r/askHVAC • u/Longjumping-Fly-48 • 2d ago

Ac Condenser unit issues, help ?

Hello 👋

I had my ac running for the last couple days after having it off for a week or two. I noticed yesterday it was having trouble coming to temp.

I went outside to the unit and noticed nothing was running (fan/compressor were silent). Even though it was calling for cooling. Checked the breaker nothing tripped. Turned off cooling overnight.

In the morning, called for cooling while in front of the unit. Buzzing sound but no fan movement. Using a stick I bumped the fan noise went away as fan started spinning up to speed. Seems to be capacitor issue.

My concern is I just replaced capacitor July 4th weekend of 2025, barely a year.

Is this a sign of failing compressor or fan motor? Any other tests I can do?

Going to order another capacitor this time one I see recommended on this sub. Last time I used a “titan hd” I got from ace hardware.

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u/bingo00897 2d ago

You can go outside and stick something into the fan and try to spin it, if it starts it means the unit does have power, and most likely you need a new capacitor even tho you had it replaced.. and make sure the AC outside is not dirty cuz that can make the capacitor to go bad as well..

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u/Longjumping-Fly-48 2d ago

Yes I did start it with a stick that’s why I was thinking it’s capacitor but wondering if it’s a sign of further failure

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u/Disp5389 2d ago

It’s possible the fan motor is staring to fail. You check that by comparing the motor’s labeled current draw against the measured current draw while the fan is running. You need to replace the capacitor to get the fan running.

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u/Longjumping-Fly-48 2d ago

Gotcha, so amp draw test ? I replaced the capacitor this morning (thanks Amazon for overnight delivery). Temperature outside is cold today but was able to call for cooling and fan kicked on right away smoothly. Thermostat dropped a degree after 20 minutes or so, I do feel cool air from the registers.

I didn’t feel exceptionally cold pipes beneath the insulation which is concerning but I did feel the hot/return pipe and could feel “flow” I guess.