Dang furnace blower motor....

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  • CHCRandy

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    What causes a blower motor to seize? Is it usually bearings or can something happen in the motor to cause it to freeze up and not turn? Turned on the AC today and blower wouldnt kick on so I reached in and tried to turn the fan/cage....and it is locked tighter than dick's hatband.
     

    JBP239

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    Dec 18, 2016
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    Sounds like bad bearings in the fan which could be caused by a number of different things. Could be wear/age, dirt and debris or just cheap chinese parts that failed prematurely. Most fans have weights clipped on them for balance, if the weight falls off it could vibrate and cause the motor bearing to wear out much sooner too.

    I feel your pain though, it's been an expensive week at my house. The A/C didn't work when I turned it on for the first time this year on Tuesday. Expansion valve is bad and also found out the electric heat pack is under sized. I've never been happy with the heat pump that was installed in my house....super expensive to heat the house during the coldest months. I found out the gas company is offering free hook-up right now and there are also some other rebates available so rather than put money into a cheap 8 year old system I'm getting a new AC system and gas heat installed next week. Expensive but worth it in the long run I think.

    Then Friday night I walk through the hallway before going to bed and notice the carpet is wet. I go into the garage and find the water heater tank is leaking. So I spent most of the day Saturday installing a new water heater. The joys of owning a home lol
     

    churchmouse

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    Randy,
    Everything has a design duty cycle. The stopped putting lubrication ports on motors long ago so they could sell you new ones when they fail.
    You have mentioned a few times it was time to upgrade.

    If you can not find a new one in your own bring the failed motor by the house and I will get you one.

    The whole assembly slides out with the removal of a few screws.
     

    CHCRandy

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    JBP, When it rains it pours. I hate how things seem to break in 3's. My wife says she wishes we still rented.....that a home is a money pit, but I am sure you would agree with me, it's still better than buying someone else a home.

    CM, I appreciate that offer but I really need to just get you over here to give me an estimate for a new system, if you are interested. I have been putting it off because I really want to move my furnace to another part of house and put overhead duct work in. My house is on a slab, built in 1956 and I am pretty sure the old duct work is rusted out and losing heat/air. 1 room always stays cold in winter and hot in summer. I was really debating on ordering a new Goodman set-up but if it doesn't save that much over a Trane I may just go back with Trane.

    You know I have been having a problem the last few months with furnace calling for heat, ignites then calls for blower and it never turns on, then it shuts off but induction motor runs until it tries again then the blower usually turns on and stinks. I thought it was a circuit board problem....but now I think it was just the motor having some kind of failure.

    Thanks for your responses.
     

    Tactically Fat

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    I know full-well how it goes to have HVAC issues (both minor, major, and in between). They all suck.

    Get this in-between repair made and then work on getting estimates. I have no idea for sure, but I can only imagine that there's a price increase for AC work during AC season... At least if you don't have a friend/acquaintance do the work for you. :)
     

    CHCRandy

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    Man it is hot as hell in my house today. I have been so busy I have not had time to mess with this furnace. Well today I was hot so I turned on AC to see if motor would turn and sure enough, it tried to take off but was turning very slowly. Come to find out my wife tried spinning the housing and not the cage when she checked blower motor the first time....so motor wasn't locked up but just couldn't/can't start or go fast. So after some googling I decided to take out the capacitor, which I did but now I am trying to check it but I don't think my cheap meter has the right settings.

    What setting is a micro-fared? Is there a way to test this with just a regular meter? Thanks
     

    churchmouse

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    Man it is hot as hell in my house today. I have been so busy I have not had time to mess with this furnace. Well today I was hot so I turned on AC to see if motor would turn and sure enough, it tried to take off but was turning very slowly. Come to find out my wife tried spinning the housing and not the cage when she checked blower motor the first time....so motor wasn't locked up but just couldn't/can't start or go fast. So after some googling I decided to take out the capacitor, which I did but now I am trying to check it but I don't think my cheap meter has the right settings.

    What setting is a micro-fared? Is there a way to test this with just a regular meter? Thanks

    Randy, Just replace it. $7 to $10. You need a cap check to really bad.
    What is the rating on it. It will be like 370 Vac 5 Mfd or similar.
     

    miguel

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    I am out of rep at the moment, but +1 for CM and all the other pros who lend their time, experience and advice to the rest of us.

    Randy, things like this always happen at the worst time. AC never breaks when it is 70 and you can open windows, just like heater doesn't go until it is approaching freezing out.

    Hang in there!
     

    churchmouse

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    Dang it Randy. I do not have a 10uf in my pile of spare stuff. I can get you one on Monday at the earliest.

    I was sidetracked by the terrorists in my Avatar. Sorry.
     

    DocIndy

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    I probably have one in my truck if it's still needed. Just let me know and we can figure out the logistics.
     

    DocIndy

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    I have one if needed. ChurchMouse... if you need a part on a weekend feel free to hit me up. I just might have it and be able to help a fellow INGOer and HVAC guy out.
     

    churchmouse

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    I have one if needed. ChurchMouse... if you need a part on a weekend feel free to hit me up. I just might have it and be able to help a fellow INGOer and HVAC guy out.

    :thumbsup:

    I no longer roll a fully stocked truck. Kind of hit and miss with me.
    A lot of system installs/upgrades and such.

    I have a fairly large scrape pile waiting on prices to make it worth while to make the effort. I looked at the blower assembly's "In Stock" but no 10uf
     
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