same thing and wouldn't blow air even though it seemed to be running. At this point it seems like theres a 50/50 shot of it blowing air or not blowing anything even though I can feel stuff blowing out the red circle.
Any suggestions or should I just call a repair place. The unit is only about 1.5 years old.
>>1005472
Sounds like your AC coil is plugged. Either from dirt (when was the last time you changed your filter) or its frozen (again, dirty filter, dirty coil, leak in refrigerant system).
If you can open up one of the panels on the AC coil part (the box sitting atop the furnace) try looking in there for any reason air might not be getting through.
If your coils are clean and it's locking up for no reason it could be low freon as well. You need a license to do the freon so you may need to pay someone. First though do what anon said clean and in freeze.
>>1005472
Don't mean to hijack your thread but if we're doing HVAC general I have a question.
My outdoor compressor won't turn on in the hot summer days and lately the only thing that puts it back in motion is tapping the capacitor plate. I've heard that I might need to replace shit because it could be losing its charge but in most of those cases they say spinning the fan blades manually with a stick will get it started and in my case that won't work. Any advice guys?
>>1005500
it doesn't matter if it's on heating or air conditioning it's still got a 50/50 shot of blowing hard or not.
>>1005500
also filter was changed about a month ago. both the AC and furnace are only about 1.5 years old.
>>1005620
Could be a number of things. You could be low charged and the low pressure cutoff switch is preventing it from coming on to protect the compressor, maybe. But like I said it can be a number of things.
>>1005620
When you say outdpoor compressor are you talking about the fan or the compressor itself?
If its only cutting out on hot days and the fan is still running but the compressor is not, you could be locking out on high head pressure. If its the fan thats not running but the compressor is, its either the fan motor itself or the capacitor (which is usually a dual capacitor that runs the compressor and the fan).
>>1005685
>>1005687
Well if air is blowing out at the red circle but not at the blue circle or anywhere else, that means there is a blockage between those two spots, which is the evaporator coil. Which is either going to be plugged with dirt or covered in ice. If you just switch it to heat for a few minutes to see if it blows and 50/50 it does/doesn't, that wont tell you much. If the coil is frozen it will take hours to defrost it to the point of normal airflow
>>1005472
Next time its not blowing air out take the cover off i circled and see if its froze up and if it is you should call the people who put it in and tell them to fix it if its only 1.5 years old its still under warranty and don't pay them shit
>>1005716
don't you still have to pay for labor?
also I don't know who installed it. I had a new furnace and AC installed when I bought the house but it was subcontracted. but I could contact the contractor and see if they know. Thanks though.
BTW could it just be frozen from overuse because it's been really hot where I was the last few days. or does it only become frozen because of something stupid like dirt or something else wrong with it?
>>1005716
here's my actual system. I ran the heat for about half an hour and the air coming out of it slowly became stronger as time went on. also the pump removing water from wherever ran s lot. I'm running the air conditioning right now and it seems to be blowing out alright so far but give it an hour and I bet it will slow down to nothing.
is this indicative of a more serious problem and I should call someone if it happens repeatedly or is there something I can do to make sure it runs properly
>>1005716
also here's an image with the two panels I can get off off. I can't see anything above the part that shoots flames out and it didn't look like I could pull off another panel above it without pulling tape off and even then I'm not sure I could get it off. but the pipe that was covered in black foam tubing on the parts I could see exposed pipe it seemed covered in frost/ice
>>1006512
>>1006515
that does sound like the coil is freezing. the conditions outside shouldnt matter. if its freezing its because of either low airflow across the coil (could be dirty filter, dirty coil, failing fan, etc) or the system is low on refrigerant (leak, never charged correctly in the first place).
It looks like you have a grill right on top of the coil behind the elbows of the white pipes. get on a ladder/bucket/stool and take that grill off and look down after the AC has been running for a bit to see if the coil is frozen. it should be fairly obvious. pic related. assuming you change your filter regularly and its installed correctly, it would suggest your system has a leak. you can try looking for it yourself (there are a few key spots to check that often leak) but the chances of you being able to fix it yourself are very slim and you certainly cant recharge it
>>1005997
It shouldn't freeze from normal use in only moderately warmer temps. It's only June with the hottest months of the year still to come so your need to get on the warranty repair asap.
>>1006512
sounds like coil is freezing up. if filters are good and coil isn't plugged it's short of gas. listen to the other anon, call the installer back and tell him to fix his shit.
>>1006525
again, this.
>>1006557
what would be abnormal use?
>>1006747
cooling your house to fridge temperatures.
>>1006515
Since it did work before the fans blowing and you just changed the filter its low on gas or the coil is dirty. Did you change the filter regularly
>>1006834
34-40
Your coil is freezing.
Check your furnace manual and the positions of the dip switches in your board. Could be you need to up your fan speed
>>1006847
my thermostat won't let me set the temperature below 45
Open your fridge door to help your furnace meet your cooling demand.
>>1006853
brilliant!
your fan is either not on high speed or low on refrigerant I highly doubt your coil is dirty enough to freeze the coil after only 1.5 years
>>1005997
There should be a company sticker or something on either the indoor unit or the outdoor unit, also some companies put their logo on the thermostat, or look around for some papers, or ask the previous owner/real estate agent
>>1006512
Jesus christ that return air getting cut down immediately makes me sad :( I take back my refrigerant post shitty install that return air should gradually decrease in size not immediately be thrown into a certain size.
>>1006895
what yours looks like
what your return duct should look like
new issue seemed to pop up today. it's 85 degrees outside. the air flow seems fine but it's just not cooling down much. I can't tell if cold air is coming out or it's just me feeling it blowing but it shouldn't take 5+ hours to cool the house down a degree or two should it?
>>1007344
Feel the air coming from the outdoor unit. It should be warmer than the outside ambient temperature.
>>1007423
just went out and felt the air blowing out of the air conditioner outside. it's currently 77 degrees out and I would say the air blowing out of the air conditioner is maybe very slightly warmer like 1-4 degrees maybe.
I've been trying to cool the house down 1 or two degrees and it's been about 6 or so hours and the temperature has not gone down any. it hasn't gone up any either though.
last summer though I remember I came back from being away from the house for a couple days and the house was about 80+ inside. it didn't take hours and hours to get it down to 70 though maybe 2 1/2 hours or so.
Do you think this is a new issue or am I just being paranoid.
>>1007423
oh also the pipe covered in the black foam when I touched the actual copper felt barely cool at all when the other day it was covered in frost
>>1005500
This exact thing happened ed to me last week. Coils were frozen. It's worked fine ever since.
I have no idea how it was fixed, though. Dad was visiting and was down there for like 2 mins and had it running. I wish I watched him do it.
after most of yesterday it not blowing much more than slightly cool air and the pipe barely being cool I got home to find everything frozen along with the pipe so I'll be calling a pro tomorrow
>>1005472
Do you have a multi-speed furnace. It may just be running on low fan speed. AC HVAC multi-speed motors have a few speed taps and it may be set too low for your duct static pressure. ECM motor speeds are set with the controller.
>>1007702
Also check to see if it has continuous fan mode. If it is running in that it will run at a pretty low speed to save power. There is a chance that the HVAC guy fucked up the wiring to your thermostat or control board. Your installation manual will explain everything about it
>>1007344
you've already been told what was wrong call somebody before it gets to hot out its out of your league
thought you all might have liked an update so anyway.
a technician came today. recharged the refrigerant, told me he couldn't find any leaks but said that my tcv or tvc or some valve didn't seem to be working correctly. he was going to replace it but before Payne would cover it under warranty they wanted him to run a solution through the system to see if it would free up the valve. he told me there's about a 50% change of the solution working but I should know whether it is or isn't in a couple days. if it doesn't work then call them back and they will replace the valve.
so at this point I sit and wait and see how things go.
>>1007490
Ahhhhh I see. That would be your suction line. You possibly have a slow leak. You're gonna have to get what refrigerant you have, if any, recovered then have your system nitrogen tested to find the leak for starters.
I'd recommend you call somebody man. Good luck.
>>1008117
Thermostatic expansion valve or Txv. He's gonna have to pump down the system, replace it, vacuum it, etc. Nothing too bad man.
>>1005472
Check to see if the blower fan is struggling or barely turning.
If so, you may need a new fan capacitor (check capacitance with meter).
While youre in there check to see if the evaporator coils are clean. If they are not, find yourself some coil cleaner and spray on the coils with the system turned off.
Dont get that shit in your eyes.. its caustic.
Use a wetvac to clean the coil cleaner foam+dirt after you wait about 15 mins.
>>1005620
Try testing the capacitor. Its mfd rating should be on the side. A replacement cap should be cheap.
Ensure the contactor switch is engaging to turn on the outside unit. Its controlled by the thermostat wires so it should be easy to trace down.
If those things are fine. Time to check the fan motor.
>>1005716
Either your thermo is set too low and compressor is running 24/7 to try and cool to that temp and causing freeze up.. or low on freon.
>>1007490
Low on freon.
>>1008143
I'm having a similar problem with mine. I hear a hum and then when I tap the fan, it starts up, so I'm assuming I need to replace the capacitor.
I just can't figure out how you find the replacement model number, or how to go about replacing it.
>>1008731
You dont need a model number. It will tell you the microfarad mfd rating on the side. Probably 35/5 or something similar. 35 for the compressor to start up a d 5 for the fan. Just visit your local hvac supply store.
Fyi switch off breaker before working on the unit and take a photo of the wiring as it is connected to the capacitor. It will make it easy to hook back up.
I turned my furnace on, and it was making really loud knocking noises
The filter was so bad, and so old, it got sucked into the blower and the blower fan was hitting it making audible noise.
>>1008803
Yell alla akbar shoot it with an AR-15
>>1008765
thanks for the tips
it was a 45/5 apparently, and the local HVAC supplier does have it.
I made sure to flip the breaker too. I'm a little worried about discharging the capacitor, but it sounds like as long as I've got an insulated screwdriver (and maybe gloves?) I should be safe.
It's my first AC repair.
I did it and my furnace blew up im lucky im alive!
>>1008850
It's simple, don't fret. Gloves and insulated screwdriver will do. Just always be sure to look away when discharging.
>>1008850
Fan wire goes to fan herm is compressor wire and c is common
>>1008850
Congrats anon. Glad to help.
