My wife called me Thursday and said that our heat pump was making a funny noise and wasn’t cooling. The weather was decent enough that I decided to run fans until I had a chance to look at it yesterday.

I found the wire going from the capacitor H terminal to the Copeland scroll compressor had obviously gotten hot and burned off...the wire end was still on the compressor terminal. I repaired the connection and heat pump was back up and running. It ran for a couple of hours cooling the house down nicely when I noticed that the condenser fan had stopped running. I turned the heat pump off, waited awhile and turned it back on. The compressor started but the fan didn’t. I was able to assist the fan by manually spinning it and it started running, however, at about 1/2 it's normal speed. It ran for awhile and then it shutoff and it was extremely hot to the touch. The heat pump is 17 years old and I have already replaced the fan motor once some years ago.

Now I’m back in troubleshooting mode. I’ve checked the capacitor (a Mars2 60+5.0 μF part # 12794) and got the following readings...

C to H 57.8 μF

C to F 0.68 μF

Yesterday when I checked the capacitor, it was reading…

C to H 57.8 μF

C to F 5.16 μF

It appears the fan motor and 1/2 of the capacitor are toast. I want to make sure I’m not overlooking something that might be causing this to happen...it would suck to replace the fan motor and capacitor only to have them burn up again.

One other thing I noticed yesterday (because it was hot to the touch) is the reversing valve solenoid stays energized all the time, even when the heat pump is off.

I know there's some folks on the forum very knowledgeable about heat pumps so hopefully, with your help, we can get this thing fixed.

Replace the capacitor.
https://www.supplyhouse.com/Ja...d-Run-Capacitor-440V

The fan motor is likely ok. It will not run correctly with a bad capacitor. Running hot until the internal thermo-protection opens and shuts it off.

As for the reversing valve:
I'm assuming you're saying it was powered even though the main disconnect was off?
If so, that is normal as it is powered from the indoor unit (24v).

For it not to be powered, the power for the indoor unit would have to be off or the stat would have to be satisfied (Not calling for cooling).

Doesn't sound like you need any help, sounds like you identified a bad dual run capacitor. Get a new one.

Yep. Capacitor. Amazon has it with free shipping if you have prime. 10 bucks. https://www.amazon.com/MARS-Mo...a%2Caps%2C140&sr=8-6

I always keep a spare capacitor and contactor . For around $30 bucks you can save yourself hundreds on a weekend service call .

That fixed it...thanks guys. Now I need to figure out why the reversing valve solenoid stays energized all the time, even when the heat pump is off.

quote:

Originally posted by P229 357SIG Man:
That fixed it...thanks guys. Now I need to figure out why the reversing valve solenoid stays energized all the time, even when the heat pump is off.

Disconnect the wire for it from your thermostat and see if it turns off. I forget which color is for the reversing valve on the thermostat, but should be able to easily find it on the internet, or your thermostat might be labelled. If the thermostat was recently installed, it might not be a thermostat for a heat pump.

quote:

Originally posted by P229 357SIG Man:
That fixed it...thanks guys. Now I need to figure out why the reversing valve solenoid stays energized all the time, even when the heat pump is off.

The reversing valve should be energized in cooling mode. Is that what you’re seeing?

quote:

Originally posted by P229 357SIG Man:
Now I need to figure out why the reversing valve solenoid stays energized all the time, even when the heat pump is off.

Would need more info... did you read my post?
There was a question.

Excam, yes, it stays powered with the main disconnect off and the thermostat setting well above room temperature. It's like it sets there energized waiting for the thermostat to turn the compressor on. It's a wonder the solenoid's coil hasn't burned up.

I thought the way it works is the thermostat energizes the solenoid, starts the compressor and fan simultaneously. The way it is now...the solenoid stays energized 24/7 while the compressor and fan are controlled by the thermostat.

Turn the heat on see if it opens.

Skins is right. Switch it to heat and see if it opens. Some will stay made until taken off cooling mode and there is a pressure change.

Usually if the solenoid is bad it won’t hold in cooling mode.

I turned the heat on and the refrigerant line got hot and it's blowing hot air.

That’s good. Now switch it off, let it sit for 5 minutes and then switch it back to cool. If it cools, you should be good to go.

If it won’t run after the 5 minutes, it’s probably just set to a longer delay.

Switched it back to cool mode, lowered the thermostat and it's blowing cold air. So yes it's working...just concerned about the solenoid staying energized in cool mode.

quote:

Originally posted by P229 357SIG Man:
Switched it back to cool mode, lowered the thermostat and it's blowing cold air. So yes it's working...just concerned about the solenoid staying energized in cool mode.

It’s supposed to be energized in cool mode. You should have 24v across it in cool mode.

Yes, I know it’s supposed to be energized in cool mode...but even when the compressor is off and in some cases for days? That’s what I can’t wrap my head around.

It's the way they decided to do it. Nothing to wrap head around. It needs to be energized for calling for heat or cool. Manufacturer decided it was best for some reason to make cool the energized state.

quote:

Originally posted by P229 357SIG Man:
Yes, I know it’s supposed to be energized in cool mode...but even when the compressor is off and in some cases for days? That’s what I can’t wrap my head around.

Doesn’t matter if the compressor is off. That’s how it’s usually wired. It’s not hurting anything.

Well, it may not be hurting anything but it’s really hot to the touch. But if that’s the way they’re designed, I’m going to stop worrying about it.