Testing Central Air Compressor/condenser?

Dustball

I'm working on finishing a basement and one of the things I had to do was cut and extend the 22 ga/4 wire cable so I could re-route it from cutting across the basement at an angle to hugging the exterior wall.

I know the outside condenser fan worked earlier this fall when it was still warm out but when I tested it after extending the cable last week, it didn't turn on.

My test method was to set the thermostat to the lowest it'd go, 45 degrees, and set the cooling mode to "on", not "auto". It was around 15 degrees outside when I did this.

Is there a minimum outside temp where the condenser fan would not kick in?



Thanks,
Dustin

mdshunk

Quite possibly, depending on the model. It is also possible that the unit is a bit low on refrigerant, and with the cold weather it would have little pressure, and the low pressure switch is keeping the unit off. That is, assuming you did everything right when making your extension. You certainly could have blown the control power fuse. It's often only a 1 amp fuse, normally in the indoor unit.

osborn

Also how long did you wait? Some of the new boards have a time delay of 10 - 15 minutes.

Dustball

I waited about 5-7 mins before turning the heat back on. The blower fan was running during that period of time though but the condenser fan never turned on.

I'll check for any blown fuses when I go back to the house tomorrow.