As far as the repair goes, you might want to schedule a followup service call to see if the unit is still leaking. Since that unit is in the crawlspace without a secondary pan, it will will just continue to leak and degrade the cabinet and components. There isn't a secondary pan safety to alert the customer. I had a similar situation with a new coil. The transition from the plastic drain pan and metal drip pan was causing capillary wicking. Trane will usually install a foam strip at this transition and failed to do so. When I took it apart, I could see the mineral stains where the water was migrating up and over the lip. I ended up bending the metal lip to make a tighter fit and added silicone caulk along the seem. This solved the issue.
navysuit read my mind with the SS2 or such safety switch. Plus on this handler there is a cheap go no go tester for the vs motor to test real quick, done.
I think you're going to be back to that one. If for only the corrosion on the harness. Copper and corrosion love each other, and that corrosion is going to travel straight back to the board. The motor wires are wicking moisture from that insulation. Need to replace the harness and get it so it's not possible due it to touch the wet insulation. Also cut a little piece of aluminum and use it as an extension of the drip pan under the coils. Hard to explain, but I'm thinking the pan is just slightly too far back in the cabinet. I'm not an AC guy, but 10 years of copier and electronics repair experience had me cringing at parts of this. Never just fix the what, fix the why first.
I had a squareD Sundial AHU that cons5antly got wet like that. I found the source by having a plexiglass door made and secured it in place and saw the water flying off the coil one end. I agree, you’ be coming back to this one. Another her way to check water flow on a condensate pan is a large marble or steel ball like from a old bearing and lace it in he pan and see how it rolls. The other thing I do, is suck the majority of water out, using my shop vac, to attempt try remove most of the water, throughout the cabinet. Moisture or heat + electronics = failure. I don’t understand why they don’t locate the boards on air handlers outside the airstream, unless your into selling parts.
this is common in car repair. in fuze panels and relays especially also known as the green crusties. its just like mold will continue to grow and come back depending on the environment.
I have seen the soaked insulation a lot in brand new High SEER equipment. Started adding extra returns to allow for better airflow and allowing the condensate to run down fins as design intended. Also pulling heat load prior to selling new units and sizing to that regardless of existing size. Find that I am sizing down more then I thought I would be. Could be something different in your situation, but worth considering.
Not the first time seeing water wick up through a wire harness and cause corrosion. South Main Auto had a video with a truck, possibly a Silverado, that had a similar problem with the wire harness beneath the vehicle.
Ted, On aircraft where the connectors are in damp places we use DC4 on them. I also have seen where the flux that was not cleaned off the board after soldering can take just a little moisture and make a corrosive mess.
I really appreciate all your videos I work for the city and I am in my 3rd year working in HVAC I have learned so much from your videos thank you so much! My perfetion is building trade 30 years + but I love the HVAC trade
for the water getting up into the connector, most likely wicking up it because the way the wires are connected like a ribbon cable, but could be leaking "supply" air behind the board and causing it to splash up or pulling in air causing it to splash/bubble right there. I see there's some screws, metal plate and a cover screw close to there also. of course we all know stopping the water from getting in there is step one :)
It could possibly be something as simple as a crack in the plastic condensate pan or maybe one of the installers shot a screw through the plastic pan or maybe it is just freezing up and then when melting the water is taking the path of least resistance. Curious to see how this turns out for you in the future. Thanks for the video, the information, and the entertainment. God bless bro.
I think the board was what happened, The actual problem is still there. Condensate is the problem, why is the condensate escaping the pan and soaking the cabinet. I had a problem similar once and made a plexiglass door to "SEE" what was going on. It was revealing.
I put chunks of pure zinc in my dehumidifier to stop drain clogging. Seems if you put oversized PVC at the overflow / access opening you could put a zinc rod in 3/8-1/2 dia and end clogging. Microbes hate zinc because it kills them. The zinc slowly dissolves and runs down the drain line. It would last for years.
Condensation could have been dripping off that sheet metal cover onto that connector causing it to corrode. That's why maybe the others didn't, cause the lowest part of the cover was only above that one connector... I also like the wicking idea, but the others connectors would have done the same. Just a thought...
I'm betting no sealer/tape on the pvc thread in adapter and water running right through the threads. I see it very often and it leaks slow but fills the case or rusts the outside on vertical flows.
The other harnesses were probably for the heaters I’d assume, or something that wasn’t receiving voltage yet, you’re blower motor harness would be powered on causing the corrosion
baking soda and water paste or just vinegar will remove that corrosion from the DC voltage and water combination. I see that all the time in underground vaults with DC control circuits. Connectors have to be replaced because their plating has been removed, but you can restore function temporarily with the vinegar. Nothing but removing the water vapor will stop it.
I would check to make sure water isn't running down that supply flex. Saw water droplets coming off all through the video. Could be sweating somewhere and just running down to the lowest point.
Was it the trap wasn't deep enough? we had the same issue and it was because we didn't put the "U" trap on the ECM systems. It worked for us to put the deeper trap on!!
It appeared that there wasn't a vent stack after the p-trap. In my experience on negative pressure drains a Tee after the P helps the pan drain properly.
I’m very surprised you would leave a unit under warranty in that condition. The communication cable should have been replaced and the water problem figured out. The home owner is not being taken care of in this case. Very disappointed.
Hi speed will suck up water off the drain pan and the evap. There is no way the water will dry off the covers...which means, mold is gonna be everywhere down the rd. Seen that a lot
I wish the homeowner had the opportunity to see this video. I feel sorry for the owner because they just spent a shit ton of money for what’s supposed to be a top tier HVAC unit, and it won’t last a decade.
I have a issue with the said unit full communication outdoor unit is an inverter unit hence only can be wired without y2 y1 ect. Now ive wired correctly DRB from airhandler to thermostat and D&B accordingly for the outdoor unit but at the thermostat its me an error code im thinking probably a wire harness is missing as on the AFC there is a port for a DRB harness
It looks like water is spiting off the coil. There should be a plate to deflect the condensate inside the coil. It's critical on a horizontal install. m maybe a lower fan speed if the problem isn't from icing or poor drainage
I had about the same problem with a TAM9, American Standard 20 SEER Heat Pump system that had both indoor and outdoor commercial surge suppressors installed. In this case lighting hit power lines about 3 miles away but still took out the communications circuit of the indoor AFC board (Err 90.02 Sys Communications Err). It also took out the low voltage harness at the outdoor unit. Apparently the surge suppressors are not fast enough to shut down on lightning spikes from what American Standard informed me. Both items were repaired under warranty. I'm looking for better surge suppressors for the customer, any ideas would be helpful.
They should’ve stuck to the plastic cabinets that’s ridiculous don’t sell it. That whole cabinets notorious for piss poor drainage and then the swearing factor involved. Wow I’m glad we’re not selling these in Florida anymore . Static pressure too. There’s probably no airflow in that crawlspace it’s probably just humid. If you can’t dry that unit out it just will continue to sweat forever.
Air handler not properly converted to right discharge, air flow settings not properly set up for duct work... water management is a common problem with these air handlers that have a variable speed blower. Very sensitive to proper set-up at installation.
Cliff Hanger: Water is the primary problem. I never saw one of these but if it is a right discharge then it is sucking air over the coil. I would read the instructions for the coil installation. 4 months would be about right to corrode plugs if water is flying around in there.
My father when 5 went on service calls with my grandfather and I with my father at 5, back in the safe good old days. You hair is longer than mine. Heat pumps are only sold by uneducated high pressure salesmen here.
Here natural gas is way cheaper than electricity. However the Electric Company owns the Gas Company. While you are doing all these movies and staring roles, who is running your business or is your business running you?
Not sure what size unit you have there, but I had a 5 ton that had slightly undersized duct. It would pick up the water out of that pan right at the drain takeoff. Had it on video. You could only see it doing it with the door on almost completely. I don’t like that drain being almost up under the motor like that. There are a lot of flaws with that airhandler that needs to be fixed.
Duct size and static pressure are critical on high end systems.... if you're not going to fix those issues then buy low end. That is my opinion anyway.
Agree also. Static was within design of unit. Just higher than I prefer. My issue was with that air handler drain pan sticking 4” under blower causing water to pickup. Field fabricated piece of sheet metal solved the issue.
If you want to see what is happening under normal conditions... make a plexi-glass door and tape it on to seal it up well. I still believe your issue could be fixed without alterations to the unit design. Did you try lowering airflow in cooling mode to 370 or 350 cfm per ton ?
I would rather go with a 14 seer than a higher seer unit these days. There are too many components to break and the cost of parts is too high once it is out of warranty. My relative has 3 XL19i installed in 2009. He is likely going to change them out to single stage 14 seer units. He has paid a lot of money in labor replacing coils, OD fan motors, blower motors, and a board. The prices Trane charges for out of warranty parts is also ridiculous. You won't get any savings in the end. Just do the calculations. Your 10 year savings going from a 14 seer to 20 seer is only around $2500. Your initial investment eats up any savings The only benefit would be dehumidification, but you can get good results with a properly sized single stage unit. If not, you can go single stage with a dedicated dehumidifier and still come out ahead.
I agree with Ted. We have done tons of retrofits to high end equipment with great success. Completed a GEO job last summer that HO expect ROI to be 5 years or less compared to the air cooled equipment he had.
We love Geos !! We just did a nice one from scratch, and we are doing another Geo change out with new duct and all next week.... one video is up of the new construct house and the change out video will be up next week.
I priced a evaporator for a grandaire package unit that is 8 years old and wasn’t registered. 1100 bucks my cost. I don’t think Trane makes grandaire do they? Should I replace that coil or unit?
GrandAire is a label owned by Baker... in the old days they were built by Nordyne, now they are built by ICP... give me your model and serial plus the Baker store location closest to you and I will see if I can help. I have done a lot with Baker for many years.
Airflow should not ex-ceed the face velocity of the filter being used. Also, unit is shipped from the factory in the upflow or horizontal right configuration. Unit conversion is not required.
You are right. Left. Wrong install manual. We use Unico systems for these kind of jobs. Maybe you have to slow down the cfms on the dip switches as well as verify filter cfm flow. It could be sucking the water off the evap coil. They really stress that the unit be supported both ends and middle to prevent sag and water leakage.
Yes sir, all our units in Virginia had them and some in North Carolina as well as Maryland. float switches to shut them off of the not draining water sweating too much.
Very important not to have any moisture in in these a/h. High static pressure, incomplete condensate drainage., will ruin AFC board, ECM motor and wiring harness etc. Just replacing parts will not solve the problem
If that was my unit, I’d be so pissed off. All that money on a new unit and it’s obvious he’s going to have a shit load of problems in the future. It may work great for a couple wears but water destroys everything. I would want a brand new unit
I have watched just about all the videos you have done and have learned a lot but have some questions? Did you follow up on this water issue and what was the problem ? Why not wait to replace board and next day air new electrical harness for the board or visit your Trane parts distributor ? The corrosion will likely come back on that AFC and cause another failure ?
You have the concrete blocks under the unit orientated incorrectly. The cores should be hidden, placed vertically not horizontally. As they are, those blocks are being used in their weakest position. This was done because you didn't want them to sink into the dirt floor. Use a patio block as a base and that won't happen.
Jason B could it be as the filter is getting dirty the restriction causes the fan to pull water off end of coil, carrier has a channel at the apex of coils with a tube that runs down to drain pan.
FPGA is a programmable logic ie: a cpu that can be programmed to be anything from a ARM to MIPS. I think I know what I’m talking about since it’s my field of work..
RELEASE THE PINS FROM THE PLASTIC CONNECTOR AND SCRAPE THEM! What a waste of a new board, should have just desoldered the board connector and directly soldered the wires to the board! Nothing wrong with the old board.
I disagree of course on the complicated issue, our systems are very logical and easy to setup/repair... not to mention I am quite sure I can buy a Trane system at a better price than you can buy Bryant. Especially in the entry level ranges.
Anti DIY HVAC that probably is True I just know where I live every new install is either rheem or Bryant but I know a few Friends with Trane and they said they work pretty good
They have all had problems ,plenty install Problems the Number One Culprit with Water besides just wrong drain piping is High Static Pressure will pull water off of Coils and run all in Cabinet
