OT: HVAC Tune Up/Maintenance - then unit not working

[368Tiger]

Help me out here. I scheduled my HVAC guy out to check my A/C unit and make sure all was up to par before we really get into the summer heat wave (I'm in Rock Hill). His guys come out and service both units for Spring maintenance. Same night, the upstairs unit is no longer cooling and it is 80+ degrees upstairs. He was super helpful with tips on things to try myself when I told him what was going on. We have not had a problem with the unit before, even in the heat wave we had last week. He is still trying to help, but from the sounds of it he is thinking the unit will need to be replaced. Looking like $4500 to replace something that was working before they ever came out. I asked around about way mentioned it was coincidental that it just stopped working, but he did not really address that. I'll ask again. I've only been in the house a year and the units are 11 year old and made by Trane, when I think they were still made in the US. Tell me TI, I'm I being to paranoid worrying about this not being fishy? I like the guy and he is not one of the big box guys like a Brothers Air.

 

[AsianOrange]

10 years is a good life for a condenser. Prob your coil spung a leak which can happen at any time.

 

[368Tiger]

10 years is a good life for a condenser. Prob your coil spung a leak which can happen at any time.

Yeah, I keep hearing that and understand. The timing just sucks, trying to prepare for the Summer by having them out and then it goes out the same night.

 

[scott in nashville]

It is oddly coincidental to me too. I’d get a second opinion. At the very least, you’ll spend a couple hundred more for peace of mind.

 

[368Tiger]

It is oddly coincidental to me too. I’d get a second opinion. At the very least, you’ll spend a couple hundred more for peace of mind.

Thanks, at least it isn't just me and my wife. LOL. That peace of mind would help.

 

[clemsonkelly]

Did u check to see if they left the disconnect out?

 

[scott in nashville]

Thanks, at least it isn't just me and my wife. LOL. That peace of mind would help.

Not sure this helps, but it does have some useful info in it:

https://www.wcpo.com/money/consumer/dont-waste-your-money/older-ac-how-a-tuneup-can-cause-it-to-fail

 

[98TigerGradCE]

Is there air coming out of the vents at all? If the air handler is still moving air then it could be something as simple as a capacitor gone bad or not hooked up properly if it was replaced during maintenance. If you have air coming out of the vents but the fan on your outdoor unit is not spinning then check the capacitor. Plenty of YouTube videos on how to check and replace them.

 

[WatereeTiger84]

Did u check to see if they left the disconnect out?

This. If not that they likely blew the control board fuse.

 

[tigerGUY]

If they were competent, they would have found that freon was low and leaking. That's part of the inspection....at least that's how it worked in Jacksonville.

 

[bp1999]

Sometimes being too aggressive with the cleaning at the evaporator can cause a leak on systems or age too. Not really their fault, because it would eventually leak anyway.

 

[BigTimeTiger]

It is oddly coincidental to me too. I’d get a second opinion. At the very least, you’ll spend a couple hundred more for peace of mind.

This

 

[368Tiger]

Not sure this helps, but it does have some useful info in it:

https://www.wcpo.com/money/consumer/dont-waste-your-money/older-ac-how-a-tuneup-can-cause-it-to-fail

It was helpful and made sense to a degree. Thanks

 

[368Tiger]

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. I'm working from home today and will check some of the above suggestions as soon as I get a chance. To answer a couple questions, yes the fan on the outside is blowing and there is air coming out of the vents. Maybe something with the compressor?? Odd thing is it is set on 75 now and has been holding at 75 since yesterday afternoon. I did bump it down to 72 to see if it would cool to that and it would not. Be interesting to see if it holds 75 the rest of the day today as it warms up. HVAC guy is checking with Trane on one more thing that could be causing the unit in the attic to not be letting in all the coolant.

 

[Chris Ard]

It is oddly coincidental to me too. I’d get a second opinion. At the very least, you’ll spend a couple hundred more for peace of mind.

 

[Earle36]

You can buy mobile cooling units and put upstairs, for a fix, until you can buy a new system. They sell them at Lowe’s. If your only upstairs at night, may be a good solution. These aren’t window units, you should look into them.

 

[Lot4tailgater]

I've got an 18 year old Goodman and a 10 year old Rheem. One of my best friends is a hvac guy (he installed the goodman). I asked him about coming out and servicing/cleaning coils/etc. He said we could clean the coil, but that's all we should do. He said any unit >10 years old, doing anything else is risky.

 

[WatereeTiger84]

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. I'm working from home today and will check some of the above suggestions as soon as I get a chance. To answer a couple questions, yes the fan on the outside is blowing and there is air coming out of the vents. Maybe something with the compressor?? Odd thing is it is set on 75 now and has been holding at 75 since yesterday afternoon. I did bump it down to 72 to see if it would cool to that and it would not. Be interesting to see if it holds 75 the rest of the day today as it warms up. HVAC guy is checking with Trane on one more thing that could be causing the unit in the attic to not be letting in all the coolant.

I mean it it could be a reversing valve or something of that nature but given the info I'd say its low Freon. If the outside unit is running its not a capacitor or fuse issue. Site unseen.

 

[TuesdayJ]

@idohvac2

 

[VaTiger85]

Had a similar situation, and it is amazing how often the final answer is "looks like you're going to need a new system." Had a 13-year old Trane unit that wasn't putting out cold air. Initial inspection stated that the compressor was working, and it was a bad fan motor on the outside unit. A bit of a sigh of relief at it "only" costing $650. New motor installed... sat around waiting for the Compressor to cool off and hot air to come from the unit. Doesn't happen. Then adds several pound of coolant as it reads low. That ought to do it. Waiting for the gauges to show it cooling. Doesn't happen. First mention of "at some point you might want to consider a new unit" rather than continuing to troubleshoot and adding $$. Tries a few other diagnostic techniques... states the next step is to replace a reverse valve in the blower unit in the attic... 95% sure that's the issue but not a long warranty and it would cost at least $1000 more. Then checks the compressor again and magically diagnoses that it's not working. ?

Long story short, we have a new $6500 system.

Great company, but it's not lost on me that they pretty much control the outcome and you really have no choice. You could use another company but my guess is 90% of the time folks just go with the new unit from the people working on it. Especially when they can do the work the next day and you'll have cool air in less than 24 hours.

 

[clemsonkelly]

If they checked freon pressures before cleaning coils vs after cleaning coils then they could be reading High pressures but could actually be low after they're clean

 

[BigTimeTiger]

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. I'm working from home today and will check some of the above suggestions as soon as I get a chance. To answer a couple questions, yes the fan on the outside is blowing and there is air coming out of the vents. Maybe something with the compressor?? Odd thing is it is set on 75 now and has been holding at 75 since yesterday afternoon. I did bump it down to 72 to see if it would cool to that and it would not. Be interesting to see if it holds 75 the rest of the day today as it warms up. HVAC guy is checking with Trane on one more thing that could be causing the unit in the attic to not be letting in all the coolant.

Get a second opinion. There is a practice of paying service men a commission in that industry.

 

[BigTimeTiger]

You can buy mobile cooling units and put upstairs, for a fix, until you can buy a new system. They sell them at Lowe’s. If your only upstairs at night, may be a good solution. These aren’t window units, you should look into them.

The redneck fix, way to go Earle lol

 

[TegaCayTiger01]

Is there air coming out of the vents at all? If the air handler is still moving air then it could be something as simple as a capacitor gone bad or not hooked up properly if it was replaced during maintenance. If you have air coming out of the vents but the fan on your outdoor unit is not spinning then check the capacitor. Plenty of YouTube videos on how to check and replace them.

Just changed my capacitor out....$50 on Amazon. 3 wires to connect. Super super easy.

 

[TegaCayTiger01]

Get a second opinion. There is a practice of paying service men a commission in that industry.

This

Help me out here. I scheduled my HVAC guy out to check my A/C unit and make sure all was up to par before we really get into the summer heat wave (I'm in Rock Hill). His guys come out and service both units for Spring maintenance. Same night, the upstairs unit is no longer cooling and it is 80+ degrees upstairs. He was super helpful with tips on things to try myself when I told him what was going on. We have not had a problem with the unit before, even in the heat wave we had last week. He is still trying to help, but from the sounds of it he is thinking the unit will need to be replaced. Looking like $4500 to replace something that was working before they ever came out. I asked around about way mentioned it was coincidental that it just stopped working, but he did not really address that. I'll ask again. I've only been in the house a year and the units are 11 year old and made by Trane, when I think they were still made in the US. Tell me TI, I'm I being to paranoid worrying about this not being fishy? I like the guy and he is not one of the big box guys like a Brothers Air.

Try Panther Heating and cooling.

 

[TegaCayTiger01]

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. I'm working from home today and will check some of the above suggestions as soon as I get a chance. To answer a couple questions, yes the fan on the outside is blowing and there is air coming out of the vents. Maybe something with the compressor?? Odd thing is it is set on 75 now and has been holding at 75 since yesterday afternoon. I did bump it down to 72 to see if it would cool to that and it would not. Be interesting to see if it holds 75 the rest of the day today as it warms up. HVAC guy is checking with Trane on one more thing that could be causing the unit in the attic to not be letting in all the coolant.

Does your outside unit cool both up and down stairs? My single unit cools my upstairs & downstairs. I had to replace a servo on my dampener that controls where cold air was going (up or down). Easy to replace and can buy online.

 

[368Tiger]

Nope, two separate units. One for downstairs and one for up.

 

[368Tiger]

I guess he heard back from Trane and thinks that replacing the valve on the unit in the attic will take care of the problem. Cash price $650