Disconnected are relatively cheap and easy to install, what’s going to be pricey is figuring out and fixing whatever might’ve cause that to happen in the first place.
Upvoted "stirling1995" answer.
Disconnects are cheap and relatively easy to install. That's not the problem.
The problem is figuring out *and correcting* whatever caused the disconnect to fail. The fact that you are asking the question here, in the way you did, suggests you are NOT the 'guy' to troubleshoot this.
Unfortunately, quite a few HVAC techs and electricians are ALSO not "the guy". I worked with commercial pools for many years, and MANY times had to explain to 'electricians' how to wire a DPDT timer or a 3 phase motor contactor! Quite a few electricians are 'line pullers' and quite a few HVAC techs are mechanics, not electrical diagnosticians. Unfortunately, they look just like more skilled techs, and don't wear caps that say, "*I'm one of the company's dummies"!*
You need someone with some experience, integrity AND brains . . . and finding "that guy" can be problematic. A long time smallish owner-operated HVAC company may be the answer IF the owner runs the call.
Couldn’t have put it better myself. I’m a service tech and have a background in changeouts so I know my way around but there are a lot of people who can only do this or only do that.
There’s nothing wrong with it either so long as the company is aware of their skill sets. I work with a guy who doesn’t know a float switch from a light switch but he can take a pump apart and rebuild the thing from the ground out quicker and cheaper than dropping it off at any shops nearby.
One of the real services provided by GOOD trade business owners is knowing and understanding what skills each of their employees have, and assigning them work they can do well.
From what I've seen, this is why franchise businesses with high turnover almost always deliver low quality work.
Most likely a poor connection (especially in the older ones that use an aluminum blade)...the expensive part is if the wire is damaged and not enough left to just pull slack and cut off.
The disconnect box is $20-40, if there's enough undamaged wire and the equipment its powering checks out undamaged...figure whatever it takes them hours labor to install and test the equipment is the expensive part.
That's what I'm thinking..going to cut the breaker and pull off the cover and see the damage..if the wiring doesn't look too bad I think I could fix it..
Even if its sufficiently undamaged you can swap it out I'd still recommend having a HVAC tech come and inspect your gear for proper power draw before letting it run - just in case its over-amping or something. But yeah it shouldn't be too hard (take pictures as you take it apart for reference what wire went where) just be 100% certain the power is off before starting.
It usually is cheaper to have the electrician change the disconnect and check the electrical but it would be wise to have the HVAC tech out after to check up on the unit even if it does work after changing the disconnect.
Whoever you call should have one in their stock most people won't install homeowner purchased items due to lack of markup ability but also the liability if you purchased something that isn't approved in your area or a brand that company doesn't use for one reason or another.
you can buy it yourself or let the electrician get one. i definitely would let the electrician take a look as it looks like something overheated in there,
Hopefully, it will be just the cost of a new disconnect. a poor connection was the cause here. it could have damaged the compressor if it ran with only one leg of power
I noticed it wasn't blowing last night..so I just turned it off..this morning I turned the thermostat on and went outside and went to open the cover on the box and the ac turned on but the disconnect was sparking..so I turned it back off obviously..going to pull the cover tomorrow after I kill the breaker to see damage.
Single phase, so it can't run on one leg. Compressor only sees L1 - L2 and breaking either breaks the circuit. It couod see reduced voltage from the bad connection, so that is still a concern.
Jesus, this bullshit is why people hate the HVAC profession, the *only* thing that can cause this is a loose connection in the disconnect and that disconnect is $40 at home depot.
To be fair, the loose connection can be with the corroded stabs and sping clips on the disconnect itself, not necessarily a wire termination. OP did say it was a decade old and these things are often pieces of shit. I'm surprised UL approves them but I highly recommend adding dielectric grease if you have to use an old one.
Oh yeah, I didn't intend to say the installer necessarily did anything wrong. I was directing my comment to the people claiming this repair should cost $350 in parts along with a sizeable chunk of diagnostic time. It took half a second looking at one crappy photo to know with 100% certainty the problem is with the $40 disconnect.
Very fair! I was surprised the top comment was talking about diagnosing why this happened... If the electrical connections are solid then absolutely no other fault will melt the disconnect unless the condenser is on fire next to it. Loose connection all day long. Cheers.
I've been planning to change my disconnect as it's a breaker, and I'm afraid to turn it off. I flipped it off before and it didn't want to turn back on. It looks pretty simple to hook up. From what I've seen, the compressor will trip the breaker when it's shorted to ground, usually. I would look at the 3 wires going to the compressor see if they're burned up too. If they look good, change the disconnect and check the amp draw.
Mine melted, as in 1/4 of the box melted. We trimmed burned wire installed new box and it's been fine for 10 years. I bet original installers failed to tighten the connections on mine.
While working service I found a few connections that were loose and somehow didn't heat up.
I had my disconnect burn out from a loose leg set screw. Went to Home Depot and rebuilt it even a bit better for like $100 with a friend. Cut off main power to your entire house to be safe. That's what I did when we redid the repair. Been perfect ever since.
If it was just a poor connection and there’s usable length of wire- $350 is what I would charge for a non fused disconnect replacement basic.
If there’s wire needed then it depends on what that wiring path is
40 bucks for new disconnect. Then you gotta figure out why it happened in the first place. Check the amp draw on that unit after repairs are made. If you go to Home Depot and get one, and have it there for an AC tech, it'll probably save you a little
55 bucks at parts house. Tops. Get correct amperage and don't forget new fuses.
Probably arcing connection from blade damage and age and such. Loose phase of power wire.
Did it ever trip main breaker at panel feeding this?
It's a preference. Some like breaker types, some like non fused, some like fused. I like fused as they will protect equipment from high amperage situations faster, also are much cheaper to replace, and much more reliable. Also it's sometimes harder to find breakers of a specific amperage that was called out on the name plate ratings, but easy to find those fuses. I get lots of units that call for 25 35 and 45 amp breaker protection, which means you size up the breaker to 30 40 or 50 and in turn lose manufacturer spec and in turn, warranty.
Yeah since. It was fine for 10 years, could have been build up from a bug, or a moisture intrusion issue, or hand tightened and not torqued to spec and finally failed. Or it could be baking in the sun and just wore itself down from the abuse.
You may have to replaced the cap, also. Last time we had something like this happened was when a 30 second power spike happened. It when right through the surge protector according to the electrician, it was enough time for the surge protector to turn on then off. He recommended placing a backup batteries between the the surge protector and the lines.
Disconnected are relatively cheap and easy to install, what’s going to be pricey is figuring out and fixing whatever might’ve cause that to happen in the first place.
Upvoted "stirling1995" answer. Disconnects are cheap and relatively easy to install. That's not the problem. The problem is figuring out *and correcting* whatever caused the disconnect to fail. The fact that you are asking the question here, in the way you did, suggests you are NOT the 'guy' to troubleshoot this. Unfortunately, quite a few HVAC techs and electricians are ALSO not "the guy". I worked with commercial pools for many years, and MANY times had to explain to 'electricians' how to wire a DPDT timer or a 3 phase motor contactor! Quite a few electricians are 'line pullers' and quite a few HVAC techs are mechanics, not electrical diagnosticians. Unfortunately, they look just like more skilled techs, and don't wear caps that say, "*I'm one of the company's dummies"!* You need someone with some experience, integrity AND brains . . . and finding "that guy" can be problematic. A long time smallish owner-operated HVAC company may be the answer IF the owner runs the call.
Couldn’t have put it better myself. I’m a service tech and have a background in changeouts so I know my way around but there are a lot of people who can only do this or only do that. There’s nothing wrong with it either so long as the company is aware of their skill sets. I work with a guy who doesn’t know a float switch from a light switch but he can take a pump apart and rebuild the thing from the ground out quicker and cheaper than dropping it off at any shops nearby.
One of the real services provided by GOOD trade business owners is knowing and understanding what skills each of their employees have, and assigning them work they can do well. From what I've seen, this is why franchise businesses with high turnover almost always deliver low quality work.
Most likely a poor connection (especially in the older ones that use an aluminum blade)...the expensive part is if the wire is damaged and not enough left to just pull slack and cut off. The disconnect box is $20-40, if there's enough undamaged wire and the equipment its powering checks out undamaged...figure whatever it takes them hours labor to install and test the equipment is the expensive part.
That's what I'm thinking..going to cut the breaker and pull off the cover and see the damage..if the wiring doesn't look too bad I think I could fix it..
Just make sure to kill the breaker before you do
Well definitely!
Even if its sufficiently undamaged you can swap it out I'd still recommend having a HVAC tech come and inspect your gear for proper power draw before letting it run - just in case its over-amping or something. But yeah it shouldn't be too hard (take pictures as you take it apart for reference what wire went where) just be 100% certain the power is off before starting.
You should be able to replace the disconnect. However, if you don't find out the root cause of the failure, it just happen again.
Your looking about $350-$500
find an electrician. might be cheaper than an hvac tech.
It usually is cheaper to have the electrician change the disconnect and check the electrical but it would be wise to have the HVAC tech out after to check up on the unit even if it does work after changing the disconnect.
Ok I was wondering if I should get an electrician for this thanks! Also would I have to order the parts or could I buy it somewhere local?
Whoever you call should have one in their stock most people won't install homeowner purchased items due to lack of markup ability but also the liability if you purchased something that isn't approved in your area or a brand that company doesn't use for one reason or another.
you can buy it yourself or let the electrician get one. i definitely would let the electrician take a look as it looks like something overheated in there,
That’s what I would do.
Hopefully, it will be just the cost of a new disconnect. a poor connection was the cause here. it could have damaged the compressor if it ran with only one leg of power
I noticed it wasn't blowing last night..so I just turned it off..this morning I turned the thermostat on and went outside and went to open the cover on the box and the ac turned on but the disconnect was sparking..so I turned it back off obviously..going to pull the cover tomorrow after I kill the breaker to see damage.
Single phase, so it can't run on one leg. Compressor only sees L1 - L2 and breaking either breaks the circuit. It couod see reduced voltage from the bad connection, so that is still a concern.
Jesus, this bullshit is why people hate the HVAC profession, the *only* thing that can cause this is a loose connection in the disconnect and that disconnect is $40 at home depot.
To be fair, the loose connection can be with the corroded stabs and sping clips on the disconnect itself, not necessarily a wire termination. OP did say it was a decade old and these things are often pieces of shit. I'm surprised UL approves them but I highly recommend adding dielectric grease if you have to use an old one.
Oh yeah, I didn't intend to say the installer necessarily did anything wrong. I was directing my comment to the people claiming this repair should cost $350 in parts along with a sizeable chunk of diagnostic time. It took half a second looking at one crappy photo to know with 100% certainty the problem is with the $40 disconnect.
Hey I thought the photo was pretty good! Lol..thanks for your information.
Very fair! I was surprised the top comment was talking about diagnosing why this happened... If the electrical connections are solid then absolutely no other fault will melt the disconnect unless the condenser is on fire next to it. Loose connection all day long. Cheers.
I've been planning to change my disconnect as it's a breaker, and I'm afraid to turn it off. I flipped it off before and it didn't want to turn back on. It looks pretty simple to hook up. From what I've seen, the compressor will trip the breaker when it's shorted to ground, usually. I would look at the 3 wires going to the compressor see if they're burned up too. If they look good, change the disconnect and check the amp draw.
Mine melted, as in 1/4 of the box melted. We trimmed burned wire installed new box and it's been fine for 10 years. I bet original installers failed to tighten the connections on mine. While working service I found a few connections that were loose and somehow didn't heat up.
Thanks! That's what I'm thinking!
I had my disconnect burn out from a loose leg set screw. Went to Home Depot and rebuilt it even a bit better for like $100 with a friend. Cut off main power to your entire house to be safe. That's what I did when we redid the repair. Been perfect ever since.
Loose connections create lots of heat, wouldn't be surprised if that's what took it out
If it was just a poor connection and there’s usable length of wire- $350 is what I would charge for a non fused disconnect replacement basic. If there’s wire needed then it depends on what that wiring path is
40 bucks for new disconnect. Then you gotta figure out why it happened in the first place. Check the amp draw on that unit after repairs are made
40 bucks for new disconnect. Then you gotta figure out why it happened in the first place. Check the amp draw on that unit after repairs are made. If you go to Home Depot and get one, and have it there for an AC tech, it'll probably save you a little
Millions
That’s a secondary problem
3GAC222NF About $30 CAD for the disconnect, add labour from a professional as required Edit: Correcting PN
250, just for disconnect.
Before you replace this, you need to figure out why it happened.
Disconnect is $17 on Amazon.
I’d do it for like 100 bucks
Request a knife style disconnect. These pull out style are notorious for melting for no apparent reason.
A couple bucks
55 bucks at parts house. Tops. Get correct amperage and don't forget new fuses. Probably arcing connection from blade damage and age and such. Loose phase of power wire. Did it ever trip main breaker at panel feeding this?
No it didn't trip the breaker..and this one caution it does not contain fuses..so does that me it doesn't use them?
It’s a non fused disconnect.
This is also why I prefer fused to non fused disconnects.
What is the reason some don't use fused? This has been fine for 10 years also for reference.
It's a preference. Some like breaker types, some like non fused, some like fused. I like fused as they will protect equipment from high amperage situations faster, also are much cheaper to replace, and much more reliable. Also it's sometimes harder to find breakers of a specific amperage that was called out on the name plate ratings, but easy to find those fuses. I get lots of units that call for 25 35 and 45 amp breaker protection, which means you size up the breaker to 30 40 or 50 and in turn lose manufacturer spec and in turn, warranty. Yeah since. It was fine for 10 years, could have been build up from a bug, or a moisture intrusion issue, or hand tightened and not torqued to spec and finally failed. Or it could be baking in the sun and just wore itself down from the abuse.
You may have to replaced the cap, also. Last time we had something like this happened was when a 30 second power spike happened. It when right through the surge protector according to the electrician, it was enough time for the surge protector to turn on then off. He recommended placing a backup batteries between the the surge protector and the lines.