It's good that you leave in the mistakes (I do too). So many technical channels edit them out. It's good to show that everyone makes mistakes and has little "incidents" at work.
Looking at the fuses you took out, one was a different brand... that gives me an idea. I propse that one of the previous problems took out two fuses. One of the fan motors and both compressors have been replaced, surely one of the three took out some fuses in the process. This stresses all three fuses, the two weakest ones blow. Someone comes along, replaces the motor, replaces the two fuses that are blown, leaves the one that still measures good. That third fuse was also stressed, but not replaced. Over time, through just normal operation, that one finally goes. Now you have a missing phase, and we all know what happens when you try to run a 3-phase motor with one phase missing. The breaker trips. The customer resets it, and the board does all of its initialization crap, which takes a few minutes. When the board is done deciding whether or not it is still an air conditioner, it tries to energize some motors, with a phase missing, and the breaker trips again. Customer report: "I reset the breaker and a few minutes later it trips again." So you've walked up to a unit that doesn't actually have a currently-existing electrical problem, other than a missing phase, caused by a fuse that blew under "normal" conditions having been weakened by a previous fault. just a theory.
Certainly possible. It would be interesting to see the discrimination/coordination between those fuses and the breaker though. We saw the breaker was tripping first in this instance with the locked rotors/single phasing. Would the fuses have gone first in a sustained overload or dead short? Probably the latter.
I love your theory, especially the "deciding if it's still an air conditioner" part lol, but I will also suggest that sometimes fuses fail, possibly due to manufacturing defects causing it to overheat, or corrosion causing overheating, or sometimes due to mechanical fatigue from the vibration. If you open the fuse, you can tell the difference between a hard fault and a mechanical failure, and at least tell something about the fault that caused it.
Perhaps a theory but in my days as a tech (computer nerd now) we saw that kind of behaviour often enough on 415V three phase that it was standard practice to replace them in sets (Euro & Australasian 50Hz work)
but it could have been the one fuse replaced and not the other two! maybe brownout/phase loss, short outage and no delay to turn on or simply upstream internal building wiring issues. something in the breaker panel overheating and causing tripping, which they reset too often. guessing game unless you can catch the issue or inspect it all, sometimes asking the customer or who was there if there was an weird power issues works :)
Chris, I do assessments on facilities across the country which includes HVACR. You are always cleaning up garbage and making it right which is refreshing to see and I loved that you got rid of that plastic pulley on the blower. All that being said I see hackers a lot and it is uplifting to see someone getting it right.
One of the most difficult things to teach any technician is how to question and walk back their assumptions. Most people respond to "I don't know what's going on" by shotgunning solutions (I call this "flailing at the problem"), which usually leads to incorrect or half-solutions to problems because the problem solving usually stops at the first thing that seems to change the behavior. My response to flailing at problems is to remind technicians that when the world fails to make sense, they have failed to have the correct assumptions about how the world works. This is why when I teach troubleshooting theory, I always require my students to understand the system and have a testable hypothesis for the problem mechanism before they make any changes. It was very nice to watch you make mistakes and walk back your assumptions when the problem no longer made sense. That's not something that is easy to do because it requires much more mental effort than flailing. Good work. :)
I'm an electrician and at one time a friend of mine who's a dentist called me and he had a problem that the fuses were blowing out so he asked me if he could put the next size amp fuses on the A/C unit so I said no you can't do that so I went over to check the problem and the A/C guy replaced the compressor but he put a bigger compressor so the unit was overloading the fuses I told my buddy that he had 2 options to put the correct compressor or rewire and replace the fuse disconnect box so he decided to rewire and I've done A/C electrical work repairs because the lack of experience in the electrical safety and all the time A/C techs tend to do a short cut but they end up creating a huge problem and I hate that. Good video keep up the good work and have an excellent day.
I wish there were techs like you where I worked when I got out of hvac school. Super informational and break it down so we understand. The techs where I worked didn't care and acted like I was less then them and not worth the time. Which killed my drive to work commercial/industrial or for another company for that matter. Guys like you really help us new guys out. Thanks man!
I'm not an HVAC guy, but I'm glad that across all the trades, those who do care are more than willing to clean up the spaghetti. I work with low voltage security hardware and if I need to put my meter up to something, it definitely helps that I can see the where everything goes. Great videos as always.
I like the fact that when you are wrong, you own up to it and move forward. There are many people who are stubborn and won’t admit their own faults. I’m sure there are also technicians that would just replace a blown fuse and call it a day. I really like your troubleshooting skills and persistence that usually pays off in the end!
Gotta tell ya, it´s somehow therapeutic to me to watch your videos, I can sit for hours watching you explain and fix stuff.. Thanks and keep on the good job
Thanks so much! I will be going live on TH-cam this evening 1/18/21 @ 5:PM (pacific) to discuss my recent uploads and answer questions from TH-cam comments, the Live Chat and emails, come over and check it out. th-cam.com/video/donStSxMDe8/w-d-xo.html
You have the some of the best service call videos. Thanks for everything including showing your mistakes. These mistakes are a blessing for us young techs fresh out of school.
Very nice. There's no sweat leaving small mistakes in a video, and showing them getting corrected. That's great information for those learning how to troubleshoot. Knowing a problem was a small mistake made during troubleshooting versus a preexisting problem is very important. It's real-world documentation! Your wiring job at the end looked nice to me; even if I hadn't seen how it started. It's so satisfying to see something go from almost scrap; to having a new lease on life. As for the 'little bit high' discharge temps there at the end, I have a feeling that the gap around the cover (while it was just leaned up against the housing) was letting quite a bit of air bypass the condensers. Probably once that was completely buttoned up, the pressure was lower.
I've always been curious of HVAC work, I;ve worked in alot of various skilled trades but never this work, Ive learned a lot about it from this channel alone
I really appreciate the fact that you went through the troubleshooting process of trying to figure out why the fuse blew instead of just replacing it. I know too many people that would just replace the fuse and call it good with no thought about the cause, just so that they can get the job done quickly and get paid. Super Awesome videos, I found the channel a few weeks back, and it goes great with the mechanical engineering and thermodynamics classes I am taking currently. Keep up the awesome content!
Good Day to you Chris. Name is Kyle and I watch your videos all the time. I work for the military and my shop consists of 4 people. We are responsible for roughly 400 AC units plus many other things on the base. When ever we run into trouble and get stumped I always try to find a video of yours to help us move forward with ideas. I also watch them at night sometimes just to better sharpen my troubleshooting and repair. You are making a difference on my end and I’m sure you are helping many other techs out in the field. Have a great day.
When the boss goes out to the job you left & proceeds to talk to himself for an hour about the unit while literally getting nothing done. I am kidding bro! I love the content & the explanations along the way. P.S. I am ordering a shirt!
@@HVACRVIDEOS if you start having a 5 way conversation with your self let me know and i will send your membership certificate to the crazy club :) Btw yes i have done that. I routinely have 3 way verbal conversations with my self 5 way requires 2 in my head 🙃
We have all done that Chris. I have been a repairman 49 years and I don't know 5 fellow repairmen that are as thorough and conscientious as you are. (AND or as knowledgeable).
FYI: I realize guys do all the time, but you don’t have the PPE to be pushing on those disconnect knives with it energized, even with an insulated screwdriver. I enjoy your videos and would not want to see you get hurt.
Sir I proud of your job I like your job sir can I attend your job and your company please tell me I want to join your job and you company please I am from Bangladesh and I am normal technician me but I think I can do better please forgive me turns I want to job with you thank you sir
Great job doing the instructional video on this unit. The focus on the unit disconnect was excellent. Sometimes techs do not realize that those fuses in the disconnect will open if they get hot due to a loose fuse holder, worn spade, etc.. Also, out here on the East coast with our colder temps, not having the economizer or some type of low ambient kit can cause nuisance trips of the clo board requiring a manual reset. What generally happens is that on a call for cooling with cooler outside ambient temps, the suction pressure will nosedive initially causing the clo to lock out on low pressure. A delay on break across the LP switch with prevent this. Also, head pressure controllers on condenser fans may be required if unit is to be used for cooling with low ambient conditions to prevent the clo from locking out. If fuses continue to blow, a phase monitor may solve the problem. As you know, with a fan speed controller, ball bearing condenser motors are highly recommended due to fans shaft oiling issues at low speeds with bushings instead of bearings. I think this unit will need economizer/low ambient as it is a bar unit and it will run at night, year round. Maybe not in California temps. I had to self train on this model unit, I didn’t have your videos? Ha,ha,ha!
Good job.... I was and engineering tech for over 27 years.... I use to chase my tail trying to figure out why a fuse blew. Sometimes I just had to resign myself to believing that the fuse just blew and it was really just a faulty fuse.
2:05am in Singapore and I am lucky to have watched your video and entered the contest! Managed to learn lots of stuffs in your channel! I just wish there are more competent techs out here in Singapore to do maintenance on our AC Units.
Going by the 2013 written on the blower motor, this unit is at least 7-8 yrs old, probably a 10 ton. With all the problems this unit has, it is a prime candidate for replacement soon anyway. We get about 10yrs out of a unit like this here in S.Fla. I know restaurant owners can be cheap at times, and take the less expensive routes, been there done that kind of thing. Good to see you were approved, and are gong to attempt to make it right.
I enjoy your videos. Not an hvac tech but i am an electrician. Agood habit to get into is to hook your jumper to the load first then the power. This will keep you from shorting the lead against a ground when working.
Nice job on a very hot day. I was always told to only run wiring at 70% of its rated capacity. I always hated to fix other peoples mess ups. Thanks for the video.
Looks like a hot day in mo val .... My Monday customer is about 2 blocks from where you were , and yes past few weeks have been brutal !! Stay hydrated Chris !
That was a spider web of issues to come across , starting with the mystery blown fuse . Glad your customer chose your plan to correct those issues , the out come look nice an professional .
Excellent job, this one was a mess. I would have loved to work that one. I know this doesn’t apply necessarily to service but when I worked as Mechanical foreman on a 7 story hotel new construction the inspector loved seeing clean wiring jobs. Makes for an easy green sticker and continuing the work flow. First one done with their punch list wins, lol.
You are welcome, you are probably the only business that can keep going on without being infected due to being out in the open air. Like others have said look after your self, family and employees.
I’m betting the fuse was blowing because of the second condenser fan motor was sitting outside/too low in the shroud and caused high head pressure on the wrong size compressors. What a mess you had! Great work!
I was told by an electrical engineer that those type of fuses were meant to be mounted flat because the fuse part inside is surrounded by sand keeping that from down grading overtime from the heat. Build up created from the electricity going thru it! What happens when the fuse is mounted up right is over time the sand inside compacts from vibration leaving the metal fuse part inside with no sand covering it to absorb the heat causing it to eventually melt and burn through opening up! That is why many times a fuse will blow for no apparent reason ! So that can be the conclusion after you trouble shoot and find nothing wrong! The repairs that you made were good but it would be nice to get rid of the excessive amount of vibration! Awesome video ! thanks!
Nice video sir. I had this issue with AHU York 20 tons that keep blew fuses. I checked everything and it was good. I got callback again next week for same blew fuses. I found out that panel is too old. Maybe you can have your customer to call for electrican to replace breaker and possibly wiring issue within panel. My customer needed up replaced panel and it’s working good after that, sir.
Always check the motor amps and be careful setting the variable pulley up similar to the existing one that was on the unit as it could have been set up wrong from the start. 👍keep the vids coming
now try being an end user or technician that has to deal with both your broken software and the electrical wiring/electronic design failures.... add in mechanical issues for a triple headache
Good video, that is service done correctly. Can I ask you a favour Chris? Can you do a video that goes into more detail about the quotes that you provide to your customers? I’d like to compare notes to what we’re doing and see if there is any room for improvement. I was suspecting that your customer was going to decline your quoted repairs given the condition of that RTU, and then you got approval. I’d like more of my customers to approve my repair quotes... Thanks!
Great video as always ,really informative as usual, hope your staying safe and well during the Corona crap, I'm thinking of going in to the HVAC Industry, my brother in law does the controls side of stuff such as trend, deals with the AHUs etc that wiring is a rat's nest ,.stay safe and another great video from yourself
I thought I noticed a bearing chirp from the condenser fan motor. I think the one you replaced had a very dry shaft bearing and when the motor runs for a long time it may have siezed and when it cools down will spin again. With the compressor lockouts bypassed, the compressors would be over amping causing the fuse to blow.
You'd think a AC&R guy would be cool. well we are very cool. The problem is when something cool breaks your in the HEAT to fix it. 20 years in the navy and working in hot places I don't dig the heat anymore. I'll do electrical stuff in the winter esp attic work. I've binged your video's, good stuff man!
Chris did you fire the heat ? Those insiders are notorious for having issues causing blown fuses!!! Also did you put a connector on the blower motor and check those wires?
Chris, very good quality training video's. One question though, after you checked the major loads with a VOM why didn't you follow up with a megger? 500vdc low amp insulation test would show a weak motor winding.
Love the video mate. Been watching them and really enjoy them. Would be great to get my hands on some merch but unfortunately you dont ship to australia, yet. I do residental work in australia but love the content and videos. Keep up the great work.
Great job, but you have over costed the customer, I believe replacing the blade of the aftermarket condenser motor, is the proper action for fixing this unit because the breaker fuse has been blown down because of the loss contact in the disconnect breaker due to the vibration..... And the fabulous additional works that you have done, have added a new life to the unit.
Good video Chris . Condenser fan motor on the right side looked a bit slower than the aftermarket. Unless the OEM was an 875 RPM motor , and the Aftermarket a 1075 RPM .
Every time I come across the "No Bushing" and in my head I say, "Bushing, I don't need no bushing..." and I climb down and grab a strain relief and put it on, that's my pet peeve, much like your contactor face being upright
I was watching a lot of board level repairs from Louis Rossmann. Its pretty much the same technique just on a much smaller scale. It's interesting to see how you can repair the units with oem or aftermarket parts and even have schematics right on the door. He is fighting for the right to repair bill for consumer electronics.
Its amazing how that little fuse blowing out prevented the entire thing from starting. The moment you plugged in the new one it all of a sudden started
When testing contactors , switches relays etc i prefer to test for amperage drop or loss using a bench meter. I find its the most accurate way of determining the viability of any contact. My threshold for pass/fail is 30 milliamperes. Testing voltage drop across contacts is arbitrary as voltage is the ‘pressure’ or potential for current flow. Measuring actual current bypassing the contact through the meter is exact and precise.
What do you mean amperage drop? Contactor or relay will pass al the current, even if it is not functioning fully properly. Measuring the resistance, or the voltage drop is the best way I think, followed by the temp check (which can be from the voltage drop, or from the relay coil itself just warming up).
After watching a lot of your videos, one thing stands out across all the units you service - Open frame contactors. So many of them have burnt contacts and no wonder - they're open to atmosphere. Particularly where you are with such a dry dusty environment, it's always going to affect the contacts. So the question is twofold: 1) Why aren't the manufacturers designing with closed contactors, and 2) Why aren't you all installing closed contactors when repairing?
Should be habit to spray clean contactors on visita with an electronic safe parts cleaner. Dust enhances resistance & corrosion, especially in the Southwest.
Don't judge a book by it's cover. There was no voltage drop and nothing was getting hot. The contacts get pitted from normal operation, every time they make or break a load there will be an arc, but that is what they are designed to do and the contacts are made of materials to handle it. Open up a sealed contactor and you will still see pitted contacts. But they also do have a definite service life.
I have to wonder if the vibration rubbed out one of the power wires going in to the unprotected knockout on the blower motor. I didn't see the finished product, but I'm sure you checked. Also, was that beer can hiding in that unit ;) Thanks for having a contest, as I don't work on A/C stuff myself, I'll let the others put their entries in.
the fuse that blew was either newer or older, how do we know if it blew before or the others? maybe the area has brown out/phase loss frequently that blows that fuse or maybe weak breaker inside tripping and they reset it too often and high start load from no delay and high pressures got it? bad thermostat short cycling or chattering(assuming the board would allow that.
It's good that you leave in the mistakes (I do too). So many technical channels edit them out. It's good to show that everyone makes mistakes and has little "incidents" at work.
I agree!! Thanks for watching Clive
OMG YOURE HERE. And this was only 2 days ago. Both of you have great videos.
Thanks bud!
Ought to take that spare fuse and install it in the alligator clips.
Big clive? What are you doing here?
I like that you don’t edit out your mistakes. I show your videos every other Friday at our meeting. 👍🏼
I dont see the point because we all make them.... thats how we learn, thanks so much for the nice words and thanks for watching!!
chad darr hell yeah! Gosh I hate when that jumper falls off
From showing mistakes you really learn.
Looking at the fuses you took out, one was a different brand... that gives me an idea.
I propse that one of the previous problems took out two fuses. One of the fan motors and both compressors have been replaced, surely one of the three took out some fuses in the process. This stresses all three fuses, the two weakest ones blow. Someone comes along, replaces the motor, replaces the two fuses that are blown, leaves the one that still measures good.
That third fuse was also stressed, but not replaced. Over time, through just normal operation, that one finally goes. Now you have a missing phase, and we all know what happens when you try to run a 3-phase motor with one phase missing. The breaker trips. The customer resets it, and the board does all of its initialization crap, which takes a few minutes. When the board is done deciding whether or not it is still an air conditioner, it tries to energize some motors, with a phase missing, and the breaker trips again. Customer report: "I reset the breaker and a few minutes later it trips again."
So you've walked up to a unit that doesn't actually have a currently-existing electrical problem, other than a missing phase, caused by a fuse that blew under "normal" conditions having been weakened by a previous fault.
just a theory.
Certainly possible.
It would be interesting to see the discrimination/coordination between those fuses and the breaker though. We saw the breaker was tripping first in this instance with the locked rotors/single phasing. Would the fuses have gone first in a sustained overload or dead short? Probably the latter.
I love your theory, especially the "deciding if it's still an air conditioner" part lol, but I will also suggest that sometimes fuses fail, possibly due to manufacturing defects causing it to overheat, or corrosion causing overheating, or sometimes due to mechanical fatigue from the vibration.
If you open the fuse, you can tell the difference between a hard fault and a mechanical failure, and at least tell something about the fault that caused it.
Perhaps a theory but in my days as a tech (computer nerd now) we saw that kind of behaviour often enough on 415V three phase that it was standard practice to replace them in sets (Euro & Australasian 50Hz work)
but it could have been the one fuse replaced and not the other two! maybe brownout/phase loss, short outage and no delay to turn on or simply upstream internal building wiring issues. something in the breaker panel overheating and causing tripping, which they reset too often. guessing game unless you can catch the issue or inspect it all, sometimes asking the customer or who was there if there was an weird power issues works :)
@@ke6gwf good suggestion, fuse guts are messy, so be prepared ;)
Who else was excited when he said the customer approved the work...more video!
Those are pleasant words whenever you are working!!
bigpardon 👍🏼
One reason I’m getting into commercial. You’ll always have work.
@@gregmercil3968 More importantly, your customer will always have the money to pay...
@@LMSILVIA s0
Chris, I do assessments on facilities across the country which includes HVACR. You are always cleaning up garbage and making it right which is refreshing to see and I loved that you got rid of that plastic pulley on the blower.
All that being said I see hackers a lot and it is uplifting to see someone getting it right.
Pride in Craftsmanship...don't see enough of it.
One of the most difficult things to teach any technician is how to question and walk back their assumptions. Most people respond to "I don't know what's going on" by shotgunning solutions (I call this "flailing at the problem"), which usually leads to incorrect or half-solutions to problems because the problem solving usually stops at the first thing that seems to change the behavior.
My response to flailing at problems is to remind technicians that when the world fails to make sense, they have failed to have the correct assumptions about how the world works. This is why when I teach troubleshooting theory, I always require my students to understand the system and have a testable hypothesis for the problem mechanism before they make any changes.
It was very nice to watch you make mistakes and walk back your assumptions when the problem no longer made sense. That's not something that is easy to do because it requires much more mental effort than flailing. Good work. :)
I'm an electrician and at one time a friend of mine who's a dentist called me and he had a problem that the fuses were blowing out so he asked me if he could put the next size amp fuses on the A/C unit so I said no you can't do that so I went over to check the problem and the A/C guy replaced the compressor but he put a bigger compressor so the unit was overloading the fuses I told my buddy that he had 2 options to put the correct compressor or rewire and replace the fuse disconnect box so he decided to rewire and I've done A/C electrical work repairs because the lack of experience in the electrical safety and all the time A/C techs tend to do a short cut but they end up creating a huge problem and I hate that. Good video keep up the good work and have an excellent day.
I wish there were techs like you where I worked when I got out of hvac school. Super informational and break it down so we understand. The techs where I worked didn't care and acted like I was less then them and not worth the time. Which killed my drive to work commercial/industrial or for another company for that matter. Guys like you really help us new guys out. Thanks man!
I'm not an HVAC guy, but I'm glad that across all the trades, those who do care are more than willing to clean up the spaghetti. I work with low voltage security hardware and if I need to put my meter up to something, it definitely helps that I can see the where everything goes. Great videos as always.
I like the fact that when you are wrong, you own up to it and move forward. There are many people who are stubborn and won’t admit their own faults. I’m sure there are also technicians that would just replace a blown fuse and call it a day. I really like your troubleshooting skills and persistence that usually pays off in the end!
this.
Gotta tell ya, it´s somehow therapeutic to me to watch your videos, I can sit for hours watching you explain and fix stuff.. Thanks and keep on the good job
Thanks so much! I will be going live on TH-cam this evening 1/18/21 @ 5:PM (pacific) to discuss my recent uploads and answer questions from TH-cam comments, the Live Chat and emails, come over and check it out. th-cam.com/video/donStSxMDe8/w-d-xo.html
I start HVAC residential school in 2 weeks, all because of you my man, the impact you’ve had is tremendous, love from Myrtle Beach
Awesome bud!!
HVACR VIDEOS I’ll be watching you every step of the way!
You have the some of the best service call videos.
Thanks for everything including showing your mistakes. These mistakes are a blessing for us young techs fresh out of school.
It's always nice to watch a tech who knows what he is doing.
You know you love ac when you do a 12 hour day in south Florida and watch 40 Mins of ac troubleshooting as soon as you get home. Great videos
I really like that you don't remove your mistakes in the video, it really shows that in every work we will have minor mistakes....
Very nice. There's no sweat leaving small mistakes in a video, and showing them getting corrected. That's great information for those learning how to troubleshoot. Knowing a problem was a small mistake made during troubleshooting versus a preexisting problem is very important. It's real-world documentation!
Your wiring job at the end looked nice to me; even if I hadn't seen how it started. It's so satisfying to see something go from almost scrap; to having a new lease on life.
As for the 'little bit high' discharge temps there at the end, I have a feeling that the gap around the cover (while it was just leaned up against the housing) was letting quite a bit of air bypass the condensers. Probably once that was completely buttoned up, the pressure was lower.
I've always been curious of HVAC work, I;ve worked in alot of various skilled trades but never this work, Ive learned a lot about it from this channel alone
The best thing on TH-cam: good educational videos, that are also entertaining. Keep up the Great work.. ! Vince
Also: keep up the grunt work.
I really appreciate the fact that you went through the troubleshooting process of trying to figure out why the fuse blew instead of just replacing it. I know too many people that would just replace the fuse and call it good with no thought about the cause, just so that they can get the job done quickly and get paid. Super Awesome videos, I found the channel a few weeks back, and it goes great with the mechanical engineering and thermodynamics classes I am taking currently. Keep up the awesome content!
Good Day to you Chris. Name is Kyle and I watch your videos all the time. I work for the military and my shop consists of 4 people. We are responsible for roughly 400 AC units plus many other things on the base. When ever we run into trouble and get stumped I always try to find a video of yours to help us move forward with ideas. I also watch them at night sometimes just to better sharpen my troubleshooting and repair. You are making a difference on my end and I’m sure you are helping many other techs out in the field. Have a great day.
Wow thanks so much bud and thanks for supporting the channel with the merch order!!
When the boss goes out to the job you left & proceeds to talk to himself for an hour about the unit while literally getting nothing done. I am kidding bro! I love the content & the explanations along the way. P.S. I am ordering a shirt!
Ha thanks bud, talking to myself is nothing new, adding the camera to the mix just makes me seem a little less crazy
@@HVACRVIDEOS if you start having a 5 way conversation with your self let me know and i will send your membership certificate to the crazy club :) Btw yes i have done that. I routinely have 3 way verbal conversations with my self 5 way requires 2 in my head 🙃
@@HVACRVIDEOS There is nothing wrong with talking to yourself...
After all, how else are you going to have an Intelligent Conversation...
@@demonknight7965 Multi-way conversations with your selves isn't the problem...
Having an Argument with yourselves and LOOSING is the problem...
@@HappilyHomicidalHooligan so true
how come im addicted to watching your videos and this is not my trade , i install sound and lighting in bars and clubs . your work is good keep it up
We have all done that Chris. I have been a repairman 49 years and I don't know 5 fellow repairmen that are as thorough and conscientious as you are. (AND or as knowledgeable).
Man ,every time I watch your videos I learn something, like that dirty IBW was making that shaking, your the MAN.
FYI: I realize guys do all the time, but you don’t have the PPE to be pushing on those disconnect knives with it energized, even with an insulated screwdriver. I enjoy your videos and would not want to see you get hurt.
Arc flash potential. 👍🏻
You’re right. It does rarely happen. I worked with a guy who it happened to. It was 480v. His hand looked like an overcooked hotdog.
i love the extra long videos
That's what she said! 😂😭
Same!
Sir I proud of your job I like your job sir can I attend your job and your company please tell me I want to join your job and you company please I am from Bangladesh and I am normal technician me but I think I can do better please forgive me turns I want to job with you thank you sir
I am not an HVAC pro at all, but I watched this whole video. You do an excellent kob on these videos. Really outstanding. I make video for a living.
Thanks bud
I like watching your videos when it’s electrical issue, electrical is my struggle but watching you trouble shoot improves my skills.
I love watching your videos. I am from Philippines and currently I am working as Chiller/ HVAC technician in Saudi Arabia.
Your videos as been a huge help for me as a new technician
Great job doing the instructional video on this unit. The focus on the unit disconnect was excellent. Sometimes techs do not realize that those fuses in the disconnect will open if they get hot due to a loose fuse holder, worn spade, etc.. Also, out here on the East coast with our colder temps, not having the economizer or some type of low ambient kit can cause nuisance trips of the clo board requiring a manual reset. What generally happens is that on a call for cooling with cooler outside ambient temps, the suction pressure will nosedive initially causing the clo to lock out on low pressure. A delay on break across the LP switch with prevent this. Also, head pressure controllers on condenser fans may be required if unit is to be used for cooling with low ambient conditions to prevent the clo from locking out. If fuses continue to blow, a phase monitor may solve the problem. As you know, with a fan speed controller, ball bearing condenser motors are highly recommended due to fans shaft oiling issues at low speeds with bushings instead of bearings. I think this unit will need economizer/low ambient as it is a bar unit and it will run at night, year round. Maybe not in California temps. I had to self train on this model unit, I didn’t have your videos? Ha,ha,ha!
Good job.... I was and engineering tech for over 27 years.... I use to chase my tail trying to figure out why a fuse blew. Sometimes I just had to resign myself to believing that the fuse just blew and it was really just a faulty fuse.
Great video. Thank you for talking us through the Electrical. No discussion of a giveaway at the end. Thank you for this great video!.
great, honest and extensive work, not leaving tiny things out because "you could" big ups
Famous last words "I haven't test power yet, it should be off cause the breakers off"
Lmao
Kinda like "well i hope this doesn't blow up" i keep expecting a loud bang and smoke from something
@@demonknight7965 ya gotta remember, to be a top notch HVAC dude ya never let the smoke out.
ElectroBoom Approves of this message.
I had a compressor panel that still had a phase live when the isolator was off. The isolator had failed internally.
Really appreciate the non-editing. That’s the only way we learn, thank you for sharing!!
I'm not an electrician, I don't work in hvac or refrigeration but I really enjoy your videos!
2:05am in Singapore and I am lucky to have watched your video and entered the contest! Managed to learn lots of stuffs in your channel! I just wish there are more competent techs out here in Singapore to do maintenance on our AC Units.
Sunday morning coffee and an HVACR video, Nice!
Was just saying the same thing!
For me Sunday morning waffle house in the middle of a hurricane
Going by the 2013 written on the blower motor, this unit is at least 7-8 yrs old, probably a 10 ton. With all the problems this unit has, it is a prime candidate for replacement soon anyway. We get about 10yrs out of a unit like this here in S.Fla. I know restaurant owners can be cheap at times, and take the less expensive routes, been there done that kind of thing. Good to see you were approved, and are gong to attempt to make it right.
Thank God you sorted out that wiring. It looked shocking. Literally!
Nice video. Cant wait for my hat! 6 gauge is the standard for 60 amp circuits by me.
I enjoy your videos. Not an hvac tech but i am an electrician. Agood habit to get into is to hook your jumper to the load first then the power. This will keep you from shorting the lead against a ground when working.
Nice video and Great problem-solving and figuring out the problem
Nice job on a very hot day. I was always told to only run wiring at 70% of its rated capacity. I always hated to fix other peoples mess ups. Thanks for the video.
Looks like a hot day in mo val ....
My Monday customer is about 2 blocks from where you were , and yes past few weeks have been brutal !!
Stay hydrated Chris !
Just got my HVACR hats in mail today! Great hats n product! Thanks for the quick delivery man! Love them 👍. Time for some shirts lol
Thanks so so much for the support!!!
@@HVACRVIDEOS thank you for the videos man. Keep up the great work 👍
In my home town of Moreno Valley I see the Big M in the on the mountain, great video by the way I’m an apprentice and this video really helps out.
No bushing on the Blower motor coupled with vibration = wear thru on the wires
the insulation on the wires going into that motor didn't look that great indeed.
Yeah no bushing? I'm with you on this one.
That is a lot of hot,hard work to keep others cool. Great job!
Nice Job! Looks a lot better and I agree with getting rid of the wire nuts. Thoroughly done over 👌
That was a spider web of issues to come across , starting with the mystery blown fuse . Glad your customer chose your plan to correct those issues , the out come look nice an professional .
Wiring and everything looks 1,000 times better great job!
thank you for making your videos i find them enjoyable and informing.
Excellent job, this one was a mess. I would have loved to work that one. I know this doesn’t apply necessarily to service but when I worked as Mechanical foreman on a 7 story hotel new construction the inspector loved seeing clean wiring jobs. Makes for an easy green sticker and continuing the work flow. First one done with their punch list wins, lol.
i am a tech..i am doing every day this job... good videos...
Looks much better so good to watch you thanks for sharing
You are welcome, you are probably the only business that can keep going on without being infected due to being out in the open air. Like others have said look after your self, family and employees.
Great job! I like that fieldpiece meter.
I’m betting the fuse was blowing because of the second condenser fan motor was sitting outside/too low in the shroud and caused high head pressure on the wrong size compressors. What a mess you had! Great work!
I was told by an electrical engineer that those type of fuses were meant to be mounted flat because the fuse part inside is surrounded by sand keeping that from down grading overtime from the heat. Build up created from the electricity going thru it! What happens when the fuse is mounted up right is over time the sand inside compacts from vibration leaving the metal fuse part inside with no sand covering it to absorb the heat causing it to eventually melt and burn through opening up! That is why many times a fuse will blow for no apparent reason ! So that can be the conclusion after you trouble shoot and find nothing wrong! The repairs that you made were good but it would be nice to get rid of the excessive amount of vibration! Awesome video ! thanks!
Nice video sir. I had this issue with AHU York 20 tons that keep blew fuses. I checked everything and it was good. I got callback again next week for same blew fuses. I found out that panel is too old. Maybe you can have your customer to call for electrican to replace breaker and possibly wiring issue within panel. My customer needed up replaced panel and it’s working good after that, sir.
Always check the motor amps and be careful setting the variable pulley up similar to the existing one that was on the unit as it could have been set up wrong from the start. 👍keep the vids coming
"Ok so I screwed everything up, well that's fine."
I'm a software engineer and I sometimes submit code, see reviews, and think the same thing hahaha!
now try being an end user or technician that has to deal with both your broken software and the electrical wiring/electronic design failures.... add in mechanical issues for a triple headache
Your videos are awesome, maybe after some time watching your videos I’ll become a master tech in restaurant equipment ❤️🙌🏽
Good video, that is service done correctly.
Can I ask you a favour Chris? Can you do a video that goes into more detail about the quotes that you provide to your customers? I’d like to compare notes to what we’re doing and see if there is any room for improvement. I was suspecting that your customer was going to decline your quoted repairs given the condition of that RTU, and then you got approval. I’d like more of my customers to approve my repair quotes...
Thanks!
Great video as always ,really informative as usual, hope your staying safe and well during the Corona crap, I'm thinking of going in to the HVAC Industry, my brother in law does the controls side of stuff such as trend, deals with the AHUs etc that wiring is a rat's nest ,.stay safe and another great video from yourself
Should you have foam-wrapped that suction line? It makes it inefficient since it is heating up right?
I thought I noticed a bearing chirp from the condenser fan motor. I think the one you replaced had a very dry shaft bearing and when the motor runs for a long time it may have siezed and when it cools down will spin again. With the compressor lockouts bypassed, the compressors would be over amping causing the fuse to blow.
I agree. correct!
Sweet got a grey shirt with only 6 left. Big boy 2XL awesome, thanks for the gear.
2:20 Did you put a bushing on the blower fan motor? Also, should the wires be laying on the motor?
Damn. Never considered that amp draw difference with the fan cabinet door closed. Glad I watched this.
You'd think a AC&R guy would be cool. well we are very cool. The problem is when something cool breaks your in the HEAT to fix it. 20 years in the navy and working in hot places I don't dig the heat anymore. I'll do electrical stuff in the winter esp attic work. I've binged your video's, good stuff man!
Chris did you fire the heat ? Those insiders are notorious for having issues causing blown fuses!!! Also did you put a connector on the blower motor and check those wires?
Got hats ordered. Love your videos.
Awesome work! I feel like you went over pretty much everything on this rtu.
These are excellent. Thanks for posting.
Chris, very good quality training video's. One question though, after you checked the major loads with a VOM why didn't you follow up with a megger? 500vdc low amp insulation test would show a weak motor winding.
Leave a new shirt in each unit along with a spare fuse.
Always a good watch.
All I can say is thanks Chris!
Love the video mate. Been watching them and really enjoy them. Would be great to get my hands on some merch but unfortunately you dont ship to australia, yet. I do residental work in australia but love the content and videos. Keep up the great work.
Great job, but you have over costed the customer, I believe replacing the blade of the aftermarket condenser motor, is the proper action for fixing this unit because the breaker fuse has been blown down because of the loss contact in the disconnect breaker due to the vibration..... And the fabulous additional works that you have done, have added a new life to the unit.
Great contest for a solid valuable piece of equipment!
Nice job,fixing a screwed up mess . There’s a lot of units like that out there . I’d like to see you explain economizers some time .
I dont remember you ever talking about this.... do you test the cap under load or out of the circuit? Why
Good video Chris . Condenser fan motor on the right side looked a bit slower than the aftermarket. Unless the OEM was an 875 RPM motor , and the Aftermarket a 1075 RPM .
Every time I come across the "No Bushing" and in my head I say, "Bushing, I don't need no bushing..." and I climb down and grab a strain relief and put it on, that's my pet peeve, much like your contactor face being upright
low voltage "spark spark" gave me a good laugh anyway, I hate when I do stuff like that lol.
Video starts at 00:01
I was watching a lot of board level repairs from Louis Rossmann. Its pretty much the same technique just on a much smaller scale. It's interesting to see how you can repair the units with oem or aftermarket parts and even have schematics right on the door. He is fighting for the right to repair bill for consumer electronics.
Its amazing how that little fuse blowing out prevented the entire thing from starting. The moment you plugged in the new one it all of a sudden started
JUST WANTED TO SAY! THE HATS ARE ABSOLUTELY GREAT!
Thanks for the support bud!!
When testing contactors , switches relays etc i prefer to test for amperage drop or loss using a bench meter. I find its the most accurate way of determining the viability of any contact. My threshold for pass/fail is 30 milliamperes. Testing voltage drop across contacts is arbitrary as voltage is the ‘pressure’ or potential for current flow. Measuring actual current bypassing the contact through the meter is exact and precise.
What do you mean amperage drop? Contactor or relay will pass al the current, even if it is not functioning fully properly. Measuring the resistance, or the voltage drop is the best way I think, followed by the temp check (which can be from the voltage drop, or from the relay coil itself just warming up).
Awesome work and thanks for the great content stay safe and take care
After watching a lot of your videos, one thing stands out across all the units you service - Open frame contactors. So many of them have burnt contacts and no wonder - they're open to atmosphere. Particularly where you are with such a dry dusty environment, it's always going to affect the contacts. So the question is twofold: 1) Why aren't the manufacturers designing with closed contactors, and 2) Why aren't you all installing closed contactors when repairing?
$$$
Should be habit to spray clean contactors on visita with an electronic safe parts cleaner. Dust enhances resistance & corrosion, especially in the Southwest.
failing parts generate money haha
Don't judge a book by it's cover. There was no voltage drop and nothing was getting hot. The contacts get pitted from normal operation, every time they make or break a load there will be an arc, but that is what they are designed to do and the contacts are made of materials to handle it. Open up a sealed contactor and you will still see pitted contacts. But they also do have a definite service life.
it's from high start current when they close and large back EMF voltage spikes from the motors when they open. just no good way around it :)
I have to wonder if the vibration rubbed out one of the power wires going in to the unprotected knockout on the blower motor. I didn't see the finished product, but I'm sure you checked. Also, was that beer can hiding in that unit ;)
Thanks for having a contest, as I don't work on A/C stuff myself, I'll let the others put their entries in.
Would cutting the shaft on the after market condenser fan motor cut down on the vibrations? Thanks. By the way, another fantastic video!!
the fuse that blew was either newer or older, how do we know if it blew before or the others? maybe the area has brown out/phase loss frequently that blows that fuse or maybe weak breaker inside tripping and they reset it too often and high start load from no delay and high pressures got it? bad thermostat short cycling or chattering(assuming the board would allow that.
Would there be much benefit to insulating the suction lines inside the unit?