Uploaded July 2018 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
!!! NOT A HOW TO VIDEO -- PLEASE READ !!!
After 22 odd years, it finally happened. Something broke down. Let's find out what. Other than routine cleanings every year or two before the cooling season, it's never been serviced. Nor has it shown any need of such.
Model # AG042GB1, 3.5 ton, 10 SEER, R-22, fixed metering device.
Procedures in this video are to be attempted only by qualified and knowledgeable HVAC service people. You risk significant injury or death by attempting to repair an air conditioner without knowledge of electricity, refrigerant and the needed tools. If your air conditioner is broken, you need to contact a qualified service provider in your part of the world.
There is also a capacitor test that can be made while the unit is operating, if it will operate. I have a paper detailing how to do this, and you can likely find the information online. The compressor, or "hermetic" side of this capacitor ultimately measured to 8% of its rating, which is likely still in specification (usually 10%).
Some would say "replace it anyway to avoid a callback" and there is merit to that viewpoint. On the other hand, the currently available replacement capacitors seem to be made mainly of pressed and dried garbage. They probably wouldn't last the 22 years and counting that this one did. It's also my own personal unit, so I'm never far away if it does conk out.
Some may also disagree about not tapping into the refrigerant circuit. On a unit this old, whose service ports were never touched after the installation, I think it's courting disaster. And I don't presently have one of those tools to install replacement Schrader valve cores without losing the charge.
I have a megohmmeter, or rather, two of them. One's a cheap Chinese pile of junk and the other a Supco M500 (also Chinese, but hopefully not junk and certainly not particularly cheap). It's the test to make if you're not sure of an insulation breakdown somewhere. Still, I feel pretty safe in saying that any electrical fault which took out a fuse or circuit breaker almost instantly -- as happened here -- would be detected by the resistance testing range of a multimeter.
What I said about rings also applies to things like wrist watches, medical alert bands, and any other body-worn electrically conductive object.
Yes, I have my EPA 608 universal and EPA 609 MVAC cards. I don't claim to be an expert or anything else that I'm not. Gentle corrections and constructive commentary are always welcome, even if you disagree with me. Being a jerk is not.
!!! NOT A HOW TO VIDEO -- PLEASE READ !!!
After 22 odd years, it finally happened. Something broke down. Let's find out what. Other than routine cleanings every year or two before the cooling season, it's never been serviced. Nor has it shown any need of such.
Model # AG042GB1, 3.5 ton, 10 SEER, R-22, fixed metering device.
Procedures in this video are to be attempted only by qualified and knowledgeable HVAC service people. You risk significant injury or death by attempting to repair an air conditioner without knowledge of electricity, refrigerant and the needed tools. If your air conditioner is broken, you need to contact a qualified service provider in your part of the world.
There is also a capacitor test that can be made while the unit is operating, if it will operate. I have a paper detailing how to do this, and you can likely find the information online. The compressor, or "hermetic" side of this capacitor ultimately measured to 8% of its rating, which is likely still in specification (usually 10%).
Some would say "replace it anyway to avoid a callback" and there is merit to that viewpoint. On the other hand, the currently available replacement capacitors seem to be made mainly of pressed and dried garbage. They probably wouldn't last the 22 years and counting that this one did. It's also my own personal unit, so I'm never far away if it does conk out.
Some may also disagree about not tapping into the refrigerant circuit. On a unit this old, whose service ports were never touched after the installation, I think it's courting disaster. And I don't presently have one of those tools to install replacement Schrader valve cores without losing the charge.
I have a megohmmeter, or rather, two of them. One's a cheap Chinese pile of junk and the other a Supco M500 (also Chinese, but hopefully not junk and certainly not particularly cheap). It's the test to make if you're not sure of an insulation breakdown somewhere. Still, I feel pretty safe in saying that any electrical fault which took out a fuse or circuit breaker almost instantly -- as happened here -- would be detected by the resistance testing range of a multimeter.
What I said about rings also applies to things like wrist watches, medical alert bands, and any other body-worn electrically conductive object.
Yes, I have my EPA 608 universal and EPA 609 MVAC cards. I don't claim to be an expert or anything else that I'm not. Gentle corrections and constructive commentary are always welcome, even if you disagree with me. Being a jerk is not.
