Two nights ago we came home to a hot house. The outside unit fan wasn't running and was making a squealing sound. Husband was able to tinker around with it and got it running again. Late last night the same thing happened again. We're fairly sure it's the fan motor and he could change it himself but he had to go out of town for work. I called a repair guy to come by today. I'm just curious if you think it sounds like the fan motor and if so, what this kind of repair generally costs.

1/5 hp single phase, 208 volt, motor
Lennox unit with an Emerson fan

TIA

The unit was making a humming noise, but the fan was stationary correct?


Capacitor, $25 fix.

Exactly. He was thinking the cap but my Dad said it was most likely the fan.

You can see the fan trying to move a little, like little jerking movements. When you prod it with a screwdriver it will start spinning and work fine. It will cycle normally for a few hours then stop again later on.

I would replace the CAP first, you do not need a A/C repairman to do it. If the AC guy does it they will charge you a couple hundred is my guess.

Find a Lennox Parts Plus in your area (profile says Keller, so closest one would most likely be Carrollton location.

Turn off the breaker to the AC unit first. most like a box near your AC unit, just pull the black handle out.

1. Unscrew the panel
2. Remove the CAP
3. Take the CAP to Parts Plus and they will sell you the one you need.
4. Reattach the CAP, 2 or 3 plugs plugs I think
5. Screw the panel back in place.

How old is your unit? If it is under 5 years, most likely a CAP

It's around 5.5 years old.

Take a photo of the capacitor and note which color wires go to which terminal.

Also, turn it off and leave it off for a while before you take out the capacitor. The capacitor will discharge on YOU if you touch it while charged.

Grainger will have all the parts you need, capacitor or fan motor.

so, what did the repairman say?

My husband rearranged his day so he could come home and work on it. He changed the cap this morning. It was in pretty bad shape (at least IMO).



Now he's waiting to see if that takes care of the issue.

Well he replaced the cap and the same thing happened again. Looks like it's the motor. Lennox will only provide parts to licensed HVAC people so he's trying Grainger for the motor.

That happened to me a few years ago. Fan motor burned up. Please verify the specs and make sure they are getting the right motor. First repair guy put the wrong motor in and it burned up in about 3 days. 2nd guy told me that the first guy did it wrong. 1st guy had to come back and do it again. all in all, what should have been 1 day without AC turned into 4-5 days.

quote:

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Lennox will only provide parts to licensed HVAC people so he's trying Grainger for the motor.

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sorry. Just something to consider is if you replace the motor yourself, it could void any warranty you have on the unit.