Contents
How do I know if my blower motor capacitor is bad?
Open the access panel to the furnace and listen for a relatively loud humming noise. If you hear that sound and it doesn’t stop, there’s an electrical difficulty. If you hear a “clicking” sound when the capacitor kicks in, that’s a problem too. Call your HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) professional.
What happens when blower motor capacitor goes bad?
When the capacitor malfunctions or fails, the blower motor cannot start. The faulty capacitor stalls the process of moving heated air through your system. Without a functional capacitor, the blower cannot get the initial jolt it needs to spin.
How much does it cost to replace a blower capacitor?
The price for a new blower capacitor is typically between $9 and $12. This provides the necessary power to spin the blower motor so the fan moves in the furnace.
Can a bad capacitor ruin a motor?
Using the wrong capacitor rating or a poor quality capacitor can adversely affect the operation of the motor, the compressor or an entire HVAC system. Depending on the motor load, this may result in a reduction in the motor’s overall speed.
Will a bad capacitor cause a motor to run slow?
Changing out a capacitor is a simple, inexpensive problem that almost all homeowners can fix easily if you are good with your hands and have the right capacitor. Weak or bad capacitors can also cause blower motors to not run or to run slow.
Can I replace AC capacitor myself?
Please don’t try to replace your capacitor yourself. Anyone is free to write down the capacitor size for their system, buy another one online, and install it. However, we recommend not doing that. Capacitors can be dangerous. Even after you disconnect the power to the AC, the capacitor still holds a lot of charge.
What causes the capacitor to burn out?
A compressor or fan motor that drags due to damage or worn bearings might cause the capacitor to burn up. Lightning can damage a capacitor, a compressor, the fan motor or the wires in the unit. Even a weak power surge can damage or destroy the capacitor, which can lead to compressor overload and subsequent failure.
Will a bad capacitor make a motor run slow?