Premature Start/Run Capacitor Failure on Coleman EB23B

[SAC 1100]

Hello,

Thanks for letting me post to your forum, I have a mysterious problem. I have a 2003 Fleetwood Barrington manufactured home, that we purchased off the lot. When the final installation of our home was completed, a local HVAC dealer sold us a Goodman 5 ton heat pump, along with an upgraded blower, and a Mortex indoor coil. The system ran fine for about 1.5 years.

One day, I noticed that the indoor blower motor was not turning on, but only humming. I could get it to start by spinning it, but it would run at only about 1/2 speed. I had a different HVAC guy come out to service it (the first one had retired, and gone out of business). He replaced the motor and the start/run capacitor. About 4 months later, the same symptom occurred, the motor would just hum, and not start on its own. Being a former Electronics Instructor, I did some research and replaced the Start/Run capacitor. That solved the problem, the motor ran fine. I checked the old capacitor with a DMM, it was open (electrically) and also leaking oil.

This past Sunday morning, I awoke to the smell of something burning. Upon investigating the furnace, I discovered that the blower motor was completely seized up, and the windings were charred. I checked the start/run cap, and it was open like before. Apparently, the cap failed, and the motor just sat their and cooked. It seems this motor does not have any type of thermal cutout. The motor became so hot, it melted the label, so it's not possible to read the specs.

I've never measured the amount of current drawn by the motor prior to all this, but before the failure, it would start and come up to speed quickly, and turn freely with no binding or vibration. The value of the start capacitor is 10mfd, and I believe the motor is a 1/3 horsepower 4 speed model. I noticed your site has a different value for the start/run cap (5 - 7 mfd), and I'm wondering if that's a factor.

I'm reluctant to use an OEM motor, unless it has some type of thermal protection. I found a Dayton motor at Grainger that matches the one on your site, that has thermal protection. I realize this will not solve my problem, but it may save the motor until I can determine the cause.

My questions to you: Have you heard of premature failure of start/run capacitors in blower motors, and what did you do to resolve it? If you need any other info from me, please let me know.

Thanks

Scott C

[Robert]

Hi Scott,

Those are Run Capacitors only, not start. 5mfd and 7mfd are most common and why they are listed on site, but we can get a 10mfd if needed.

They usually don't fail prematurely and since you had multiple failures, I would look elsewhere to find what is causing this.


Make sure these motors are correct size and make sure they are designed for use in a Manufactured Home.


Grainger will only sell to a business, in case you didn't know.


Make sure that the blower motor, wheel and A-Coil if you have a/c is all clean before doing an amperage check.



Thanks,
Robert