AC Unit Outdoor Fan Stops Running

[CrazySaguaro]

Hello,

My outdoor AC fan comes on with the unit and runs for about 20-25m and then the fan shuts off while the unit is still running.  It's free turning when I turn it with a screwdriver (not bound).  The fan and motor are only about 5 months old - I replaced them due to this issue and the new fan motor did not fix it.  If i try and turn the AC back on after this happens, sometimes the fan will start up with the unit and other times it won't.  If I wait until way later (hours), the fan will start with the unit and run another 20-25m before turning off (while the unit is still running).

Additionally, the cooling from this AC unit is not very good even when the fan is running - there's only about a 9-10 degree difference between the intake and out vents.  So it seems to cool very slowly.

Any advice on what I can check or replace, please let me know!

Thank you,

Gina

[Vance R]

Did you also replace the capacitor for the fan motor? If no, it would most logical next step.

[CrazySaguaro]

Hi Vance, I did at the time of fan motor replacement (there's only 1 capacitor for the whole AC unit) - but I guess there's always the chance it was bad from the get-go.  I'm going to put in a new capacitor today and test things out. 🙂

Thanks, Gina

[CrazySaguaro]

I replaced the capacitor yesterday and that seems to have fixed it! 

The capacitor I put in at the time of fan motor replacement 6 months ago was either bad from the start or had a REALLY short life.  AC ran yesterday for almost 2 hours and the fan stayed running the entire time (and was crapping out without fail after ~20m previously).  Will keep my eye on it but I believe it is fixed for now!

-Gina