Ur condenser won't stay on in the late afternoon. It works in the morning but in the heat of the day it only kicks on for about a minute then shuts off but the fan still blows. Do you think it's the progamable thermostat being defective our the condenser?

Hi, its the condenser unit going off on high head pressure. As the outdoor temperature rises, so does the freon pressures also, which cause a very high load on your compressor. Pressure and temperature relationships are very important in the way your unit operates. To solve this problem, cut off power to the outdoor unit. Take your garden hose and give your wrap around coil a good washing of dirt and dust build up. This keeps the head pressure to a normal level so the compressor will not shut off on overload. Be careful not to bend the aluminum fins on the coil with to much pressure. This is also important so the fan can pull air through the coil and out the top to remove heat from indoors to cool your home. Yes, the fan will continue to run when this happens, and its job also is to keep the head pressure down to a minimum, so be sure it its running good and strong. This will take care of the problem unless you have a restriction internally, I don't believe that's the case, just a dirty plugged condenser coil. A tip for you to remember, when the outside air temperature rises, so does the freon pressures in any unit that runs on freon, your auto, refer, and so on, so if something like a coil that is plugged with dirt and will not let the fan pull air through it to keep it cool, it will shut the compressor off on its overload protector to keep it from burning out. A safety switch. Please let me know the outcome. Good Luck,
Shastalaker7