Any licensed AC repair guys here?

Wes

Active Hunter
Scenario: Inside\Outside units are less than 5 years old
AC stop cooling, compressor and inside coils frozen.
System was left to defrost for aprox 6 hrs, visual inspection showed no ice.
Freon level was checked and showed minimal loss, freon was added.
Unit was turned back on and immediately showed ice forming on compressor.
Technician said compressor valves were bad - replaced compressor.
Once again unit was turned back on and immediately showed ice forming on compressor.
Further investigation showed the controller board to be bad. The fan relay had blown.
Technician says controller board also damaged the compressor.
Bypass the controller board and unit operates normal, no ice.


It is my understanding from talking to other techs and reading, that if the valves had gone bad, there would be no compression. No compression means no refrigerant, which means no ice.

So, my question is, should the compressor have been replaced?
 
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Scenario: Inside\Outside units are less than 5 years old
AC stop cooling, compressor and inside coils frozen.
System was left to defrost for aprox 6 hrs, visual inspection showed no ice.
Freon level was checked and showed minimal loss, freon was added.
Unit was turned back on and immediately showed ice forming on compressor.
Technician said compressor valves were bad - replaced compressor.
Once again unit was turned back on and immediately showed ice forming on compressor.
Further investigation showed the controller board to be bad. The fan relay had blown.
Technician says controller board also damaged the compressor.
Bypass the controller board and unit operates normal, no ice.


It is my understanding from talking to other techs and reading, that if the valves had gone bad, there would be no compression. No compression means no refrigerant, which means no ice.

So, my question is, should the compressor have been replaced?


Well just because your valves went bad dose not mean it will totaly stop working for you. Depends on how bad the valves were, bla, bla ,bla.

My first guess would of been low coolant (rarely is freon uesd any more)
It could of been a combo of all three.

But if the board was bad that should of been on the first things he picked up on. First thing you do is check the board for any visual damage once you crack the cover open. If the fan relay was bad why would he replace the compressor first? If the relay was bad the fans not working. That could very well be the problem right there.

Im not a tech or an expert but ive been around the stuff for a few years and it kind of sounds like he just wanted to replace your compressor for what ever reason. Or he might of been new and is just feeling his way.

What kind of A/C? do you have and who was the Co. that fixed it?
 
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Unit is a Carrier
Company was A.R.S.

The guy never even checked the board until he realized replacing the compressor didn't work.
 
Carrier is a good unit, not cheap.

Id say that you got "The Big Green you know what". Id call them and ask them what the deal was with him replacing everything else when the first thing he should of looked at was the baord. Those compressors are not cheap but the boards are high as well, Im guessing it's not under warranty hints why your asking.

Id call and make a stink, the compressor is the last thing you want to change out unless your fishing for cash.

But thats just me.

Texasfett is into the A/C thing, might want to ask him. Im sure he knows way more about it then I do.
 
What kind of system do you have? Is it a heat pump or gas system? This doesn't make any sense to me. There could be a lot of things that can happen.So at the moment is the house cooling now that the board has been changed out?Are you talking about the inside board or if it was the outside than its a defrost board which is a heatpump.When the tech first arrived was the outside condenser fan motor operating while the compressor was running?Did he say what the freon pressures where at the time he arrived.Just a little FYI Carrier 410a systems suck.Evaporator Coils leak within a year. The txv also ain't worth the **** on a 2.5 ton system.The cost of this after you warranty will be high.The 410A freon is pricy as well. For the best deal get a 10yr. extended warranty it will save you in the long run.
 
Eric,

Its a gas system. The A.R.S. tech had never seen an inside unit like mine. The second guy said it was a 90% furnace.

Yes, everything is fine now that the board has been changed. It was the controller board on the inside unit. He even showed me the burn mark on the board.

No, the fan motor was not running.

No, he never mentioned what the pressures were.

The compressor was under warranty but they charged me $800 in labor. I have refused to pay them so now their taking legal action on me, which is why I'm asking for ammo against them..haha
 
Eric,

Its a gas system. The A.R.S. tech had never seen an inside unit like mine. The second guy said it was a 90% furnace.

Yes, everything is fine now that the board has been changed. It was the controller board on the inside unit. He even showed me the burn mark on the board.

No, the fan motor was not running.

No, he never mentioned what the pressures were.

The compressor was under warranty but they charged me $800 in labor. I have refused to pay them so now their taking legal action on me, which is why I'm asking for ammo against them..haha

I assume that your one year labor has expired so the want to get you for labor.$800 is a little high here in San Antonio where about $300 less.But still.I don't get why the compressor had to get changed out if the problem was in the inside furnace. I would fight this one,you don't have any local friends in the Hvac business.A lot of folks don't know about the 90% furnace.We are starting to install them more over here.Let me know if you need anything.

Eric
 
Hey man I worked in HVAC for 2 years and some techs try to sell you equipment especially AROUND THIS TIME OF YEAR. Ok you can try by removing the filters yourself and adding in a new one, or if u can clean out the coil with nitro pressure. Sometimes the coil can be very dirty inside the planum. Another thing check if your drain pan and PVC drain lines are clogged u might have to push out the debris that might be stuck inside the PVC drain lines with air pressure.
 
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