Had a power surge at the house, as a result the compressor kicks on with the t-stat, but the attic unit doesn't do anything so there is no air coming out of the vents. (luckily we have a split system so the master, den, and kitchen stay cool).

AC guy I talked to said it might be a blown circuit board due to the surge.

Any idea what this should cost me to replace?

As a side note, what are new AC systems costing these days per ton?

Thanks

First off, check the circuit breaker for the upstairs unit.

Next, check the fuse ON the board. There should be one. I have money on the fact that is what is busted, not the whole board.

If you know what brand/make/model you have, you can buy a new board (if that is what is really bad) and change it yourself. If you have ever done any computer work (motherboard), you can change an AC board. There are about 4 connector/power/plastic plugs and a few screws. That's it.

It will just be a bit hotter than working on a computer....

~egon

90% if the time that is just the fuse. It will be a little 3 amp or 5 amp just like you would find on a car. Find it and see if it is burned.

i had to replace the ignitor on the heater last winter. i found the part online, but i couldn't get it anywhere in town that day and it was cold. i found an hvac guy and he told me that suppliers normally only sell to the contractors directly. i know those stupid boards cost an arm and a leg for a crap circuit board that looks like it was designed in the 70's [ not that there's anything wrong with that ]. if it is the board, it will be expensive. what area are you located?

[This message has been edited by slurpee (edited 7/31/2009 9:41a).]

Had the same thing happen on my a/c. Guy told me he could fix it for $150 or tell me how to fix it for $1. You can guess what I chose. Replaced the fuse with one I bought at Auto Zone, so I would check that before you let them overcharge you for a new board.

FYI - last year, we had an electrical storm knock out one of the circuit boards in our ac unit and two thermostats, plus a couple of other electronic things in the house (and yes, they were hooked up to surge protectors).

This was on a year old house. We called the warranty people and the guy said the damage was $1,100.00, and warranty didn't cover it. However, he said since it was still under a year, he was going to switch it out for us with another house that was under construction. Way nice...

After that, I had a Sycom whole house surge protector installed on our breaker box / electric panel. I highly recommend doing the same thing. It will probably cost about $350-$400 to have it done.

Lightning from a storm fused the reeds in one of the relays on circuit board for the air handler.

$600 from Church Services, installed w/1 yr warranty.

$300 from JT Air, installed.

$100 cash from facilities electrician w/HVAC license where I work. Bought it from a HVAC distributor for $85 and I have him the c-note for his troubles. I installed it myself w/no problem - had to wait a couple of days but the weather wasn't too bad and Mrs. A was glad to save on the cost...