AC fan not working - how to repair broken HVAC Run Start Capacitor - air condition 

This video saved my life! Thanks for making this video. I ended up spending $68 for the capacitor and my neighbor advised me to also change out the hard start capacitor as well. Took about an hour to change out. Thanks again!

Thank you so much for taking the time to make this video and share it with others! Thanks to you, my husband and I were able to repair our AC unit for only $20. We were able to purchase a new run capacitor from our local Grainger store.

Thanks so much for posting this, really put to rest my fears of opening the panel and fixing it myself. AC repair company wanted $100 just to come tell me what was wrong, I fixed it myself by replacing the $12 cap. You rock!

Tried the stick test, it worked. I bought a capacitor and installed within 5 minutes. It works. Probably saved me hundreds of dollars. Thank you.

great video! my repairman said I needed a new fan and I asked him about capacitor and he checked it and replaced it and a lot cheaper tried me to make me buy a new fan.....thanks

This worked! I already had a call into a repair company (who didn't call back), and thought I'd give this a last try. And $14 later, it works like a charm. Thank you!

It is my understanding that capacitors can hold a pretty heavy jolt of electricity even after the breaker is pulled and that they should be discharged before handling them or the wire connections to them- you neither mention this nor show how to do it- people could be at risk if that is not done in some cases.

...Thanks. Diagnosed our non-cooling A/C tonight as a bad run/start capacitor. Your video was quite helpful. Much appreciated. Now, hopefully I can find one of these run/start caps locally; it's supposed to be the hottest day of the year tomorrow so of course my A/C fails the night before.

This video saved me tons of money for a service call / labor as well as having me up and running within 4 hours after I fully cleaned the coils. !!!! Great Video

Thanks so much, I had concluded my capacitor was gone - but until I saw this video, I never realized that they bulge out when they're gone. It cost me $22 locally (cheaper online, but I needed it fixed ASAP) and I did it myself. Piece of cake 10 minute install... thanks so much for making this video. Save $150-200 and do it yourself!

That is a dual capacitor. It is 2 capacitors in 1 housing. You did a good job fixing your unit. I wanted to add that the letters on top represent: F= fan,HERM= compressor, and C=common. But common is not to be mistaken for ground. Common is basically a internal plate that is electrical "common" to both "F" and "HERM".

Wanted to say thank you! I would never know what to check without this video. You saved me a couple hundred dollars, and a good night sleep.

Hey man! I did this today thanks to this video. Thank you very much for putting this up. It saved me a good chunk of change and it saved me and my wife from melting in our house during this awful heat.

watch these two videos: how to buy a capacitor:ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zgNqHlAx3Fw.html how to split a capacitor:ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bT6W7hPHfUo.html

im happy to know this video helped your family out. thx for the kind words, you really made my day :)

Thank you SO much!! We had company in town and the A/C went out...this video got us back up and running quickly and for $20! I really appreciate you taking the time to post this!!

thanks for pointing that out. HVACs actually uses RUN capacitor; which does both Start then Run. There are other units out there that have dedicated START and RUN capacitors. But, this is not the case. you can read more on Wikipedia under "Motor capacitor"

Thank you very much I save a lot of money 😁😁 I just followed the instructions and my A/C is back on business happy wife happy life thanks again

you awesome. I was about to call someone to fix it and eat my money. I decided to Google it that's when I landed in your hands. Thanks a lot . I was able to fix it myself.. God bless

Thank YOU!!!!!!!!! Followed your instructions. Its fixed.The capacitor was bulged,located a part bought it fixed within 2 hours. THANK YOU

Thanks a lot for posting this D.I.Y. video, i just bought a house with old A/C system and after 2 weeks i found out that compressor / fan outside stopped working. i hear that theres a capacitor you could change to solve the problem, so i did some research on RU-vid BAMMM !! i saw your video, save my money, man you are awsome :)

Great video you just help me and my family only have to deal with one night of heat. I appreciate you taking the time to post this.

Was watching your other videos and missed this one. Paid $180 for a new capacitor. Probably shouldve been charged 120 but thats ok. Went to a shop but didnt have model number. Next time i'll know. Thanks! Great post!

I'll check that. Thanks! I also realized I did a poor job of explaining that the system works and the fan continues to run, I just get warm air instead of cold after a few hours. I think the compressor overheats and shuts off. I checked the two copper pipes going to the ac unit outside and one is warm and the other is cold, when working, I haven't checked it when not working. I also haven't listened to the compressor buzz to see if it's off when not working, but I will. Thanks again.

thats wonderful u found an honest AC guy. those fire ants are big problems with AC contacts.

thank you so much, on a fixed income fixed it my self only cost me 40$. thank god the weather was nice, it took 2 days to get it in the mail.

Omg I have to try this! Mine fan stopped working today, you may have just saved me some major $. Thank you!

Dude you are awesome!! $13 capacitor and 10 minute time was all it took. Thank You so much for the video.

I have an intermittent "no start" issue with my A/C unit. I'll have to check the cap and its connections. Thanks for the great video : )

Thanks, it is a dual cap. I shut it down. Now that the sun is down we should be able to make it through tomorrow.

Hi, there are two capacitance on your current capacitor. you need to match it with a new one. digikey, mouser, amazon are few that sell them. e.g. i went to mouser, typed "run capacitor" and a few showed up.

I don't care what anyone says, thanks to this video and $12.00 in parts my family has A/C in August!

The buzz sounds is the 24VAC contactor relay. Sounds like your control board is trying to turn on the condensing unit, but the condensing unit isnt turning on. Check the run capacitor and contactor relay. If you have 240VAC and a good capacitor, then you can narrow it down to the fan or compressor. Watch the following youtube: "How Air Condition Ventilation & Furnace Works - HVAC AC system diagram" "AC not starting up - Air Conditioner condensing unit lost power"

well, this might sound silly, but did he check the breaker? breaker's can oxidize over time. Did he check for at least 240VAC at the contactor? The city can lower voltage level below 240VAC. Did he check for the fuse? Did he check for 24VAC signal to the contactor? If he did all the above, then im out of ideas.

Discharge that capacitor!! You're going to kill someone

I'm sure you saved many people a lot of money on this simple repair. But you appear to have a dual run capacitor and, although it's obviously swollen and bad, at least on one leg, the other could still hold a dangerous charge. I would also turn the power off at the circuit breaker and wait several hours for any charge to dissipate. Then I would discharge each leg with an insulated cable. Ideally, appropriate resistors should be in the discharge cable circuit. Wear thick rubber gloves to do it.

in normal operation, there are two humming sound. one from the compressor and one from the contactor coil. the unit was completely off, so the only humming sound could have came from the contactor coil.

I want to thank you for posting this video, my A/C seems like what you have explain on your video, I hope that is all that is wrong with it.

You sir.. just saved me a major headache and some money. Thank you .. thank you .. thank you!

that could be a possibility. Also, measuring the fan resistance only confirms electrically its fine, it doesnt grantee mechanically if its working well (e.g. bad bearing, unbalanced, etc..) Also, a lose wire or bad connections, corrosion, bad circuit breaker (one pole, not both), etc... could also be an issue. Intermittent problems are the worst... since there isnt a clear answer.

Great video. Gave me the confidence to fix instead of calling a company and most likely getting charged a lot. I was shocked how simple a fix it is. :)

The proper way to open the panel is a nut driver or one on a cordless drill. But on most you can open the panel with flat screw driver, 5/16 wrench or pliers. Cut the power before you open the panel and make sure the power is off after opening the panel. I have found some wired up wrong at the disconnect and you pull the disconnect and still have power. Chang one wire at the time on the capacitor.

In Florida it’s getting harder to buy them from the HVAC distributing company since they told me that they will longer sell them to home owners. They only sell them to Licensed Contractors

intermittent problems are the worst to diagnose. im sure they checked the capacitor and did all basic check ups. sounds like the fan motor might be bad, or a power issue somewhere.

nope. my friends and i do it all the time. i guess it might differ from state to state. store to store too.

Great video! I was hoping that maybe you could give me some advice. My air quit working properly and my maintenance man replaced the capacitor yesterday. The unit works but will only spit out cold air for about 20 minutes. After that the compressor continues to run, but the fan on top of the unit stops turning & I start getting warm air pumped into the house again. I'll shut it off for about 30 minutes & when I turn it back on everything works as it should... then after about 20 the fan will stop turning again. I've repeated this process several times & every time it's the same result. I was just curious if there's anything I can maybe do myself to fix this problem. My guy will come back out if he has to, but I know he works a full time job (moonlights as maintenance), lives an hour away from me, & we've got thunderstorms in the forecast for the next few days. I have people in my home with serious health issues (in addition to children as well) & the sooner I can get it fixed, the better. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the video. It was very helpful. I have a question though, how did you know it was the capacitor and not the fan motor? What test did you perform to determine the exact cause?

also a non contact voltage meter.. they run about $10-20 maybe even more. in HVAC we use ones rated from 24volts+ if you buy one that starts it rating for detecting volts 50+ then that might be a bad idea.

Folks: please be sure to discharge the capacitor before touching it’s contacts with bare hands! Use an insulated metal screwdriver to cross the terminals HERM & C. Do this *after* pulling the fuse disconnect box. Thankfully this guy’s was discharged already and yours probably will be too if it’s blown, but it’s a simple extra safety step that takes one second.

This might be a dumb question,but how do you check for voltage?

OK had similar issue but out come was a bit different: 1) turn breaker off get hum 2) turn of AC hum stops. took panel off and fan off wires look good reseated spade connectors no bulging on the capacitor. 3) turn on AC, the breaker at compressor get hum, listen for sound more closely. was coming from the fan. Gave a spin, started working. 4) turned it off and put the fan back in place, hit the breaker again fan wont start. hit with hose - starts. Question: any video on fixing the fan??

Huge thanks, just replaced the part myself and it turned on

Exactly. With safety glasses on. Remember your eyeballs. Protect them allways. You only get one set for now.

all central air units have a capacitor for the compressor. they might be located in slightly different locations. go to my channel and watch other videos of mine. i have a lot of examples.

nop... they dont sell it. look up "HVAC supply" or something in that nature in google maps to find the closes HVAC store

Replaced capacitor, worked for five minutes, then stopped spinning. Thoughts?

Voltage and Amps are required to maintain it running. A bad cap can cause shorting and lowers the required voltage. Also, it could be your electric company. There are a little too many unknown variables. Hope the following ideas help... Low voltage due to electric company (less than 240VAC) = ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nLG6vst7j_0.html Low voltage due to circuit breaker (only 120VAC) = ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1NCWJ3-xNUk.html Low current (bad capacitor) = ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zgNqHlAx3Fw.html

hes at work right now, but THIS may sound silly, but where would the breaker, fuse be at? he basically switched the VAC for a newer one, but theyre both the same..

This worked great! Thank you. I bought a capacitor for $60.

Our A/C went out today. I can hear the inside unit running, but no air is blowing. My husband said the outside unit is not running. Could the capacitor be our problem? I would appreciate any help, this heat is killing me!

i thought Kvar is for 3 phase HVAC systems? I've never mess with that... i only know it helps reduce reactance factor from your motor.

i have a question..? my fan is running outside, but i'm not getting cool air inside... what should I check?

@DIY Tinker. I know you're not a professional but you seem to have a skill here. I turned my unit and forgot to take the cover off. About 7 mins later, I realized this and took it off. The outside into was a little warm. Now the fan won't start. I checked the circuit breaker ... It was fine. It's only about 2 yrs old. I tried again the next day ... no change. What do you think this could be? Same issue that you had? Any help would be great! Thank you.

Hey my compasator blew up and all the wires near it melted....what can I do about that? Where can i get new wiring?

So the AC started blowing warm air just now, and I raced outside and confirmed the fan was on and the compressor was off. The pipe that was cold before was just barely cool. While I was listening to the AC outside, I heard the compressor turn on and sure enough cold air started blowing again. So the question becomes, why would the compressor shut off? BTW, it worked well though the hot part of the day and now that it's cooler outside, the problem was there. Any expert opinions, clues?

Ok what brand is this compressor and what was the V for the capacitor you got because it looks very very similar to mine

I kick started my fan outside and it works! Thanks!

Thanks it did work for me perfect no problems with only $37.

At one time it came back on. This time I adjusted the heat to actual temp 85 and then switched to cool at 77. Air came back on (cold) the fan is going..it has shut off once and then came back on again...still cool......Very strange any idea....Thank YOU VERY MUCH much for your feedback....

Ok so my trane unit(not a big unit, small ranch home) the fan isnt turning and has a small hum to it. its been off for 2hrs now. Would the it be discharged enough for me to handle it? Also Is turning the breaker off sufficient enough or do I need to try and pull the fuse outside? Thanks

I have had 2 repairmen attempt to fix my ac. My ac quits blowing cold air after 45 minutes, the fan on the outside unit quits, but the capacitor(?) is still humming. When I shut the ac off for sometime, it will work again for another hr or so and the fan quits and the unit stops blowing cold air. I called another repairman he says to change fan motor? Any idea what I should do?

will the capacitor keep the unit from coming on?

I have the same problem. but I changed the capacitor three weeks ago. could I need a new motor?

When I turn on my AC the Fan Motor clicks once but wont spin.Could it be it only needs this Part you replaced in this video? Thank You:)

Was the unit making a buzzing sound? We got home today and were gone for bout 3 hours, when we entered our house it was warmer than usual. I went out side and heard the unit buzzing and it was hot.. So could this be the case that the capacitor it bad? I spun the fan to see if it was locked up and it turned freely. Hoping its not the motor.

My fan sounds like it wants to turn. ..if I grab something long and spins it, then it turns full...is my problem still the capacitor even it still turns with my help?

no problem. im happy to hear comments like this. I made a trouble shooting video too. check it out.

My dog chewed out that rubber hose that has wires inside it, the hose coming from the bottom of the capacitor. Do you recommend it for a regular home owner repair or call a professional?

it could, you just have to check.

So was the air cool after? ??

Does it make a difference if it is not the same size as the capacitor being replaced?

well, hopefully your new capacitor will last a good 5+ years :)

I think my A/C got hit by lightening. Before today, it was working okay with an occasional time it will throw off the a/c breaker. I would just go outside and reset the a/c breaker and it would trip on. But today after a lightening storm hit the power to the house, the breaker was tripped again, but the a/c fan does not come on again and I do not hear the a/c click on when I turn on the a/c. What's going on?

DIY Tinker videos - just love them - however my issue issue is that only the blower wont come on when AC is on - either auto or fan. I switched the setting to heat and guess what. The blower came on - I switched the settings back to AC and it's running just fine. If I shut it off no blower fan. I do not have a volt meter so not sure how to test the safe-t-switch. Any thoughts?

Nice do you know how to install a K var to that?

thx for the reminder. it is important.

Hi! I have a Trane XR11 air conditioner that all of a sudden the fan stopped working yesterday. The unit turns on and I can hear it trying to work, but the fan doesnt turn on and it just gets really hot. It filled the house with HOT air yesterday. : ( I searched youtube and found this. I dont have the tools to open the panel and see if this easy fix is the problem. Of course it is record high temperatures when this happens! LOL I have calls in to friends with tools. Any suggestions?

Can you explain to me how a run/start capacitor works? Could you also dumb it down for me? Please and thank you.

Oh wow..I did not expect for you to reply that soon.assume. Thank you so much. Really appreciate it.If its ok I would like to add some other weird things. cont

ALSO, if I have a main circuit board to turn off the A/C from do I still need to break into my locked box and turn the power off?

Can I buy the capacitor at Lowes or Home Depot?

Hi everyone, I need your help, I have an old portable a/c it works perfect when temperatures are below 32°c, but when higher than that the compressor works for a few minutes and then stops for 15, is it easy to disassemble a portable unit? What should I do???

There is still power at the outdoor unit on a heat pump even when the outdoor power is off. Most people watching this would not know the difference.

not all capacitor is the same, you need check what kind or size capacitor you have, my capacitor have the label for the part number and other info, also Grainger employee help me to make sure i replaced the correct specifications...

u can go ahead and post it here. i wont delete it.

Question my ac fan is running outside but no air is blowing through the vents inside.....what could be the problem???

I just had a new capacitor installed. Wish I'd seen this first and might have gotten someone to change it for free. But now the a/c is running but the temperature hasn't changed since the service guy left. It ran a good hour or two. Any ideas? I called him back but haven't heard from him yet.

So I changed my capacitor, but the fan is still not spinning. It hums when I turn it on, but nothing. I'm thinking it could be the fan engine itself? Any help, I'm trying to avoid paying a damn handy man who will probably rip me off for something that's easy to fix.

Another way to check the capacitor is to connect all the wires together from the capacitor, turn the unit on and if it starts then the capacitors junk!

i think mine went out too, i dont know cause the thing is 32 years old it might be something else, ill start with that first.