So we had our first 90 degree day of the year on Monday, and of course one of my heat pumps conked out. The 240V/40A breaker for the compressor had tripped and could not be reset unless I turned the system off. Then it would trip again as soon as I put it back in cool mode and set the temperature below ambient. Since I can't get a tech out here until next Tuesday, I decided to check the capacitor because a) it's easy, b) they fail often, and c) I've heard that a stalled motor can mimic a dead short. Sure enough it was shot - read zero on the compressor side and low on the fan side. However, replacing the capacitor did not solve the problem. I'm thinking this might mean that the compressor motor is dead, but maybe that's just because I'm a pretty pessimistic guy. Any suggestions for other relatively simple diagnostics I could do while I'm waiting for a pro to get here?
BTW, the unit is almost 17 years old, so it wouldn't be the end of the world if I had to replace it.
BTW, the unit is almost 17 years old, so it wouldn't be the end of the world if I had to replace it.