How I Troubleshoot an Air Conditioner Condenser Fan Motor
Channel: Fox Family Heating and Air Conditioning
Date: 2021-04-24

When I troubleshoot a condenser fan motor, I try to keep in mind that only a few things can really go wrong with them.  Voltage from the panel isn’t sufficient, the contactor is bad, the capacitor is bad, or damaged parts inside the condenser fan motor. 

In this video, I'll tell you about a few calls I've been on that I had to troubleshoot an air conditioner condenser fan motor.  Making sure you have 240 volts to the motor is the first step when troubleshooting the fan motor.  If you do, then you can go on to check the capacitor and the contactor.  If voltage is getting to the condenser fan motor from there, then there may be some damaged parts inside the motor.  

I’ve seen this happen when a big windstorm hit an area recently and knocked some branches down into the top of the AC.  The shroud on top usually does a great job of protecting the fan blade, but in this instance, a stick wedged itself in there and caused the motor to burn out. 

Another reason this can happen, especially on universal replacements is the inside of the motor got wet.  These motors come with rubber plugs sometimes.  These plugs have to be placed in the top side of a downward mounted condenser fan, and in the bottom of an upward-facing motor.  The ports on the opposite sides should remain open, so that any moisture that does get into it, can drain out.  Happens all the time! 

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0:00 Intro
0:51 The problem
1:28 Some things to check
3:10 Ohm out the motor windings