20 Most Recent Carrier 38CKC042 Air Conditioner - Page 7 Questions & Answers

Sounds like a shorted capacitor. THe capacitor is located right beside the contactor. Looks sort of like a batter. Probably has 3 posts on top. If its shorted it usually will look pregnant or swollen. A capacitor is not very expensive. You can get one at any air cond supply house.

it doesnt work that way. If the cap is metal it is a run cap, if its plastic its a start cap. I need to know the compressor name and the model number and I will tell you what to buy. Hope this helps.

It the wall themostat set to AUTO or MANUAL on the FAN switch?
It should be on AUTO.
I saw you chat question. Intersting that the board is new and the fan would misbehave. It must be something simple like I suggested above. If you need further help, reach me via phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/dan_73bbd84fe1d95b61

The outdoor fan is called the condenser fan, the first things to check are to see that its getting power and the capacitor

It is normally on the sticker with mod and ser no, refrigerant type, amount ect

That is a 5 ton system but I do not know the SEER rating. See that 060 in the middle of the model number? That means 60,000 BTU or cooling capacity and that is 5 tons.

The only thing you can do at this point is

1. Hookup a volt meter to the power lines running to the blower motor
2. Turn the a/c on
3. You should have voltage on at least 1 wire.
4. Most motors have multiple speeds so you must check (red - blue - black) wires. My suspicion is that your motor is done.
   

Hi,

Here is a tip about troubleshooting your air conditioner...
There are many things that can cause your air conditioner not to cool...

AirConditioner Trouble - Review the Possibilities

heatman101

Hi, if that is a 2005 carrier condenser, it may still have a warranty on the compressor. You need to copy down model and serial #, call the local Carrier rep and ask. That is your right to do so. The fan is probably not in warranty, but it is definitely worth replacing if it is bad. I sold carrier for 15 years, and sold many with 10 year parts warranty. First thing you need to do if you haven't done so is check on your warranty! If you can explain what it is doing a little more in detail I could probably tell you exactly what is wrong. Hope this helps.

The bearing is possibly to blame. run the unit and wait for it to stop and then try to bump the fan. if the fan moves quietly and easily, im wrong. I would bet this is to blame so you must replace the motor/bearings.

This is a 3.5 Ton unit.

You need to access the evaporator coil on the inside of your air handler and unplug the drain for the condensate. It should be the 3/4 inch line, if the 1/2 inch line is capped then it is not doing anything and has probably been abandoned.Open up the unit and clean the drip pan and drain hole where the 3/4 line starts. This should clear up your water leak problem.

Most modern condensing fan motors do not need oiling and in fact have no oil ports. If you have an older one then there is probably 2 yellow "****" on the bottom of the motor that you pull out and drop in a few drops of oil. You have to remove the top of your condenser unit where the fan motor is mounted to and turn it upside down to access the oil ports.

you could use a little food die and trace where the water is going to there seems to be a hole somewhere

Displayed error "Fx" Unit(s) in zone (x) has recorded a failure!
Where x is a number identifying a zone. of the failure.

1) go to the unit(s) in zone (x) and determine the cause

In case of a problem or clarification or my solution was insufficient, don't hesitate to post me a reply.

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A few basic principles for air conditioner troubleshooting. For both central home air conditioner or window air conditioner, the first thing to check is whether the unit is getting proper power. If the unit uses 220 volt power be sure that the proper voltage is getting to the unit. Same for 110 volt units. A voltage meter can be used to assure that the voltage is correct.

For window air conditioning units the voltage can also be checked before and after the thermostat. If voltage is being supplied to the thermostat but not from it then the thermostat probably needs replaced. This is a fairly common problem. Another place to check is the fan motor voltage. The fan on window air conditioners runs both the indoor blower and the condenser fan. If that motor fails than the compressor may run for a short time, but will overheat and shut off. Continued operation like this will result in compressor failure. This motor can be economically replaced for larger window air conditioners, but for smaller ones the cost of replacement will be more than a new unit.

Central air conditioners for the home are more complex and there are more things that can go wrong. As with the window air conditioner the thermostat can also be a problem. The central air conditioner thermostat will only have 24 volts going to it. So don't look for high voltage there. Some units the voltage will be coming from the outdoor unit and others the voltage will be supplied by the indoor air handler or furnace. Most home central air conditioning will be supplied by the indoor air handler or the furnace. If the air conditioner is for cooling only the unit will usually have only two wires going to the condenser unit. Make sure that you have 24 volts across those wires.

The next thing to check will be the indoor blower. If your thermostat is calling for cooling then the indoor blower should be running. If there is no air moving across the indoor cooling coil then you will soon have a big block of ice formed on the coil. This can happen for a few reasons. The indoor blower is not working, the air flow is restricted and not allowing air to move across the coil. A clogged air filter would also do this. Or the outdoor condenser unit has lost the charge of refrigerant.

Finally and worst of all is when you have a complete compressor failure. Often when this happens the compressor will "lock up" or not be able to turn when power is supplied to it. Overheating or lack of lubrication are usually the main causes of compressor failure. Overheating can be caused by the outdoor coil around the compressor getting clogged with dirt, leaves, or grass. Loss of the refrigerant charge will also cause the compressor to overheat. It is the cool return gas coming back to the compressor that helps to keep it from overheating.

As you can see there are many things that can go wrong with an air conditioner and I have not come close to exhausting the possibilities here. I have just touched on the most common problems in a very basic way.
There are some basic trouble shooting things that can be done very easily. Most problems are above out of the range of comfort for many homeowners and professional help should be consulted before any attempt is made at repairs. Remember also, that the release of refrigerant gases into the atmosphere is a federal offense in the US. Proper care must always be taken to minimize the release of any gases. A license is also required to handle refrigerants. Make sure that the professional you call has the proper certifications to handle refrigerants properly.


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Hi, the indoor unit should be on a 2' platform, and the outdoor condenser should be on a concrete slab with about 12" all around the unit.
Shastalaker7
A/C, & Heating Contractor

There is a relay in the outside unit. Check for 24 volts a/c at the two wires coming from the furnace. also there may be a mouse nest in the control comartment where the relay is and they tend to chew up wiring insulation and sometimes wires get disconnected .

Check the running pressures and if the low side drops to low it may be shutting down on low pressure switch.I just used this as a rule of thumb. If the outside air temp is around 90 degrees then the pressures should be in the range of 60-70 on the low side.And 250-300 on the high side. If you can get the compressor to stay on then I would clean The a-coil and condensor to get maximum effiency.Thank you.