Wiring short in Goodman CPE42-1fb condensing unit

[fstapanowich]

We noticed our heat pump putting out cooler air than normal & running for a long time the past few days. Then discovered the fan blades on the condensing unit where not spinning. I went out & tapped the unit & wiggled the 220 wire and saw sparks. Immediatly killed the power to the unit for the night.

Next day I took the cover off & found 3 wires shorted out between the contactor/coil & defrost control board. The 220 supply wire (lower left screw), the white wire (c contact), and yellow wire (y contact). They were fused together. Also noticed the 220 ground wire was loose.

Replacing the wires is simple. My questions are:

1. While the contactor/coil is slightly burned it looks in good shape. Is there a way to test it? Can I just clean it up & continue to use it. Online pricing seems to be around $50. High enough to not want to replace it but happy to do so if it could be a future problem. Hopefully my local supplier has one in stock.

2. Anything else I should check? Is this type of short common for these units?

3. Also, was suprised to find animal droppings inside the unit..but no animals. Is this common? I asume it's warm in there.

Thanks for any suggestions

[applianceman18007260692]

Kill all the power going into the unit at the pullout.

Check the coil for continuity

 Manually press down on the contactor.Check for continuity between each pole. make sure you take one side of each pole loose so you do not get a false reading from a coninuous loop. Pictured below is a 2 pole contactor.