Have you thought about using a 24V bulb instead of the circuit breaker? If you can find the right value, the bulb will be dark, the resistance is low, and most everything will have normal voltage. But if there's a lot of current, the bulb heat up, resistance will increase, and reduce the current. The maximum current is determined by the wattage of the bulb. It makes for a self-resetting "breaker" with a nice visual when the short is occurring. You can also use your clamp ammeter to see where the current is going on a "live" system.
I’m actually thinking about going into this at 51 years old. I took A/C and Refrigeration in High School before going into the USAF and being a F-16 Crew Chief 91-95. I built Boeing Landing gear until 9-11. Owned a construction business for 15 years and now I’m bored in Florida.
I enjoy watching you work through problems, almost as much as I enjoy my new "Women Call Me When They Get Hot" mug that I got today! Thank you and All the Best, Chuck
In my area, I have not been able to find a good person. Everyone wants to condemn stuff. After 2nd expensive change out 3yrs ago, started on RU-vid and internet to learn for myself. Most things I can diagnose and fix myself now. I won’t mess with gas lines or coolant. Then call the high price company. It’s actually quite easy to open a condenser and clean the coils. I did it two weeks ago, and unit runs much less. I greatly appreciate learning how things work. Electrical no issue, I’m trained on that.
You seem like a pretty good fellow but it's hard for me to believe as long as you've been doing this that you can't find a short with a meter. That Lil Popper saves you a lot of fuses. Use a meter to FIND the short and that Popper will collect dust. Also, why didn't you test the pressure switches before you hooked them back up? Since I never saw the problem resolved, I know for a fact you or somebody else was back out there soon after. I do like watching you videos though. You're a straight up honest guy. Having said that, honest guys don't associate with home warranty companies.
I had an intermittent issue years ago and it turned out the 2 4volts was low at the contactor, but only in the afternoon when the 245 volt dropped to 230 and change. Turns out they had run telephone wire to the t-stat and the #22 wire to the second floor was too small and causing the contactor to chatter... or drop out. It was 2 pair wire, so I doubled up the wires and the voltage came up enough to get rid of the issue. If I hadn't heard the relay chattering, I might still be there. This tells me there's a reason T-stat wire is generally #18.
№1: Your level of troubleshooting discpline is high enough, that you really should consider expanding your horizons into electronics at the component level. №2: Many thanks for introducing me to 'Kaiweets' test gear, and tools. I purchased their 'Smart' Digital Multimeter, and self-adjusting wire stripper, and am quite pleased with both.
Seeing most of the installations you're working on I have to say to be happy to live overhere in Europe where rules are apparently much stricter on ACs and heaters. Truly and honestly: most of the equipment you're called to work on are terrible on wiring! Incomprehensible for an overseas person. Anyways, keep up the good work in holding your customers safe! Good luck! Ciao, says T🐻 from the NLs.
I feel the same way as someone who works in industrial machinery, I can't help but feel everything in the residential HVAC industry is just made as cheaply as humanly possible, everything is spade connectors, no terminal strips, no wire numbers, you're lucky if they install zip ties at the factory, they treat stainless steel like it's gold, wont even use it on areas that they know will corrode like heat shields on gas furnaces.
I’ve been working in temp. Control for over 40 yrs designing, installing, and wiring and 99% of the time the common of the low voltage transformer is grounded to prevent floating commons
does the hvac move wires around to get another call for more money when they can fix it the first time. it will catch up with down the road. be bless and love.
I'll give you a little hint if you are going to try to find shorts or low resistance with an ohm meter. Nothing on the low voltage side will be below 15 ohns and that's the reversing valve coil. Everything else will be higher than 15 ohms.. also use common for "ground" when checking this because some transformers are isolated from body ground
Why did the fan start fast, then look like it slowed way down, and why is it looking like it’s backwards..isn’t it supposed to push air up and out in the direction heat normally flows, sucking cool air through the coil and then straight up?
I just had an attic fire, I see more lights with 50’s wiring that have cracked insulation w bare copper exposed..I’m getting it all retired even though the insurance won’t pay..new panels, new service up to 200amps, whole shebang...I can’t see sealing all the ceilings back up (they gutted them to remove smoky insulation) with suspect cloth wrapped Paraflex just waiting to start another fire..