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Old 09-27-2011, 04:12 PM
 
Location: Raleigh, NC
5,790 posts, read 6,839,858 times
Reputation: 10089

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My A/C went out. By paying the high cost of a service call, I learned a few years ago to check to the start capacitor in the outside unit. I am 99% certain this is the culprit. (If I manually press the relay, the unit starts).

From the info I've seen, it seems that Rheem doesn't want to sell to consumers and instead wants to have a licensed contractor come out. I have found the part on line, but would prefer to buy locally so I can get it quicker. Is there any place in Raleigh that sells Rheem (or Ruud) parts to consumers?
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Old 09-27-2011, 04:44 PM
 
Location: I live between Myrtle Beach SC and Raleigh NC.
393 posts, read 650,441 times
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Go to Virginia Air in Raleigh.
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Old 09-27-2011, 05:00 PM
 
Location: Wake Forest CSA
334 posts, read 864,932 times
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D&L Atlantic Ave. Great people cheapest prices. I always buy my HVAC parts from them.
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Old 09-27-2011, 06:21 PM
 
Location: Apex, NC
3,290 posts, read 8,524,756 times
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I bought and installed a capacitor in my unit about 2 years ago (I've since got a new HVAC system). It cost me $15 at Johnstone Supply on Industrial Dr. just off of six forks road across from Costco. It was almost as easy as changing a battery and the AC worked great after it was installed. HVAC companies will charge a minimum of $100-$150 to come out and do the install. You have the right idea for saving some money.

They will sell you a capacitor, but anything that is highly "technical" in nature you'll need a license to buy. I was in there with a bunch of HVAC contractors. I could tell they didn't like the fact I was fixing my AC unit myself.
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Old 09-27-2011, 07:08 PM
 
Location: Raleigh NC
3,644 posts, read 8,551,654 times
Reputation: 4505
Quote:
Originally Posted by don6170 View Post
My A/C went out. By paying the high cost of a service call, I learned a few years ago to check to the start capacitor in the outside unit. I am 99% certain this is the culprit. (If I manually press the relay, the unit starts).

From the info I've seen, it seems that Rheem doesn't want to sell to consumers and instead wants to have a licensed contractor come out. I have found the part on line, but would prefer to buy locally so I can get it quicker. Is there any place in Raleigh that sells Rheem (or Ruud) parts to consumers?

I buy my parts from Johnstone supply. With that being said it doesn't sound to me like a capacitor is the culprit. If you are pressing on the relay (more commonly known as a "contactor") and both the fan and compressor start the problem is not a capacitor. A capacitor is after the contactor. You need to verify you have 24 volts at the contactor which comes from the T-stat. If so, sounds to me like you need a contactor.
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Old 09-28-2011, 06:31 AM
 
Location: Raleigh, NC
5,790 posts, read 6,839,858 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by underPSI View Post
With that being said it doesn't sound to me like a capacitor is the culprit. If you are pressing on the relay (more commonly known as a "contactor") and both the fan and compressor start the problem is not a capacitor. A capacitor is after the contactor. You need to verify you have 24 volts at the contactor which comes from the T-stat. If so, sounds to me like you need a contactor.
After I posted, I thought a bit more and realized I had a "rush to judgement". Your comments are correct - the cap is fine.

The reason the unit failed to start was a protective lock-out. I will call a tech to evaluate, but thanks for the comments on where to buy parts in case I need that in the future.
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Old 07-15-2016, 10:03 AM
 
4 posts, read 11,951 times
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Sorry to bring back an old thread, but it was so helpful I thought I'd add today's capacitor mission to help someone else.

The Johnstone Supply store in Garner/Raleigh (3650 Junction Blvd, Raleigh; off Tryon Rd.) has a big red sign at the door, Licensed Contractors Only. Maybe they would have still sold me the capacitor on another day/time, this morning they were just slammed busy with licensed customers, I didn't bother. I still walked in and asked for referral though.

Glad I did, they referred me literally across the street. Cashwell's Appliance Parts (317 Sherwee Dr, Raleigh; behind Captain Stanly's Seafood). No lines either!

I found this image useful too, helped me suspect it was probably capacitor. If the cap is swollen (left) it's bad. Compare to a new one (right), flat. Symptoms of mine were the fan would spin (usually had to kickstart with screwdriver) but it wouldn't spin full speed. More like a ceiling fan on medium. The unit would buzz for ~2 seconds like the compressor is trying to start, then stop for ~90 seconds, repeat. After ~5 cycles, the fan stopped but the compressor kept trying to fire. I shut off the breaker so not to fry anything else. Capacitor cap was slightly swollen (not as obvious as this image though)



Capacitor at Cashwell's was $33. Contactor was $12 if I needed it. $$$ saved, capacitor took 3 seconds to install, I'm 1 happy (cool) camper! Hope this helps.

Last edited by userwhatevername; 07-15-2016 at 10:34 AM..
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Old 07-15-2016, 01:06 PM
 
1,714 posts, read 2,756,923 times
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did the bad cap hold a charge and did you have to discharge so you didn't get kicked ??
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Old 07-15-2016, 01:16 PM
 
Location: Raleigh, NC
195 posts, read 284,907 times
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Replaced mine recently, got it from Amazon for $22.
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Old 07-15-2016, 05:30 PM
 
13,811 posts, read 27,318,263 times
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I created a Youtube video about this many years ago:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5crdrc8jPE

One thing I would recommend is buying an inexpensive multi-meter and use that to test the capacitor. It's much better to diagnose than just throw parts.

I bought a cheap Chinese made GE from Grainger locally (needed it right then sorta thing) and it didn't last a year, was already out of spec. Bought a US made Amrad from here:

USA Made Capacitors, Dual Volt Single & Dual Microfarad...brought to you by Airstar Solutions, Inc.

for about the same price, still going strong many years later. Testing and replacing these should be on your preventive mx schedule for your outside unit, IMO.

Remember to flip your breakers off! You're dealing with 240V power.
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