0
How do you test an air conditioning capacitor in a residential home?
Wiki User
∙ 15y ago
Excerpted from: http://www.inspect-ny.com/aircond/aircond15g.htm When testing a compressor, one must discharge the capacitor first! It'll otherwise have enough power stored on it to be at least very painful. (Author and others have been zapped!) Some systems will automatically discharge the capacitor, but shorting its leads with a screwdriver (after verifying that the power's off) is a safe way to ensure that you won't get shocked. Motor starting capacitors can hold a charge for days! If oil has leaked out of a capacitor: Don't touch any oil that leaked out: old capacitors may contain PCB oils, an extremely carcinogenic (cancer causing) material which require special disposal. Once the capacitor has been discharged (as described just above), then it can be tested with a multi meter. Either use the meter's built in capacitor test function, or use this trick: Charge the capacitor by using the sense current the meter puts out when set to ohms. You should observe a rapidly rising resistance before the meter indicates over range/infinity. Disconnect the test leads, and switch over to volts. Then, reconnect the test leads. A voltage reading should be observed, approaching zero. If the capacitor doesn't hold a charge, or the resistance reading never approaches infinity, it probably needs replacement. Also, the capacitor may be defective if the compressor hums but does not start. Visual inspection may reveal it to be bulged, or have a blown out safety plug. References and More Reading:
"Troubleshooting Compressor Problems," Henry Puzio, Fuel Oil & Oil Heat with Air Conditioning Magazine, June 1993, p. 39
Tom Morris, Engineer, capacitor discussion and correction to the original data. email to D Friedman 5/29/2006 - Thanks Tom for critical editing. The text above explaining about capacitors was suggested by Mr. Morris. The original text of the 1993 compressor diagnosis article had the resistance explanation backwards.
Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) Website Stab-Lok Circuit Breaker Panel Hazards Latent fire hazards
Zinsco Electrical Circuit Breaker Failures: overheating, failure to trip, burn-ups involving Zinsco and certain Sylvania electrical panel components
Wiki User
∙ 15y ago
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
How do you measure amps draw on a 220 volt home air conditioning unit?
You will need a test instrument known as a clamp on amp meter. The test instrument clamps around one of the A/C units feed conductors. From the meter face you will read what the actual current is flowing through the feeder conductor.
What is the capacitor for on a shallow well pump?
Most domestic well pumps have alternating current motors which either have a single combined 'start and run' capacitor or two separate capacitors, one for 'start' and the other for 'run'. If a capacitor fails the motor will either not start properly or won't run properly (or won't do either). Almost every town has an electric parts shop where you can buy new capacitors and test your old ones.
What is a home brew genetic test?
D. A test that is made and used by the same lab
Which mineral identification test is easiest for a person to perform at home?
streak is a real simple test, as is visual appearance.
What type of equipment is available for radon testing?
You can get simple home test kits or detectors. The Pro-Lab RA100 Household Radon Gas Test Kit is a good one.
How do you test water pressure in residential home?
you get a pressure gauge that screw onto laundry or garden faucet
How do you test a Bi Polar Capacitor?
Can a bipolar capcitor be tested
I have been told I have a humidity excess in my home. Is there a way to professionally test the house and determine the best options for proper management of it?
Yes, call a local heating/air conditioning conpany and they will test it for you
How do you test a capacitor using a multimeter?
A cheap multimeter can be used to test if a capacitor is burnt out. Connect one lead of the capacitor to one lead from a resistor (about 50k ohms). Set the multimeter to a high "ohms" setting and place the test leads on the remaining cap and resistor leads. The display should begin at 50 KOhms and then get higher and higher until it reads infinity/overload. A bad capacitor will either start at infinity/overload or start at 50KOhms and stay there. It won't tell you the ferad rating of the capacitor, but it will give a starting point to troubleshoot.
How do you test a vacuum capacitor?
Jennings has a good tech note on this subject.
How can you test aerobic conditioning?
One way to test your aerobic conditioning is to see how far you can run in a certain time. Another way is to see how many jumping jacks you can do before you have to stop.
What could cause the compressor to come on but the fan to stop rotating on a central air conditioning unit if you touch the fan blade it will start working again and then blow cold air again?
The fan motor is bad. The fan motor capacitor may also be the problem. First, an amperage test should be done on the motor to see if its exceeding the rated amps. Secondly, the capacitor should be tested for the amount of microfarads it has. If its an old mtor, it should be replaced, along with the capacitor. All of this should be done by a licensed A/C contractor!
Can a bad air conditioning unit cause emission test to fail?
No
How do you test a cold air return?
You will need to consult an air conditioning contractor.
How do you know if a capacitor is good or not?
You test it.For electrolytic capacitors, it's sometimes (but not always) obvious simply by looking at it that there is a problem; if the capacitor bulges or is actually ruptured, that's a pretty good indication that it might be bad. However, the only way to know for certain is to check it to see if it has the proper capacitance.For various reasons it's difficult to test the capacitance of a capacitor which is in a circuit; you'll usually need to detach it and test it in isolation. It is possible to check the equivalent series resistance of a capacitor without removing it from the circuit, and in some cases this may be enough (a correct ESR doesn't necessarily mean the capacitor is good, but an incorrect one means that it's bad).
How to test the pionts and condenser on a Ford truck?
Testing the condenser. (capacitor) Open the points and set the meter on ohms.
Air conditioning compressor 92 Geo Tracker?
and the question is? what color is it. where is it. how do i test it. can you sell me one ?
