Thanks for explaining what ALL THE OTHER videos could not and did not. I am referring to the lack of a C-Common wire when there is no control board. Your explination helped. Thanks.
Thanks! My heat went out and I bought a new thermostat. The new thermostat needed the C wire. But my old furnace didn't use it either. I followed your steps to find the common and hook up my furnace to my new thermostat. All working now and no repair man! Huge thank you again.
Wow. Amazing video! So much more helpful than any other video I’ve found. I thought it was me being crazy, but turns out my apartment furnace is so ancient, it doesn’t have the control board i’ve been looking for. With your video, I can finally finish this thermostat installation :).
Your instructions were comprehensive and easy to understand. Your video was very helpful in to help me get my new smart thermostat installed. Thank you!
I know it’s been 3 years since you posted this, but I want to say thank you! This video helped me a lot! I was trying to find the c wire since nest started dying all of a sudden. Thank you!
My hvac experience is limited, but I know a lot of the newer thermostats have to be supplied with a C wire to work properly and I always assumed that as a last resort that the common could be taken off the chassy or tap into the common from the transformer. Thx for confirming it. Great video!!
I have the same situation, and my furnace company told me that the green wire cannot be connected to the furnace. So unless them some other device that can be used as an extender I’m not able to get a thermostat that can be used within an app. I’ve watched so many videos, and I’m ready to give up.
@@AnnD2023 Don't give up entirely, I'm in the same boat and discovered a device on Amazon called "Common Maker" that uses a transmitter and receiver to achieve adding a C wire.
Very useful video. Thanks for explaining in such clear and concise way. There was a bunch of other videos that had shaking videos or just glossed over details that assumed people knew what they were talking about. You made it all crystal clear.
Your video just helped me identify a splice (blue/yellow). I ran an extra wire to get a com for my new thermostat. Didnt have a 5th wire ran to my old wall unit. Thanks a bunch!
Always find your videos when looking for refreshing my memory on my own ac. Today I am going to go with a wireless thermostat and don't have the common which it requires. Luckily I have five wires and will simply connect the common to the board and thermostats c. Sounds too simple. But I like. 👍
Dude, great explanation! This answered my main question and a few others so I didn't have to go looking for those answers separately. You earned a new subscriber.
Brilliant video. I was wondering what the red (connected with a yellow wire in the Y block) and white wire (actually its a second white, connects to the C terminal) were. This explains that they come from AC unit and it makes perfect sense. Thx!
Thank you very much . You saved me a $75 service call . I had to light my pilot light in the attic and im 350lbs that was fun to get up there first of all . Then I have to lay in the crawl space . We'll i got the light lite but my fat a*s belly pulled on the white wire and it came undone I didn't know where it went back to. Your video helped me understand it. Got it back in place where it said "w" big dummy. Heat kicked on and I have a back ache but it works. .. thank you much
Thanks. You helped me get my Honeywell 9000 hooked up. There was a Blue wire coming from the wall connected to the old Battery operated thermostat but it wasn't hooked up at the furnace. That White & Red coming from the AC did the trick on where to connect the Blue wire. I recently moved and took my Honeywell with me. I like it too much to have left it. Especially at a $130.00 then and $180.00 now.
@GLC, did you plug that blue wire from thermostat into C connector on the controller-furnace, where your White wire was already plugged in and did you end up with 2 wires on C now? (blue from thermostat and White from AC outside) and did you need the blue wire plugged in to provide power to your thermostat?
@@bombdiggitymedia6635 thinking it is what he did and needed to do. I am looking at upgrading to a new t-stat and will hook the common from new t-stat to 'C' on furnace where the white from 2 wire a/c unit connects. My old h/w t -stat did not need common but there are spare black,blue,brown and orange wires from stat to furnace that are snipped and wrapped at furnace near board. anyone will work but I believe blue is the correct color choice for this. So in conclusion, I will use a blue wire, connect to common at new stat and connect same blue wire at 'C' on furnace board with white from a/c unit.
Great instructional videos. I've saved a lot of money by following your troubleshooting tips and maintenance procedures for my furnace and air conditioner. Thank you so much. Has anyone ever commented that you look and sound a lot like Chris Hayes on MSNBC? It's kind of uncanny. 🤣
The comm wire sheered off on the furnace side and the thermostat went out but it was a super easy fix cause I can see where the piece of broken wire was on the board just had to strip a little bit off to expose the wire and stick it back on the common screw on the board. They tightened that screw so tight that the wire just sheered off lol. Super easy fix thanks for the vid.
Love you videos, so helpful. I hope you can advise me. I have a blue common wire unattached. However, all of the 5 screw in slots on Amana furnace control boards are full including the common spot where there is a red wire. Where would I attach the blue wire. Grateful for any help.
Love all your videos. The steps are so clear and easy to follow. One request, if all possible, could you please put together a video on how to install Emerson Comfort Alert diagnose module? Thank you much!
I am so glad that you post this video. I have been struggling with a air handler with no control board. A more than 30 year old air handler (Lennox CH19-65-2 and B19-51-1P) and a condensing unit (Lennox HS19-651V-2P). I guessed it to connect the C wire from an ecobee thermostat to one of the two wires from the condensing unit. I probably connected the C wire to the hot wire instead of the common wire. Would this damage the machine? If so, how do I do troubleshooting? As it has no control board, I couldn't find a fuse or anything. Any comments will be very much appreciated. Thanks! I have learned so much from your videos!
Happy to hear that the video was timely for you! From what you explained, it sounds like you wired a direct short. My guess would be that the thermostat would get damaged first. But did you disconnect it right away? It's possible there was no damage but of course I can't say anything for sure without being there. I should have explained this better in the video but if you have a meter it is very easy to determine which wire from the AC is hot and which is common. Simply measure voltage from one of the terminals (C or Y) and put the other lead to any ground terminal or even a screw in the furnace. If there is 27v, that is the hot wire. If no voltage, that is the common. This troubleshooting would be done with the furnace and AC powered on and on standby. (not running) And if there is a door switch, that needs to be closed too. Sorry, that was a long-winded answer. Let me know if that made sense 😅
It looks like the thermostat is still ok so I will try to connect it to the correct C wire as shown in your video. However, I will have to clean the condensing unit first because I found it has become a bee's nest when I opened it. It looks like the compressor was wrapped with material something like the batt for attic insulation and it became the home for bumblebees! I am wondering why the previous owner of the house did that. Any reasons to insulate the compressor itself? I live in Boston btw. Thanks!
Something to add here! If I remember correctly, the thermostat lit up when I connected the wire but it doesn't start the air handler or condensing unit when I set it to cool and dropped the temperature. Maybe I didn't connect the wrong wire? In addition, I tried to jump start the air handler by connecting R and G "binding posts" with a wire. The air handler didn't start but I heard a zap and maybe some spark. Or I can only do this on the thermostat side instead of the air handler side?
However, last month, I hired a AC guy to replace old Thermostat for new WiFi Thermostat but somehow he did incorrect wiring and now I believe my electric Heat strip turn on when the AC running because last month electric bill sky rocket to $265 a month. Also, when I turn on the heat and the heat is not running only the IBM blowing. How can I troubleshoot on this issue. Please help me to understand the basic tracing. Thank you.
FINALY. I was kinda assuming grounding to the chassis would work, but all i could find was articles on how to add a c wire, but nothing about what to do if you have no c terminal...
Very helpful video. One question if my control board does not have a C terminal. Can I simply connect a thermostat C wire to the C wire coming directly out of the transformer to provide power for the thermostat or will this cause issues?
Love your video, but let me see if I can describe my issue. I'm trying to switch out my current thermostat for a smart wifi thermostat. The wire bundle going into the thermostat has an unused white wire. But when I check the HVAC wiring, the white wire from the AC is connected to the Y connection. And red goes to the common. I'm not sure if or how to modify the HVAC wiring or why it's even the way it is.
I'm trying to do the same, but having trouble. My wire coming from outside is like the one in the video with a bunch of wires. But my furnace also doesn't have the control board. All wires are hooked up by twist connectors. The blue one connects to a bigger black wire like the one you call a 120v from the transformer. Those four bigger wires are red, white, black and green The present thermostat has five wires but no "c". There is an "o" for the heat pump I think. The red, white and green wires from the thermostat connect to the corresponding bigger wires. Then the blue wire from the outside bundle to the black one. What the heck?
Poor kid. Three sisters age 92, 94 and 96 live together in a house. The 96 year old draws a bath. She puts one foot in the tub and stops and yells to the others, hey was I getting in the tub or out? The 94 year old yells, I don't know, I'll come up and check. She starts up the stairs and stops and yells was I going up the stairs or down? The 92 year old shakes her head and says, boy, I hope I never get as forgetful as those two. She knocks on the wood table for good measure. She yells I'll be up to help you both after I see who's at the door....
Question, if you have a video please point me in that direction. Say I want to hook up a pan shut off switch how is that beat accomplished. I heard you interupt the compressor and allow the fan to keep running, and I've heard interupt where the compressor and fan shut off? Basically how do you wire that in. As a follow up, how should you wire in these new air cleaners to operate while the fan is running. Thanks for some great education.
In this video you show connecting a wire directly the metal AC case. Does the other end of the wire connect to the Thermostat "C" terminal to complete the "C" wire connection? Thanks! Clint
i cant find the control board. i have older weil mclain cg boiler and i want to install a nest and need to install the C wire. can you do a vid on where to do this on a boiler (heat only) that doesnt have a control board? or point me in the right direction so i know where to look etc. all advice is appreciated.
On my old HVAC unit the common terminal on the low voltage side of the 24V transformer is wired directly to chassis ground, as is the control wire coming from the condenser. So I had no hangups about wiring my t'stat C wire right to the chassis.
Thanks, learned a lot! However, my HVAC has 5 terminal wires only Y,R,G,W but no C and it has a B. The white wire from the AC outside (only have 2 wires red and white) goes into the B terminal. Can I use this B terminal as C for my smart thermostat?
Hello, the common contact on the circuit board is only pulling 22.5 volts, every other is 28 volts. This is preventing the fan from operating. Can I tie in the A/C condenser neutral wire with another low voltage wire in the furnace? This video is a great explanation to find it, but where could I tie in aside from the terminal? Thank you sir
I'm trying to connect the C wire from thermostat at the furnace end to the correct wire. There is no terminal block or control board with marking, just bunch of wires.I have the brown from condenser with two leads.1. White wire connecting to Yellow on Thermostat wire (Y). 2. Red wire connecting to a blue wire that goes to the steel frame of furnace board. My guess is red wire is the C wire in my case and need to connect thermostat C wire with that. Did I identify C wire correctly since it goes to the frame?
Thanks for information. I have only five wires coming out into the thermostat. I don’t remember exactly which one that I had to disconnect for it to start calling when I have all wires connected to the thermostat. It doesn’t cool down. Just keep some running. What am I doing wrong
@@WordofAdviceTV my confusion came when you went up to that strip. Mine doesn’t have a motherboard or strip. I watched again, I think I understand, the common wire is more a neutral and I can splice into the wire coming from the outside condenser unit. Duh it says VAC and I said DC.
Great explanation. I have one question. I have a heat pump system and want to install a Nest thermostat that requires a C wire, which I don't have. I'm seeing some folks pull the green (fan) wire and instead connect it to the C on the thermostat and at the blower. Since I never run the fan separately this seems like a good choice. Does this make sense? Pulling wires would be ideal but almost impossible since I think they stapled the wire to 2x4 studs. Thank you.
We have a 20 year old Goodman furnace. It does not have a C terminal - however there is already an unused C wire running from our old thermostat. We are installing a Nest smart thermostat. Where do we attach the C wire at the FURNACE? (There is no c terminal to simply plug it into). Can we attach the C wire to the ground that runs from the 24v transformer? No one seems to have a clear answer how to install these thermostats with a furnace that has no C terminal. Thanks!
I can confirm connecting the C-wire to the my transformer 24v side (opposite of red wire) worked for me and in the process determined that my fan relay coil was burned out which is what got me searching around the unit in the first place
Hi there! I am in a similar situation with an old Goodman GDT070-3. No C-wire at thermostat or C terminal on the control board. The Nest compatibility checker instructed me to get the power connector, which I have. It looks like my best option right now is to ground the C wire coming from the power connector, but in other forms I've read that a ground is not appropriate. I'm curious about how you resolved your issue? Thanks!
Hello. Can you run a wire from the Negative/Common side of the Transformer directly to the Thermostat "C" terminal to complete a "C" wire connection? Thanks! Clint
Thank you for the great video. I learn a lot from your video. I saw the smaller transformer on the left of the voltage transformer. Can you tell me what is that use for?
You're welcome! Glad to hear you learn a lot. That smaller transformer is actually not originally part of the furnace. That small transformer is solely for the bypass humidifier which is installed in the ductwork behind the furnace.
Hi jay tranks very much for your videos... you explanation its great!!! I have a question in the furnace if The technician in the call found the correct 24 volts at all points in the control circuitry where needed. One component is not functioning, preventing the flow of gas to the pilot burner. What is it? What did you think the component is fault?the ignitor is OK and sparking, but there's no gas to ignite,so what could be preventing it for lighting? What component is at fault?
I would start by seeing if the control board is blinking any error codes after it fails to ignite. If you have an ignition module instead of a control board, those tend to fail and not send power to the gas valve. If your ignitor is sparking, the next thing that should happen is the gas valve gets energized. So I would check to see if the gas valve is getting 24-27 volts. If it is not, then there is a good chance that the board or ignition module is bad and needs to be replaced. But if the gas valve is getting power then either the gas is turned off somewhere or the switch on the gas valve is switched to off. If you verified that the gas shut off valves and switch are both on/open and it is getting voltage then I would say that the gas valve is stuck in the closed position and should be replaced. Another possibility is that the gas orifice on a burner or two are plugged and not allowing the gas to flow through (especially the burner in front of the ignitor). If you have an intermittent pilot then the little pilot orifice (tiny hole where the gas comes out from on the ignitor pilot assembly) may be plugged and needs to be cleared out. But keep in mind that this is only my guesses, since I am not there to see it I can't say for sure what is going on. I hope this gave you some ideas of what to take a look at though. Good luck!
Great Video. I have a really old i.e. 1980 roof top HVAC system. I looked inside the HVAC unit and could not find a control board. I did see a really old transformer and an Ignition control unit. Any way how I can find the C - Wire?
Great video. I'm looking to instal the Google Nest Power Connector and I just found out that my furnace controll board has two C terminal points, one with two wires connected and the other completely free. Now I'm not sure to which of these two C terminal points should I connect the C wire from the Google Nest Power Connector. Please let me know.
It's 24 volts AC there is no positive or negative. There's a primary side of 120 volts and a secondary side of 24 volts. One of the secondary leads goes to the red wire on your thermostat. The other wire is the common or C wire. I just connected mine today to make my Nest thermostat work.
Thank you for pointing that out! I should have talked about that. As far as I recall most heat pumps do have the blue wire for common though. Hopefully I was right about that claim.
I purchased a honeywell C Adapter for my Alexa thermostat. I have W, W2, Y R, G and B terminals. The B terminal is where the A/C common connects to. If I use that for my C, the thermostat will activate both the furnace and A/C. Thoughts?
Very good and helpful video. Quick question, my oil furnace model: CMF2 80 PO CONVI have 2 wires going to my old thermostat, I will buy a nest Thermostat and I am not sure if this model of furnace have a C wire. Can you tell? If it doesn’t have a C wire am be able to add one? Thank you
Great Videos!! I have learned a lot. I am having a weird problem where my thermostat was going blank and then later in the night it would come back on and it would run until the AC until next day when it got hot again and shut down. I have 120 volts going to the furnace, The 3 amp fuse is good on the board , I am thinking it might be the 24 volt transformer is getting to hot and shutting down, in turn not putting out the 24 v needed to turn on the Thermostat. What is the chance it is the board. I am picking up the transformer on my way home. Thank you!
Great Video! per your request (as I heard you), I tried to smash the LIKE button for you but my mouse could not. So I brought a hammer and smashed the like button just for you. It worked! But my screen is gone. Yes this is how much I like your videos. This is the last time I am smashing my screens for you, though! :)
Think I just figured it out. The white wire from the thermostat bundle coming into the HVAC is not connected to anything. And the HVAC has a connection pointed labeled CTU which I think is a common and to which I can connect that unused white wire. Sound right?
If I have no control board whatsoever, could I not just splice into the 24volt side coming off the transformer as long as the splice is done correctly? Or is there a reason I should not do this?
This should work if my thermostat has both Rh and Rc connected? System is forced air with AC and oil boiler with hot water coil on the air handler (ICP FXM4X4800AL) I’m going to tap into the common on the 2-wire that goes outside to the AC condenser. Just afraid of shorting something out because there is not a typical “control board” inside the air handler on my system.
On my transformer the yellow wire is labeled COM (I assumed that would be the common wire) but when tested it’s outputting 120v the other side (orange) is also outputting 120. On the bottom left side the black wire outputs around 5~ Volts and the right side outputs 24v (red wire). Going off of this video I attached my unused c wire to the black wire and it didn’t function should I have connected it to the yellow wire? I do not have a terminal strip either
I know some smart people stop by my channel sometimes so a question for you 😃 Besides tracing the 24v common wire from the transformer or from the air conditioner, what other ways are there to locate where the 24v common terminal is in the furnace? Or is there an even better way to do this?
I think I'm a smart person - I bypass the fuse and short each power wire to ground with the door safety switch depressed. Whichever lets the magic transformer smoke out is the one that is not the common. Then I refill the transformer with magic smoke, and also leave the fuse bypassed to save the next guy the extra step of doing so when he needs to find the common.
I have Agro AZ-6P zone controller and 4 zones hot water base board heat with 4 thermostats. My controller does not have anywhere “C” terminal. All of my 4 thermostats have two wires ( Red connected to R terminal and White wire connected to W terminal). I have a spare 24 v transformer near the control board. There are unused wires in the TT wires. My question is that can I connect two wires from this spare transformer to two unused wires in each TT wire to supply 24 v to each TT?
Ah and I suppose that thermostat does not have a fan only option huh? Some of these new thermostats are inconvenient like that.. 😑 And thank you! Happy to hear you love the videos!
I need to install a pek to the furnace. I don't have a control board. I have twist caps on the wires. I successfully installed the ecobee 5 series thermostat and now need to hook up the pek harness to the furnace. I have plenty of pictures.
Hi hey we have a roof top unit Bryant heat pump but not have the O terminal carrier said wiring like conventional but the heat pump no running and we have a t6 Honeywell thermostat what we can do if you can help me thanks maybe the programmer on thermostat!!!?😢
im trying to add a smart thermostat to my camper so i can monitor it while im at work.. theres only 2 wires on the thermostat and the furnace is only 12v and gets its 12v from the camper's battery charger that is 120v-in, 12v-out.. how would i make this work? What is the smart thermostat actually looking for on the c-wire? whatever function it is searching for i need to find a way to mimic that function.
I am still searching for a sweet and to the point video showing me how to INSTALL a C wire from my thermostat to the furnace control board when these two conditions exist: i) the cable from the thermostat to the furnace has ONLY 4 wires in it and ii) Nowhere, I repeat NOwhere in the control board, can I find a terminal point labeled "C". Any hep will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Thanks for explaining what ALL THE OTHER videos could not and did not. I am referring to the lack of a C-Common wire when there is no control board. Your explination helped. Thanks.
Thanks! My heat went out and I bought a new thermostat. The new thermostat needed the C wire. But my old furnace didn't use it either. I followed your steps to find the common and hook up my furnace to my new thermostat. All working now and no repair man! Huge thank you again.
Wow. Amazing video! So much more helpful than any other video I’ve found. I thought it was me being crazy, but turns out my apartment furnace is so ancient, it doesn’t have the control board i’ve been looking for. With your video, I can finally finish this thermostat installation :).
Your instructions were comprehensive and easy to understand. Your video was very helpful in to help me get my new smart thermostat installed. Thank you!
I know it’s been 3 years since you posted this, but I want to say thank you! This video helped me a lot! I was trying to find the c wire since nest started dying all of a sudden. Thank you!
My hvac experience is limited, but I know a lot of the newer thermostats have to be supplied with a C wire to work properly and I always assumed that as a last resort that the common could be taken off the chassy or tap into the common from the transformer. Thx for confirming it. Great video!!
I have the same situation, and my furnace company told me that the green wire cannot be connected to the furnace. So unless them some other device that can be used as an extender I’m not able to get a thermostat that can be used within an app. I’ve watched so many videos, and I’m ready to give up.
@@AnnD2023 Don't give up entirely, I'm in the same boat and discovered a device on Amazon called "Common Maker" that uses a transmitter and receiver to achieve adding a C wire.
thank you so much! this was the video I needed to learn how to connect my C wire and get my smart thermostat working!!
Very useful video. Thanks for explaining in such clear and concise way. There was a bunch of other videos that had shaking videos or just glossed over details that assumed people knew what they were talking about. You made it all crystal clear.
Your video just helped me identify a splice (blue/yellow). I ran an extra wire to get a com for my new thermostat. Didnt have a 5th wire ran to my old wall unit. Thanks a bunch!
😢😢😢😢😢😢😢. 😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢
Always find your videos when looking for refreshing my memory on my own ac. Today I am going to go with a wireless thermostat and don't have the common which it requires. Luckily I have five wires and will simply connect the common to the board and thermostats c. Sounds too simple. But I like. 👍
Dude, great explanation! This answered my main question and a few others so I didn't have to go looking for those answers separately. You earned a new subscriber.
Thank you very much for posting this video! It took a lot of testing in an extremely tight space but I found the 24vac source. Yayyyy!!!
Thank you for this!!!! You my friend know what he is talking about!!! I found my common because of your video!!!👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯
Great video. New Wi-Fi thermostat is working thanks in a large part to your instruction. It gave me the confidence to give it a try. Many THANKS..👏👍👍
Brilliant video. I was wondering what the red (connected with a yellow wire in the Y block) and white wire (actually its a second white, connects to the C terminal) were. This explains that they come from AC unit and it makes perfect sense. Thx!
Thank you very much . You saved me a $75 service call . I had to light my pilot light in the attic and im 350lbs that was fun to get up there first of all . Then I have to lay in the crawl space . We'll i got the light lite but my fat a*s belly pulled on the white wire and it came undone I didn't know where it went back to. Your video helped me understand it. Got it back in place where it said "w" big dummy. Heat kicked on and I have a back ache but it works. .. thank you much
Thanks. You helped me get my Honeywell 9000 hooked up. There was a Blue wire coming from the wall connected to the old Battery operated thermostat but it wasn't hooked up at the furnace. That White & Red coming from the AC did the trick on where to connect the Blue wire. I recently moved and took my Honeywell with me. I like it too much to have left it. Especially at a $130.00 then and $180.00 now.
@GLC, did you plug that blue wire from thermostat into C connector on the controller-furnace, where your White wire was already plugged in and did you end up with 2 wires on C now? (blue from thermostat and White from AC outside) and did you need the blue wire plugged in to provide power to your thermostat?
@@bombdiggitymedia6635 thinking it is what he did and needed to do. I am looking at upgrading to a new t-stat and will hook the common from new t-stat to 'C' on furnace where the white from 2 wire a/c unit connects. My old h/w t -stat did not need common but there are spare black,blue,brown and orange wires from stat to furnace that are snipped and wrapped at furnace near board. anyone will work but I believe blue is the correct color choice for this. So in conclusion, I will use a blue wire, connect to common at new stat and connect same blue wire at 'C' on furnace board with white from a/c unit.
Great instructional videos. I've saved a lot of money by following your troubleshooting tips and maintenance procedures for my furnace and air conditioner. Thank you so much.
Has anyone ever commented that you look and sound a lot like Chris Hayes on MSNBC? It's kind of uncanny. 🤣
Thanks this was very helpful. Got my wireless thermostat running today cause of you! You're the man.
Great vid! Thanks man. I was about to return my new Wi-Fi thermostat if it wasn’t for your expertise.
The comm wire sheered off on the furnace side and the thermostat went out but it was a super easy fix cause I can see where the piece of broken wire was on the board just had to strip a little bit off to expose the wire and stick it back on the common screw on the board. They tightened that screw so tight that the wire just sheered off lol. Super easy fix thanks for the vid.
Glad to hear you were able to find and fix the problem! Stay warm!
Love you videos, so helpful. I hope you can advise me. I have a blue common wire unattached. However, all of the 5 screw in slots on Amana furnace control boards are full including the common spot where there is a red wire. Where would I attach the blue wire. Grateful for any help.
P.S. Trying to install a nest thermostat.
Hi Jay, it’s all about the 24 vac! Glad to see your back producing great YT videos!, Aloha!
Thank You! So I'm curious. Your saying. I could hook up my smart thermostat C wire on the furnace body ground wire?
Yes. I've seen that done plenty of times before and seems to work just fine.
A great video. I shall try to find my common tomorrow. Many Thanks!
I gave up and just grounded common to the body of the furnace...and that worked. easy peasy.
That works too. 😄
Love all your videos. The steps are so clear and easy to follow. One request, if all possible, could you please put together a video on how to install Emerson Comfort Alert diagnose module? Thank you much!
thx for makingand sharing this! just like all your other videos, this is extremely helpful and you did a fantastic job explaining!
Love how you make complex things seem easy. Thank you for your videos!
Glad you like them! Thank you for stopping by!
you're a genius! because even I'm an electrician, I couldn't get it. Lol
I am so glad that you post this video. I have been struggling with a air handler with no control board. A more than 30 year old air handler (Lennox CH19-65-2 and B19-51-1P) and a condensing unit (Lennox HS19-651V-2P). I guessed it to connect the C wire from an ecobee thermostat to one of the two wires from the condensing unit. I probably connected the C wire to the hot wire instead of the common wire. Would this damage the machine? If so, how do I do troubleshooting? As it has no control board, I couldn't find a fuse or anything. Any comments will be very much appreciated. Thanks! I have learned so much from your videos!
Happy to hear that the video was timely for you! From what you explained, it sounds like you wired a direct short. My guess would be that the thermostat would get damaged first. But did you disconnect it right away? It's possible there was no damage but of course I can't say anything for sure without being there. I should have explained this better in the video but if you have a meter it is very easy to determine which wire from the AC is hot and which is common. Simply measure voltage from one of the terminals (C or Y) and put the other lead to any ground terminal or even a screw in the furnace. If there is 27v, that is the hot wire. If no voltage, that is the common. This troubleshooting would be done with the furnace and AC powered on and on standby. (not running) And if there is a door switch, that needs to be closed too. Sorry, that was a long-winded answer. Let me know if that made sense 😅
It looks like the thermostat is still ok so I will try to connect it to the correct C wire as shown in your video. However, I will have to clean the condensing unit first because I found it has become a bee's nest when I opened it. It looks like the compressor was wrapped with material something like the batt for attic insulation and it became the home for bumblebees! I am wondering why the previous owner of the house did that. Any reasons to insulate the compressor itself? I live in Boston btw. Thanks!
Something to add here! If I remember correctly, the thermostat lit up when I connected the wire but it doesn't start the air handler or condensing unit when I set it to cool and dropped the temperature. Maybe I didn't connect the wrong wire? In addition, I tried to jump start the air handler by connecting R and G "binding posts" with a wire. The air handler didn't start but I heard a zap and maybe some spark. Or I can only do this on the thermostat side instead of the air handler side?
Thanks! can I use this technique to hookup C wire to my smart WiFi thermostat?
You're welcome! Yes, you should be able to as long as there is an unused wire available.
@@WordofAdviceTV Yes. There is a spare blue wire not connected to thermostat.
However, last month, I hired a AC guy to replace old Thermostat for new WiFi Thermostat but somehow he did incorrect wiring and now I believe my electric Heat strip turn on when the AC running because last month electric bill sky rocket to $265 a month. Also, when I turn on the heat and the heat is not running only the IBM blowing. How can I troubleshoot on this issue. Please help me to understand the basic tracing. Thank you.
I really appreciate you for your video. Very useful for me. Thank you
You deserve a thousand likes💯👍👏
Create 1k accounts 👍
Haha I appreciate the thought! Thank you!
FINALY. I was kinda assuming grounding to the chassis would work, but all i could find was articles on how to add a c wire, but nothing about what to do if you have no c terminal...
The joke was terrible, I loved it! Even with your excellent video, I still can't find the common terminal.
Very helpful video. One question if my control board does not have a C terminal. Can I simply connect a thermostat C wire to the C wire coming directly out of the transformer to provide power for the thermostat or will this cause issues?
Do you know what gauge wire comes off the harness of those control boards? Also, what gauge wires comes off the blower motor?
Thank you so much. I just fixed a problem with my ecobee4.
Love your video, but let me see if I can describe my issue. I'm trying to switch out my current thermostat for a smart wifi thermostat. The wire bundle going into the thermostat has an unused white wire. But when I check the HVAC wiring, the white wire from the AC is connected to the Y connection. And red goes to the common. I'm not sure if or how to modify the HVAC wiring or why it's even the way it is.
Thank you! You helped me figure out how to replace my old analog thermostat with a smart one without having to spend 300 on an "expert" 😅
I'm trying to do the same, but having trouble. My wire coming from outside is like the one in the video with a bunch of wires. But my furnace also doesn't have the control board. All wires are hooked up by twist connectors. The blue one connects to a bigger black wire like the one you call a 120v from the transformer. Those four bigger wires are red, white, black and green The present thermostat has five wires but no "c". There is an "o" for the heat pump I think. The red, white and green wires from the thermostat connect to the corresponding bigger wires. Then the blue wire from the outside bundle to the black one. What the heck?
Poor kid.
Three sisters age 92, 94 and 96 live together in a house. The 96 year old draws a bath. She puts one foot in the tub and stops and yells to the others, hey was I getting in the tub or out? The 94 year old yells, I don't know, I'll come up and check. She starts up the stairs and stops and yells was I going up the stairs or down? The 92 year old shakes her head and says, boy, I hope I never get as forgetful as those two. She knocks on the wood table for good measure. She yells I'll be up to help you both after I see who's at the door....
Ba dump bump...
LOL nice
Haha thanks Mr. Classic! I will need to use that one 😄 and if anyone else has good ending material for me, I am all ears 😉
Question, if you have a video please point me in that direction. Say I want to hook up a pan shut off switch how is that beat accomplished. I heard you interupt the compressor and allow the fan to keep running, and I've heard interupt where the compressor and fan shut off? Basically how do you wire that in. As a follow up, how should you wire in these new air cleaners to operate while the fan is running. Thanks for some great education.
In this video you show connecting a wire directly the metal AC case. Does the other end of the wire connect to the Thermostat "C" terminal to complete the "C" wire connection? Thanks! Clint
i cant find the control board. i have older weil mclain cg boiler and i want to install a nest and need to install the C wire. can you do a vid on where to do this on a boiler (heat only) that doesnt have a control board? or point me in the right direction so i know where to look etc. all advice is appreciated.
Always on point, thanks Jay.
Thank you! Good to have you here Hercules! Stay cool man! ❄😎
@@WordofAdviceTV same to you.
another good video, keep em coming.
Thank you good sir! 🙂
On my old HVAC unit the common terminal on the low voltage side of the 24V transformer is wired directly to chassis ground, as is the control wire coming from the condenser. So I had no hangups about wiring my t'stat C wire right to the chassis.
I love your videos !!!! Thanks Jay
Glad you like them! Thanks for stopping by Joey! 😄
thanks for the video. Could yu consider make a video o how to connect the humidifier on the nest thermostat please? thanks again
Thanks, learned a lot! However, my HVAC has 5 terminal wires only Y,R,G,W but no C and it has a B. The white wire from the AC outside (only have 2 wires red and white) goes into the B terminal. Can I use this B terminal as C for my smart thermostat?
Any update I’m having the same issue
Hello, the common contact on the circuit board is only pulling 22.5 volts, every other is 28 volts. This is preventing the fan from operating. Can I tie in the A/C condenser neutral wire with another low voltage wire in the furnace? This video is a great explanation to find it, but where could I tie in aside from the terminal?
Thank you sir
I'm trying to connect the C wire from thermostat at the furnace end to the correct wire. There is no terminal block or control board with marking, just bunch of wires.I have the brown from condenser with two leads.1. White wire connecting to Yellow on Thermostat wire (Y). 2. Red wire connecting to a blue wire that goes to the steel frame of furnace board. My guess is red wire is the C wire in my case and need to connect thermostat C wire with that. Did I identify C wire correctly since it goes to the frame?
thanks for the video. ithis was the solution i was looking flor.
Thanks for information. I have only five wires coming out into the thermostat. I don’t remember exactly which one that I had to disconnect for it to start calling when I have all wires connected to the thermostat. It doesn’t cool down. Just keep some running. What am I doing wrong
Great video. Very helpful..... and I listened right to the end... which presented me with the need to change my diaper!! Too funny you are!!
with the wire that coming from outside unit can you connect the c wire directly to it or is that a no no
Is the common wire, a hot 24-28 volt DC always? If so can I tie in with the red wire?
It is actually AC voltage. Putting a common and a hot wire together would be a direct short, causing the fuse to burn out.
@@WordofAdviceTV my confusion came when you went up to that strip. Mine doesn’t have a motherboard or strip. I watched again, I think I understand, the common wire is more a neutral and I can splice into the wire coming from the outside condenser unit. Duh it says VAC and I said DC.
Great video buddy glad to see you bad 👍👍
Thank you T&T! Hope all is well on your side of the country! Stay cool and have a kicka** week! 😄
Great explanation. I have one question. I have a heat pump system and want to install a Nest thermostat that requires a C wire, which I don't have. I'm seeing some folks pull the green (fan) wire and instead connect it to the C on the thermostat and at the blower. Since I never run the fan separately this seems like a good choice. Does this make sense? Pulling wires would be ideal but almost impossible since I think they stapled the wire to 2x4 studs. Thank you.
so if i can't locate the C wire on my Rheem unit can i just attach the C wire from the thermostat to the body frame?
Amazing video, mine is sooo old it has non of these 😮. Can you help?
thank for the video...now I can go install my Google Nest thermostat.....
My smart thermostat needs the 24 VAC common. Can I just tap into that gray wire off of the transformer?
We have a 20 year old Goodman furnace. It does not have a C terminal - however there is already an unused C wire running from our old thermostat. We are installing a Nest smart thermostat. Where do we attach the C wire at the FURNACE? (There is no c terminal to simply plug it into). Can we attach the C wire to the ground that runs from the 24v transformer? No one seems to have a clear answer how to install these thermostats with a furnace that has no C terminal. Thanks!
That's exactly where I'm at, hopefully he responds.
I have found myself in this exact same situation with a house I just purchased. Any luck?
Probably need to go with the last ditch effort and ground it to the frame
I can confirm connecting the C-wire to the my transformer 24v side (opposite of red wire) worked for me and in the process determined that my fan relay coil was burned out which is what got me searching around the unit in the first place
Hi there! I am in a similar situation with an old Goodman GDT070-3. No C-wire at thermostat or C terminal on the control board. The Nest compatibility checker instructed me to get the power connector, which I have. It looks like my best option right now is to ground the C wire coming from the power connector, but in other forms I've read that a ground is not appropriate. I'm curious about how you resolved your issue? Thanks!
Hello. Can you run a wire from the Negative/Common side of the Transformer directly to the Thermostat "C" terminal to complete a "C" wire connection? Thanks! Clint
This! 🎉
So happy to see my exact question asked, but no answer yet - have you found anything out by trial and error lol! 😂
Great detail bro. Good tech ✌🏼 I’m learning from you
I tried to use the c terminal with nest, nest cannot find it on startup. It is wired C to C, thermostat and board. Happy to share a picture... Thanks.
Thank you for the great video. I learn a lot from your video. I saw the smaller transformer on the left of the voltage transformer. Can you tell me what is that use for?
You're welcome! Glad to hear you learn a lot. That smaller transformer is actually not originally part of the furnace. That small transformer is solely for the bypass humidifier which is installed in the ductwork behind the furnace.
Hi jay tranks very much for your videos... you explanation its great!!! I have a question in the furnace if The technician in the call found the correct 24 volts at all points in the control circuitry where needed. One component is not functioning, preventing the flow of gas to the pilot burner. What is it? What did you think the component is fault?the ignitor is OK and sparking, but there's no gas to ignite,so what could be preventing it for lighting? What component is at fault?
I would start by seeing if the control board is blinking any error codes after it fails to ignite. If you have an ignition module instead of a control board, those tend to fail and not send power to the gas valve. If your ignitor is sparking, the next thing that should happen is the gas valve gets energized. So I would check to see if the gas valve is getting 24-27 volts. If it is not, then there is a good chance that the board or ignition module is bad and needs to be replaced. But if the gas valve is getting power then either the gas is turned off somewhere or the switch on the gas valve is switched to off. If you verified that the gas shut off valves and switch are both on/open and it is getting voltage then I would say that the gas valve is stuck in the closed position and should be replaced.
Another possibility is that the gas orifice on a burner or two are plugged and not allowing the gas to flow through (especially the burner in front of the ignitor). If you have an intermittent pilot then the little pilot orifice (tiny hole where the gas comes out from on the ignitor pilot assembly) may be plugged and needs to be cleared out.
But keep in mind that this is only my guesses, since I am not there to see it I can't say for sure what is going on. I hope this gave you some ideas of what to take a look at though. Good luck!
So if you don't have a 24-volt terminal strip, how do you connect your thermostat to the C-wire?
Simply put the common wire in the same place where the common wire from the air conditioner goes. Under the same screw or in the same wire nut.
Great Video. I have a really old i.e. 1980 roof top HVAC system. I looked inside the HVAC unit and could not find a control board. I did see a really old transformer and an Ignition control unit. Any way how I can find the C - Wire?
Great Advice Jay and dare I say ... That joke had a ''crappy '' ending ... Lol ...
Lol, thanks Eddy! I appreciate you stopping by! Have a fantastic week good sir! 👍🤙💪👌
Great video. I'm looking to instal the Google Nest Power Connector and I just found out that my furnace controll board has two C terminal points, one with two wires connected and the other completely free. Now I'm not sure to which of these two C terminal points should I connect the C wire from the Google Nest Power Connector. Please let me know.
Is the C terminal the negative of a 24 Volt AC transfer? Or DC voltage?
It's 24 volts AC there is no positive or negative. There's a primary side of 120 volts and a secondary side of 24 volts. One of the secondary leads goes to the red wire on your thermostat. The other wire is the common or C wire. I just connected mine today to make my Nest thermostat work.
Is the 24 volts DC current? Does the step down transformer also have a rectifier?
No. It's 24 volts AC. No rectifier on my 50 year old furnace.
Remember an outdoor unit for a heat pump will have many more wires. R W Y O and C and sometimes G.
Thank you for pointing that out! I should have talked about that. As far as I recall most heat pumps do have the blue wire for common though. Hopefully I was right about that claim.
Hello there. Thank you for the video. How do I add a common wire for a thermostat? Currently I only have a red and white.
I have the same issue, im considering purchasing the google nest adapter.
another great video
Thank you Jeff! You are a great man! 💪💪
I purchased a honeywell C Adapter for my Alexa thermostat. I have W, W2, Y R, G and B terminals. The B terminal is where the A/C common connects to. If I use that for my C, the thermostat will activate both the furnace and A/C. Thoughts?
Very good and helpful video.
Quick question, my oil furnace model: CMF2 80 PO CONVI have 2 wires going to my old thermostat, I will buy a nest Thermostat and I am not sure if this model of furnace have a C wire. Can you tell? If it doesn’t have a C wire am be able to add one?
Thank you
wtf.. Did you even watch the video? You best hire a pro Laddy.
Great Videos!! I have learned a lot. I am having a weird problem where my thermostat was going blank and then later in the night it would come back on and it would run until the AC until next day when it got hot again and shut down. I have 120 volts going to the furnace, The 3 amp fuse is good on the board , I am thinking it might be the 24 volt transformer is getting to hot and shutting down, in turn not putting out the 24 v needed to turn on the Thermostat. What is the chance it is the board. I am picking up the transformer on my way home. Thank you!
Great Video! per your request (as I heard you), I tried to smash the LIKE button for you but my mouse could not. So I brought a hammer and smashed the like button just for you. It worked! But my screen is gone. Yes this is how much I like your videos. This is the last time I am smashing my screens for you, though! :)
What happens if o screw common into chasis and is the chasis as a common to the outdoor condenser since I only have one wire left on my low voltage ?
Think I just figured it out. The white wire from the thermostat bundle coming into the HVAC is not connected to anything. And the HVAC has a connection pointed labeled CTU which I think is a common and to which I can connect that unused white wire. Sound right?
If I have no control board whatsoever, could I not just splice into the 24volt side coming off the transformer as long as the splice is done correctly? Or is there a reason I should not do this?
Yeah that should be fine as long as you don't accidentally hook up a hot to common.
Thank you again!
This should work if my thermostat has both Rh and Rc connected? System is forced air with AC and oil boiler with hot water coil on the air handler (ICP FXM4X4800AL) I’m going to tap into the common on the 2-wire that goes outside to the AC condenser. Just afraid of shorting something out because there is not a typical “control board” inside the air handler on my system.
can you do one for a gas heat-only furnace? there isn't any board, only a gas valve, @Word of Advice TV
On my transformer the yellow wire is labeled COM (I assumed that would be the common wire) but when tested it’s outputting 120v the other side (orange) is also outputting 120. On the bottom left side the black wire outputs around 5~ Volts and the right side outputs 24v (red wire). Going off of this video I attached my unused c wire to the black wire and it didn’t function should I have connected it to the yellow wire? I do not have a terminal strip either
I know some smart people stop by my channel sometimes so a question for you 😃 Besides tracing the 24v common wire from the transformer or from the air conditioner, what other ways are there to locate where the 24v common terminal is in the furnace? Or is there an even better way to do this?
I think I'm a smart person - I bypass the fuse and short each power wire to ground with the door safety switch depressed. Whichever lets the magic transformer smoke out is the one that is not the common. Then I refill the transformer with magic smoke, and also leave the fuse bypassed to save the next guy the extra step of doing so when he needs to find the common.
I have Agro AZ-6P zone controller and 4 zones hot water base board heat with 4 thermostats. My controller does not have anywhere “C” terminal. All of my 4 thermostats have two wires ( Red connected to R terminal and White wire connected to W terminal). I have a spare 24 v transformer near the control board. There are unused wires in the TT wires. My question is that can I connect two wires from this spare transformer to two unused wires in each TT wire to supply 24 v to each TT?
thanks , i just wish i could just run fan only sometimes , i have a honeywell wireless t stat ,love ure videos!!!
Ah and I suppose that thermostat does not have a fan only option huh? Some of these new thermostats are inconvenient like that.. 😑 And thank you! Happy to hear you love the videos!
@@WordofAdviceTV ure probably correct , keep up the awesome work!
I was testing the the square box with a fork and it knocked me out. I can’t remember what happened. Should I retest with the fork?
I need to install a pek to the furnace. I don't have a control board. I have twist caps on the wires. I successfully installed the ecobee 5 series thermostat and now need to hook up the pek harness to the furnace. I have plenty of pictures.
Thanks again
Always welcome! Thanks for stopping by!
Great video, thank you.
Hi hey we have a roof top unit Bryant heat pump but not have the O terminal carrier said wiring like conventional but the heat pump no running and we have a t6 Honeywell thermostat what we can do if you can help me thanks maybe the programmer on thermostat!!!?😢
im trying to add a smart thermostat to my camper so i can monitor it while im at work.. theres only 2 wires on the thermostat and the furnace is only 12v and gets its 12v from the camper's battery charger that is 120v-in, 12v-out.. how would i make this work? What is the smart thermostat actually looking for on the c-wire? whatever function it is searching for i need to find a way to mimic that function.
THANK YOU!
So can I just tap the common wire on the frame
Welcome back
I am still searching for a sweet and to the point video showing me how to INSTALL a C wire from my thermostat to the furnace control board when these two conditions exist: i) the cable from the thermostat to the furnace has ONLY 4 wires in it and ii) Nowhere, I repeat NOwhere in the control board, can I find a terminal point labeled "C". Any hep will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!