Central Air Condenser Fan Not Spinning

If the condenser fan is running you will see the fan blade spinning at speed typically at 1725 rpm and you will feel air blowing out of the unit.

Central air condenser fan not spinning.

If it starts spinning then the issue is the capacitor. Six reasons your air conditioning fan may not be running. The dual run capacitor is defective. To test it use a screwdriver or branch to poke through the condenser unit s vents.

A capacitor stores up energy that provides power to your air conditioner s fans. As a result this puts more stress on your unit s fan as well as the other parts of the machine. If you don t hear any sounds to indicate that the compressor is working and the fan isn t spinning the most common causes are a lack of power or a faulty compressor contactor. Remove the service panel on the a c unit.

Gently push on one of the fan blades. Shut off the power supply to the air conditioner at the disconnect or breaker panel. Understanding the parts of your ac unit. One frustrating scenario the hvac technicians at a 1 mechanical heating cooling have seen many times is when an air conditioner s condenser fan stops spinning even though the actual system is running.

A start capacitor is an electric device that gets the electric motor running at startup by providing a jolt of stored electrical energy. It s located on the side of the building near the outdoor a c unit. Check to make sure your breaker has not tripped. At a 1 mechanical we ve provided homeowners in grand rapids and lansing with reliable and trustworthy hvac service since 1983.

Find the start capacitor for the fan. A blocked air filter may be the culprit in why your air conditioning s fan is not spinning when your air conditioner s filter is dirty filthy and clogged air flow can t go through the filter and ice will begin to accumulate on it. Condenser fan motor failure. Check the float switch.

If you have a bad capacitor it may take a while for the fan blades to start spinning once you turn on the unit. Do not proceed if you re not sure you ve properly shut off the power. While each component in a central air conditioner is critical quite simply the unit will not work if the fan is not running. The capacitor may have gone bad and therefore the fan won t start.

The contactor may be faulty. Fans in the central a c both pull air out of the room to be conditioned and have humidity removed and also push chilled air through the vents throughout the house. Inside your air conditioning unit the fans turn with the assistance of motors and capacitors. As we explain at burned out compressor if the condensing unit fan is not working the compressor itself may shut down or even be ruined by overpressure or over temperature.

You have a bad fan motor and or bad start capacitor.