What can cause a condenser fan motor to run backwards?

What can cause a condenser fan motor to run backwards?

A bad capacitor or bad winding in the motor can cause a PSC motor to run backwards. Also sometimes they come from the factory miswired and they work fine for awhile and then start giving issues. Walker seems to have the answer on this one! I’ve encountered this before and that’s what it was.

Can a bad capacitor make a fan run backwards?

Bad capacitors can cause a fan to run backwards. I would suggest replacing the dual capacitor with a new one. Depending on how badly the motor has struggled you may already have heat damage to the motor windings and may also require a new motor…

Should a motor shaft have play?

RE: Is motor shaft suposed to slide in and out? END PLAY should be . 010 at the minimum when hot. If it’s more it probably won’t hurt anything, but 3 mm is huge , something is coming apart or loose.

How do I know if my condenser fan motor is bad?

1. Tripped Breaker. Sometimes, whenever you turn your unit on, it blows the fuse that you have connected it to. …
2. Rattling Noises. Are you hearing noises coming from your AC fan? …
3. The Fan Turns On But The Blades Rotate Slowly. …
4. Fan Won’t Turn On. …
5. Smells Like Something’s Burning.

Can you reverse AC motor direction?

To reverse an AC motor, assuming it’s not a synchronous motor, you need a DPDT switch or relay to reverse the supply to either the field coils or the armature but not both. To do this you need to get into the internal wiring of the motor.

Why does my fan spin backwards when off?

During the power off condition also, the blades are pushing the air down. At the point inertia energy is exhausted, the blade pushing the air down, relieves and relaxes, not able to push the air down, but the air at the front of the blade is at little high pressure and push the blade in the reverse.

What are the signs of a weak capacitor?

Some bad AC capacitor symptoms to watch for are warm air blowing out of your air vents, a humming noise or burning smell from the outdoor AC unit, unusually high electric bills, or your air conditioner starts turning off suddenly or not at all. Your air conditioner is one of the most important appliances in your home.

What happens when a capacitor is backwards?

Most tantalum capacitors are sensitive to the polarity of the applied voltage. Incorrect installation and/or improper circuit application that subjects the capacitors to reverse bias may lead to performance degradation or catastrophic failure (short circuit) of the capacitor.

What are the 2 typical signs that a capacitor is bad or has failed?

There are two visible signs indicating an electrolytic capacitor is failing. These are bulging of the capacitor itself and leakage of the electrolyte.

What causes shaft play?

Shaft play is caused by the bearings in the center section of the turbo wearing out over time. When a bearing is worn, shaft play, a side to side wiggling motion of the shaft occurs.

What is the reason for motor shaft damage?

The equipment and motor vibration are too large during operation. If the motor is not firmly fixed, such as running on the frame, the whole foundation is unstable, and the operation is swaying, which causes the tension of the motor belt to be unstable, and the tension is large and small, causing damage to the shaft.

Should a drive shaft move?

There shouldn’t be much movement in the driveshaft, except rotation.

How long do AC condenser fan motors last?

How long do AC condenser fan motors last? Most AC condenser fan motors will last between 10 to 15 years and may not fail even as the rest of your AC unit is failing. Regular maintenance will also guarantee the fan lasts longer, as without it you can expect only about two to four years of successful operation.

What happens when AC condenser fan fails?

The first symptom of a failed fan is warm air coming from the vents. This happens when the condenser is too hot and isn’t able to convert the refrigerant into cooled liquid form. Since the fan is designed to prevent the condenser from overheating, warm air indicates that this component is not cooling the condenser.

How do I know if its my capacitor or condenser fan?

One way to know for sure is to turn off the power to the unit and unscrew the side panel to inspect the capacitor . The capacitor looks like a large, cylindrical battery, with cables connected to it. Its top should be flat. If it looks swollen, the issue is with the capacitor.

How do you reverse the rotation of an electric fan?

Can you reverse a fan motor?

Single phase AC motors cannot be reversed with the supply wires. Reversible ones have terminals in the connection box that get swapped. Fan motors like this are usually hard-wired and cannot be reversed by the customer.

What controls the condenser fan motor?

The contactor is a switch found inside your HVAC unit that controls the voltage distributed to the compressor and condenser fan motor. Over time, the contactor switch gets worn, and will stop providing voltage to the condenser fan. Naturally, this will cause the condenser fan to fail.

What could be a cause for a compressor cycling on and off while the condenser fan runs continuously?

Your air conditioner may be short cycling because it is repeatedly starting up then overheating (and shutting down) due to a bad compressor, dirty filters, dirty coils, low refrigerant, or frozen coils. An overcharged system will cause liquid Freon to get into your compressor and cause it to malfunction.